Hatice Nakiyye Hanım Lügât-i Fârisiyye

The dictionaries which exhibit vocabulary of a language, represent cultural heritages giving important information about structure and functioning of that language. The dictionary which emerge as the most significant sources in terms of learning and teaching a language, have vital importance in terms of setting the ground for scientific researches. Farsi, as a language of literature, has always influenced Turkish culture and civilization throughout the history. Especially during Ottoman era when Farsi received lots of attention, it is observed that many dictionaries in poetry and prose form, had been authored for teaching Farsi. While those dictionaries in poetry form were used for teaching primary school students, those dictionaries in prose form were works which satisfied the language learning requirements of the people of all ages. Consequently, many Farsi-Turkish dictionaries have been authored in the field of classical Turkish literature. In this present paper, I have studied Lügat-ı Fârisiyye (Farsi Dictionary) authored in prose form by the poetess, Hatice Nakiyye Hanım, who was one of the most significant women of 19th Century, full of wisdom. Lügât-ı Fârisiyye (Farsi Dictionary) is one of the most significant Farsi-Turkish dictionaries of the era. The dictionary which is kept at Beyazıt State Library under the name of Lügât-ı Fârisiyye (No 22556, 1310) is the only published work of Nakiyye Hanım. On the account of this dictionary which was dedicated to Sultan AbdulhAmîd Han, Nakiyye Hanım, a History and Farsi Teacher, was decorated with a silver medal. The poetess, in her work, gave Turkish counterparts of Farsi words in various fields under 41 topics. In her work, the authoress employed 41 different headings as per various topics ranging from spiritual and mundane issues to names of sultans and related royal names, from names of various foods to valuable gems. There are Turkish counterparts of 2153 Farsi words in the dictionary. In introduction part of present paper, I have discussed the concept of dictionary, briefly elaborated on the history of lexicography and mentioned about Farsi-Turkish dictionaries in prose form. In the first part of the paper I narrated life and works of Hatice Nakiyye Hanım and in the second part, I made some explanations about transliteration system and writing script employed in determining the text and gave main text of the dictionary in Farsi-Turkish. There is a facsimile version of Lügât-ı Fârisiyye at the end of the paper. Key Words Classical Turkish Literature, Dictionary, Farsi-Turkish Dictionary, Dictionary in Prose Form, Hatice Nakiyye Hanım