Dil Araştırmaları

Öz

Can the Structure of Natural Languages Be Explained by Formal Logic Rules? The answer to this question is sought within semantics, a branch of linguistics. Formal semantics is a subfield of linguistics that investigates how meaning in language can be analyzed through mathematical methods. Although the number of academic studies on formal semantics is steadily increasing in relevant departments at universities worldwide, the history of such research in Turkey is relatively recent. Two books in Türkçede Anlam Yasaları (Laws of Meaning in Turkish, Ankara: Pegem Akademi, 2019) and Biçimsel Anlambilim (Formal Semantics, Ankara: Anı Yayıncılık, 2022), represent the first works in this field published in Turkish.

The focus of this article is Dilin Matematiği: Formal Anlambilime Giriş (The Mathematics of Language: An Introduction to Formal Semantics), the first book to prioritize a mathematical approach in the analysis of Turkish. Authored by Associate Professor Murat Özgen, the book was first published in 2022 by Nobel Academic Publishing and quickly filled a significant gap in the field. Due to its impact, it saw a second edition in 2024, only a short time after its initial release.

According to its author, Murat Özgen, this guidebook is designed for scholars conducting research in linguistics and students still pursuing their studies. However, the book appears to be the outcome of compiling notes, delivering lectures, and summarizing the knowledge at the core of these lessons. Consequently, the term “formal semantics” also alludes to a specific course curriculum, making the book more suitable as a resource for university students taking formal semantics courses rather than solely for researchers and academics. Thus, it can be considered both a reference book for students and a popular introduction to the field.