The Words of the Day: Republic & Public

Do you know the actual meanings of “republic” and “public“? Where does they come from? The word “republic” comes from the fifteenth-century Latin word “respublica” (ablative republica). The word means “the state” or “the commonwealth“. The verbatim translation may mean “res” and “publica” which stand for “the interest(s) of the people” (id est, the Latin word publicus). Accordingly, the word public refers to the Latin “publicus” that means “of the people“, “of the state“, “belonging to the people at large“, or “done for the state“. The Turkish counterparts of both words are “cumhuriyet“, and “halk” or “kamu” (or “hamı” in Azerbaijani Turkish), respectively. The word cumhuriyet, which literally means “belonging to the people” was cümhūriyet in 19th century but later people began to pronounce it as cumhuriyet. Here are some examples in both English and Turkish.

English Examples:

• One day my mortal body will turn to dust, but the Republic of Türkiye will stand forever. (Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the first president of Türkiye)
• We all know that Switzerland is a federal republic.
• In the republic of mediocrity, genius is dangerous. (Robert G. Ingersoll)
• When fake news is repeated, it becomes difficult for the public to discern what’s real. (Jimmy Gomez)
• Culture is the foundation of the Turkish Republic. (Mustafa Kemal Atatürk)
• There is no such thing as public opinion. There is only published opinion. (Winston Churchill)

Turkish Examples:

• Cümhūriyeti biz böyle kazandık.
• Cumhuriyet sizden düşünceleri hür, vicdanı hür, irfanı hür nesiller ister.
• Bütün köy halkı orada idi. (Ömer Seyfettin)
• Bilmiyorlar ki halk, halkın diliyle konuşan sanatkârla birliktir. (O. Veli Kanık)
• Biz kimseye kin tutmayız. Kamu âlem birdir bize. (Yunus Emre)
• Hamı sevindi, hamı şad oldu.
• Hiç kimse kamuoyunun serbestçe oluşmasını engelleyici kayıtlar koyamaz.

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