Ottoman History Podcast The Ottoman Erotic
Dec 18, 2016
İrvin Cemil Schick, an expert in early modern Ottoman literature and erotica, joins the podcast to discuss the "Erotic Vocabulary of Ottoman Literature" project. They explore the challenges of creating a dictionary of erotic words, gender dynamics in Ottoman texts, and the shifting attitudes towards sexuality in the Ottoman Empire. This episode is part of a series on women, gender, sex, and sexuality in the Ottoman Empire.
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Define Scope By Genre Not Moral Content
- When building the dictionary, define clear scope boundaries to avoid excluding medical, satirical, or explicit prose.
- Schick's team decided to separate lyrical from erotic poetry and include medical/satirical erotic prose without further distinction.
Recover Meanings By Tracing Arabic Persian Roots
- Etymology and manuscript variants reveal meanings for obscure erotic terms; Arabic and Persian roots often explain Ottoman spellings.
- The team used classical Arabic lexicons (e.g., Lane) and multiple manuscript spellings to recover meanings like labia terms and lustful woman.
Street Sex Words Show Centuries Long Continuity
- Some street-level Turkish erotic words persist from the 14th century to today, while Arabic/Persian loanwords ebb and flow.
- Helga noted crude Turkish terms show long continuity; loanwords' frequency varies across periods and genres.