Turkish and Functional Programming: A Surprisingly Perfect Match

While watching Zoe.languages' "10 Fun Facts about the Turkish Language", I had an unexpected realization—Turkish feels a lot like functional programming. It’s concise, structured, and beautifully logical. Both Turkish and functional programming avoid unnecessary elements, embrace efficiency, and favor a streamlined, harmonious approach. Let’s break down why Turkish and functional programming are a perfect match.

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1. No Redundant Elements (Minimalism)

Functional programming aims to eliminate unnecessary complexity, and Turkish does the same by avoiding redundant words.

• Turkish: Instead of explicitly stating pronouns, Turkish encodes them in the verb itself.
  • Geliyorum = I am coming (no separate "I" needed because "-yorum" already implies it).

• Functional Programming: Functions are "pure" and avoid external dependencies, making them self-contained and efficient.

  • Example:

  const greet = name => `Hello, ${name}!`;
  console.log(greet("Ali"));
  

  No extra variables, no global state—just clean, functional style.

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2. Agglutination = Function Composition

In both Turkish and functional programming, smaller building blocks are combined to create more powerful expressions.

• Turkish: Words are built by adding suffixes in a modular way.
  • Ev (house) → Evler (houses) → Evlerimiz (our houses) → Evlerimizde (in our houses).

• Functional Programming: Functions are composed instead of relying on step-by-step mutations.

  • Example:

  const add = x => y => x + y;
  const double = x => x * 2;
  const addAndDouble = x => double(add(2)(x));
  

  Just like Turkish suffixes, functions stack elegantly without breaking the structure.

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3. Harmony & Consistency

• Turkish: Has vowel harmony, meaning suffixes adapt to the root word, ensuring smooth pronunciation.
  • Evimizde (in our house), Köyümüzde (in our village) — the suffixes follow a predictable rule.
• Functional Programming: Ensures consistency through immutability and declarative logic.
  • If a function works in one context, it works everywhere—it doesn’t mutate unexpectedly.

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4. No Extra Noise (Declarative Style)

• Turkish: Instead of unnecessary words like "is," "are," or "do," Turkish expresses meaning through the verb structure.
  • Geliyorum (I am coming) instead of "Ben geliyorum." The subject is already implied.

• Functional Programming: Uses declarative expressions instead of step-by-step instructions.

  • Example:

  const numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];
  const squared = numbers.map(x => x * x);
  

  No for loops, no manual mutations—just pure transformation.

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Final Thoughts

Turkish and functional programming share an appreciation for elegance, efficiency, and logic. Both remove unnecessary clutter, rely on structured patterns, and create fluid, harmonious expressions. Whether you’re learning Turkish or diving into functional programming, you might find that one helps you appreciate the other.

Who knew that a language spoken by millions and a programming paradigm could have so much in common?