The function of verse dictionaries and their applicability in teaching Turkish to foreigners

Verse dictionaries, which first appeared in Arab geography and were written to ensure a correct understanding of the Holy Quran, began to be used over time in primary schools to teach words in a foreign language to children by taking advantage of the harmony and fluency of verse. These works, written primarily in Arabic, Persian and Turkish, but also in Greek, French, Albanian, Armenian, Bulgarian, German, and Bosnian, have attracted the attention of literary researchers in recent years. This is because they not only teach vocabulary but also shed light on the period in which they were written and reflect the culture of the relevant language. Despite being the product of practice in past centuries, these works have features that can meet today’s language teachings needs. With the increasing immigration to Türkiye and exchange programs at universities, curricula are continuously being developed, relevant centers are opening, and employment opportunities are being provided for teachers to teach Turkish to both children and adults. In this context, the question of whether the verse dictionaries used for language teaching in the Ottoman Empire can be adapted to the present day as supplementary textbooks comes to mind. The prepared study, information about the emergence, function and content of the genre in question will be given, then the benefits it will provide in teaching Turkish to adult foreigners will be emphasized and suggestions will be made regarding its applicability.