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Vanishing Ottoman names for West European countries, languages, and peoples in Turkish:The most commonly-used Turkish word historically to refer to West Europeans, "frenk" (from "frangos" in Greek, meaning Catholic), has lately dropped off currency in modern Turkish
2. In its oldest form in Turkish, "frenk" referred to Catholic peoples from west Mediterranean, such as Catalans, Genoese, and Occitans. Borrowed from Greek into Turkish, this term later expanded in meaning to refer to all Catholic Europeans --and eventually all West Europeans
3. The "alafranga" vs. "alaturca" dichotomy was the key prism in modern era, through which the Ottomans viewed West Europeans and all that they borrowed from the latter, from dress to music to toilets. In West Europe, too, this was popular.Just think of Mozart's Rondo Alla Turca
4. The "alafranga" vs. "alaturca" dichotomy, surviving in Turkey until the the middle of 20th century, has since dropped out of usage, suggesting that many of Turkey's citizens don't find this binarism necessary anymore. Accordingly, the word "frenk" has also dropped off currency
