To the fracturing of Turkish life there corresponds the fracturing of language: the flowery Ottoman, the artificial purified Turkish, the rank colloquialism. From the West Atay took one of his favourite motifs, but so changed as to be new, intercourse between people as playing games: the free games of love and friendship, the ritualised games of superficial acquaintance, the mechanical games of bureaucracy.
The disintegration of Turkish society is reflected in a fragmentation of language: the ornate Ottoman, the artificial, purified Turkish, and the vulgar colloquialisms. Atay borrowed one of his favorite concepts from the West, but reimagined it to create something new; interactions between people are likened to playing games: free games of love and friendship, ritualized games of superficial acquaintance, and mechanical games of bureaucracy.