This comparative project investigates the origins of modern monolingualism—“pre‑monolingualism”—and its literary effects by comparing 18th‑century German and 20th‑century Turkish. It examines how standard‑language ideology, national linguistic norms, and reforms (notably Atatürk’s) shaped notions of the mother tongue, literary originality, and purist language practices. Through historical case studies and analysis of contemporary Turkish‑German literature, the study traces continuities and ruptures between pre‑ and post‑monolingual situations, exploring how multilingual realities are represented and negotiated in literary cultures across time, space, and sociopolitical contexts.