LANGUAGE SHIFT OR MAINTENANCE

WITHIN THREE GENERATIONS:

EXAMPLES FROM THREE TURKISH–
ARABIC SPEAKING FAMILIES
HATİCE SOFU
FATMANUR ÖZÇAL 18132039 SEÇİL YURT 18132017

SELİN ÖNER 18132047 ALPER KÜÇÜKGÖDE 18132025

SARA DASHT 17132912

BARIŞ MISTIN 18132026

FATMA ALPER 18132051

AHMET ALPEREN BÖCEK 19132006

MOHAMMAD NASHER 18132811

MERVE SAĞLAM 18132022

CONTEXT

• INTRODUCTION
• VIDEOS
• THE OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
• METHODOLOGY AND SAMPLING
• RESULT AND DISCUSSION: ANTAKYA FAMILIY
• RESULT AND DISCUSSION: ADANA FAMILY l
• RESULT AND DISCUSSION: ADANA FAMILY ll
• CONCLUSION
INTRODUCTION

• BILINGUAL TURKISH-ARABIC SPEAKERS

• SHIFTS IN THE LANGUAGE
• BOTH SOCIETAL AND INDIVIDUAL FACTORS EFFECTING BILINGUAL FAMILIES
THE OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

• ‘Arabic’ in Antakya, Adana, Mersin and provinces bordering Syria and Iraq
• PhD Dissertation ‘Language Choice, Code-switching and Language Shift in Antakya, Turkey’ by Smith-
Kocamahlul (2003)
• From the perspective of the linguistic structure and the sociolinguistic situation
• Gender, age, impact of TV, regions
• Two main question:
1- What are some of the factors affecting the shift from Arabic to Turkish and the challenges these
families face in maintaining the community languages?
2- Are there any ‘linguistic bands’ in these families that help maintenance of the heritage language?
METHODOLOGY & SAMPLING
• Information is gathered from three generations of families.
• The information is contributed by students but, for details, they consulted
their parents.
Questions were grouped in;
-Language proficiency
• The pattern of language use in home/work
• Attitude towards Turkish, Arabic and language maintenance

-Personal Questions
• Age
• Education
• Jobs
• Unclear points noted and discussed again.
• Tables were created according to answers given by students.
• Names that are written in bold are parents of the next
generation.
There are two families in this research. One is from Adana and the other family is
from Antakya.
These two cities are chosen because they are different in terms of their social
network.

Antakya;
• Smaller when compared to Adana.
• Most families have Arabic speaker relatives.
• People speak arabic not only in family quarters.
Despite of differences between Adana and Antakya, there are similar aspects as to
how Arabic and Turkish is being used as well.

-There are no official place that teach Arabic language

-Residents of Antakya and Adana use Turkish and Arabic similarly
-Arabic dialects are not related to religion but region
The three generations in this research have differences in terms of social,
economical, cultural aspects.
For example:

-First Generation;
• Lived in first half of the twentieth century
• Most of the men were tradesman, farmer and artisan
• Most of the women were housewives
-Second Generation;
• Lived in second half of the twentieth century
• Had the oppurtunity to get education
Terms used in this study;

• Monolingual: A person who understands the other language but not as clearly
as their native language.
• Semi-speaker: The person understands both languages but can not speak as they
will.
• Bilingual: A person who can use freely both languages.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
ANTAKYA FAMILY

• FATHER'S SIDE
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
ANTAKYA FAMILY

• MOTHER'S SIDE
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
ANTAKYA FAMILY

• AGE AFFECT AS CHOOSING LANGUAGE

• PARENTS ADVICE TO THEIR CHILDREN AS CHOOSING LANGUAGE
• THIRD GENERATION DIFFERENCES
Adana Family 1

 They live predominantly Arabic-speaking

district.

 Both grandparents were bilingual (table 2a).

 They used Turkish only when they had

monolingual Turkish visitors.

 Their children live in various city districts, and

where they live has a significant impact on
their language use (Table 2b).

 In this family there is a gender distinction in

code-switching behaviours.
 The three children who represent the youngest generation are all bilingual Turkish-Arabic speakers.

 Since they were brought up in Germany they have also acquired German as a third language, and
they were exposed to English at school.

 The three children speak German among themselves. They choose Turkish when speaking to their
parents.

 However, when they are emotionally aroused they choose German as indicated by Esra in the
following excerpt:
‘Although the dominant language at home was Turkish due to my parents, we
generally spoke German with my sisters. Especially in emotional settings
German was spoken.’
 In Adana, the second family lives in a
district with a heterogeneous
population. There are non-Arabic-
speaking residents as well as Arabic-
speaking residents in the surrounding
area.

 On the father's side, both grandparents

are multilingual. In addition, while
serving in the army, the grandfather
learned Kurdish. Their youngsters
appear to have adopted Turkish as a
second language.
 They know a little Arabic because their parents and relatives speak it at home.
Two of them are even Turkish monolinguals.

 On the mother's side of the family, there are more multilingual individuals. The
granddad speaks Arabic and is literate in Turkish and Ottoman Turkish. The
grandma only speaks a few words in Turkish.
 Vehbi and Suphi, two members of same
family, reside in the same city in
Germany. As a result, we see a situation
similar to that of the members of Adana
Family 1 discussed earlier.

 Their absence from their linguistic group

has not resulted in a loss of language; on
the contrary, they have attempted to
conserve it.
 In their new setting, they create a smaller but close-knit group, and this
circumstance, which has resulted in the formation of a 'linguistic band,'
has aided their children in learning Arabic as well.
 The Adana Family 2's third
generation are all university
graduates. Multilingual. They were
reread in Holland, and as a result,
they have obtained Dutch. They
also took German and English
classes at school.

 They learned Arabic in Holland as a

result of their proximity to their
relatives in Germany.
 Only Ümit is a semi-speaker of Arabic among the three children; that is, she
can comprehend but not speak the language when spoken to her. She was
born in the Netherlands and grew up speaking Turkish. She is trilingual,
speaking Dutch, German, and English fluently.

 Members of the younger generation in all three families are bilingual.

Language loss does not occur as a result of their higher education and job
with Turkish-speaking individuals.
 They learn to read, write, and converse in this language, as well as
socialize with their monolingual classmates. University education also leads
to language shift as a result of needing to relocate to a large city, which is
where most institutions are located.
 Mobility can occur for a variety of reasons, including education and
employment.

 Multilingualism has also been aided by close interaction with family

members (Arabic, Dutch and Turkish).
CONCLUSION

• CHANGING ECONOMICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN THE COUNTRY HAVE

CAUSED A SHIFT IN LANGUAGE USED.
• THE THIRD GENERATION TENDS TO LEARN A LANGUAGE DIFFERENT FROM THE
TWO LANGUAGES USED AT HOME AND BEGIN TO VIEW MULTILINGUALISM AS
SOMEWHAT POSITIVE.
• FORMATION OF ‘LINGUISTIC BANDS’ IN WHICH THE HERITAGE LANGUAGE
CAN BE PRESERVED.