Nationalism and Language Planning in Turkey

Turkey is a culturally diverse and multi-lingual country. After the establishment of Turkey in the 1920s, although the Turkish language was not widespread in all the geographical regions of Turkey but still, this language was adopted by the people as a lingua franca (Arslan, 2015). Several languages were spoken in Turkey after the end of the Ottoman Empire among which Arabic, Turkish, and Persian were the three main dominant languages. The Arabic language was used for religious purposes; Persian was used by educated elites and was used in arts, diplomacy, and literature; and the Ottoman Empire's administration language was Turkish (Metz, 1995). Furthermore, there were no language restrictions, and people were free to speak any language they wanted. However, citizens needed to know the Turkish language in order to communicate with the government and administration (Ottoman Empire) (Arslan, 2015). 

Even though events such as the Greek-Turkish population exchange and the Armenian genocide affected Turkey's religious, ethnic, and linguistic diversity, some minority groups still exist (Zeydanlıoğlu, 2012). After the emergence of Turkey, Kurds were the largest minority group in Turkey and their language was named as the Kurdish language. During the Wat of Liberation in 1919 (which lasted till 1923), Ataturk also showed his support and recognition of the rights of Kurds. He supported the study of the Kurdish language (Gunes, 2012). The Lausanne Treaty, however, did not include this protection and acknowledgement of Kurdish political and cultural rights (Arslan, 2015).

According to the report of the European Commission (2004), between 15 to 20 million Kurds live in Turkey which is 20 to 25% of the total population of Turkey. Subsequently, the Kurdish language is the second most spoken language in Turkey (Öpengin, 2012). Government actions that were both repressive and assimilative had a negative impact on the Kurdish language. In Turkey, this language has been restricted and banned numerous times. The state's support of the Turkish language in all aspects of life has prepared the ground for Turkish language development while neglecting the country's second most spoken language. The language ban culture continued until 2000, and many experts referred to this Turkish government's practice as linguicide. The Turkish government's laws and practices limited the use of the Kurdish language in many spheres of life, including education and politics (Hassanpour A. , 1990; Hassanpour, Sheyholislami, & Skutnabb-Kangas, 2012; Fernandes, 2012; O’Driscoll, 2014).

The development of the Turkish language is linked with the literacy rate of Turkish people at the time of the establishment of Turkey which was only 10%. This was the primary reason for people's lack of opposition to initiatives aimed solely at spreading the Turkish language. It was not difficult for Turkish authorities to enforce solely the Turkish language on their illiterate citizenry at the time. As a result, persuading folks to become Turks and form a united national identity known as Turkish was simple (Arslan, 2015). 

As a result of the greater use of Turkish in all aspects of social, political, and economic life, several minorities in the country have been threatened or denied their existence. Similarly, these planned policies of the government contributed to the decline of numerous formerly spoken languages in the Ottoman Empire (Zeydanlioglu, 2012). As a result, the Turkish language was promoted and given preferential status by the government over other languages. While Turkish is extensively spoken in all aspects of life, other languages are often ignored, and in the case of Kurdish, it has been prohibited. The Kurdish language is now solely used for speaking, and people do not know how to write it (Arslan, 2015).

As the literacy rate increased in Turkey, people started to question the special treatment given to the Turkish language over other languages. In 2003, in order to complete all the requirements of becoming a member of the European Union (EU), the Kurdish language course was introduced in many universities in Turkey. It was due to the struggle made by many political parties and politicians that the Kurdish language was introduced in universities and schools (Arslan, 2015). 

Works Cited

Arslan, S. (2015). Language Policy in Turkey and Its Effect on the Kurdish Language. Master's Theses.

Fernandes, D. (2012). Modernity and the linguistic genocide of Kurds in Turkey. International Journal of the Sociology of Language.

Gunes, C. (2012). The Kurdish National Movement in Turkey: From Protest to Resistance. Routledge.

Hassanpour, A. (1990). The language factor in national development: The standardization of the Kurdish language, 1918-1985.

Hassanpour, A., Sheyholislami, J., & Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (2012). Introduction. Kurdish: Linguicide, Resistance and Hope. International Journal of the Sociology of Language.

Metz, H. C. (1995). Turkey: A Country Study. (W. G. Congress, Producer) Retrieved from http://countrystudies.us: http://countrystudies.us/turkey/

O’Driscoll, D. (2014). Is Kurdish endangered in Turkey? A comparison between the politics of linguicide in Ireland and Turkey. Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism.

Öpengin, E. (2012). Sociolinguistic situation of Kurdish in Turkey: Sociopolitical factors and language use patterns.

Zeydanlioglu, W. (2012). Turkey’s Kurdish Language Policy. International Journal of the Sociology of Language.

Zeydanlıoğlu, W. (2012). Turkey’s Kurdish Language Policy. International Journal of the Sociology of Language.