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“May our language not perish. Our language is our memory.”: A mixed-methods investigation of the ethnolinguistic vitality of Laz

Year 2025, Volume: 36 Issue: 3 - Türkiye'de Tehlikedeki Diller Özel Sayısı (Konuk Editörler: Mehmet Akkuş, Çiğdem Sağın Şimşek) / Special Issue - Endangered Languages in Turkey (Guest Editors: Mehmet Akkuş, Çiğdem Sağın Şimşek), 157 - 188, 27.01.2026

Mehmet Akkuş , Çiğdem Sağın Şimşek , Gülay Akın

https://doi.org/10.18492/dad.1587071

Abstract

This study explores the contemporary status of Laz, an endangered South Caucasian language, exploring factors shaping its vitality within the ethnolinguistic vitality framework. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research utilizes questionnaires and interviews within Laz-speaking communities. While the questionnaires (n=259) probed vitality-related aspects, the interviews (n=5) offered narrative data, essential for understanding lived experiences and perceptions of the community. Bridging a crucial gap in research by encompassing socio-cultural and demographic dimensions, the study reveals diverse influences on the visibility of Laz. This innovative approach contributes significantly to the broader field, offering a holistic exploration of ethnolinguistic vitality. Findings expose variations shaped by linguistic, cultural, and social dynamics. The quantitative data unveil statistically significant mean disparities in the perceptions of vitality held by the speakers towards their heritage language. The qualitative analysis, focusing on generational tensions, societal adaptations, and language use, underscores the resilience and challenges faced by the Laz.

Keywords

Laz ethnolinguistic vitality Turkish endangered languages

Project Number

TÜBİTAK 3501 Kariyer Geliştirme Programı kapsamında 221K226 numaralı proje desteği

References

  • Akkuş, M. (2019). A note on language contact: Laz language in Türkiye. International Journal of Bilingualism, 23(4), 856-860. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006917703458 Akkuş, M., & Akkuş, B. (2020). A multilingual “contact” hub in which Altai faces Caucasia in north-eastern Turkey: Laz encounters Turkish in Artvin. In N. Yavuz (Ed.), Artvin araştırmaları 2 (pp. 117–132). Artvin Çoruh University.
  • Akkuş, M., & Sağın Şimşek, Ç. (2022). The zone of ethnolinguistic social networking (ZonES) in Khalaj Turkic: A model for language endangerment. Dilbilim Araştırmaları Dergisi, 33(2), 221-245. https://doi.org/10.18492/dad.1126225
  • Allard, R., & Landry, R. (1986). Subjective ethnolinguistic vitality viewed as a belief system. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 7, 1-12.
  • Bourhis, R. Y. (2017). Bilingual health care in Quebec: Public policy, vitality and acculturation issues. In M. Drolet, P. Bouchard, & J. Savard (Eds.), Accessibility and active offer: Health care and social services in linguistic minority communities (pp. 349–396). University of Ottawa Press.
  • Bourhis, R. Y., Giles, H., & Rosenthal, D. (1981). Notes on the construction of a subjective vitality questionnaire for ethnolinguistic groups. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 2, 145–155.
  • Bourhis, R. Y., & Sachdev, I. (1984). Vitality perceptions and language attitudes: Some Canadian data. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 3(2), 97–127.
  • Bourhis, R. Y., & Landry, R. (2012). Group vitality, cultural autonomy and the wellness of language minorities. In R. Y. Bourhis (Ed.), Decline and prospects of the English-speaking communities of Quebec (pp. 23–69). Canadian Heritage.
  • Bourhis, R. Y., Sachdev, I., Ehala, M., & Giles, H. (2019). Assessing 40 years of group vitality research and future directions. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 38(4), 409–422.
  • Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative research in psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
  • Bromham, L., Dinnage, R., Skirgård, H., Ritchie, A., Cardillo, M., Meakins, F., Greenhill, S., & Hua, X. (2022). Global predictors of language endangerment and the future of linguistic diversity. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 6(2), 163-173.
  • Crystal, D. (2000). Language death. Cambridge University Press.
  • Dragojevic, M., Gasiorek, J., & Vincze, L. (2018). Vitality, language use, and life satisfaction: A study of bilingual Hungarian adolescents living in Romania. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 37(4), 431-450.
  • Dubé-Simard, L. (1983). Genesis of social categorisation, threat to identity and perception of social injustice: Their role in intergroup communication. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 2(2-3-4), 183-205. https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X8300200207
  • Edwards, J. (1992). Sociopolitical aspects of language maintenance and loss: towards a typology of minority language situations. In Willem Fase, Koen Jaspaert, & Sjaak Kroon (Eds.), Maintenance and loss of minority languages, 37-54. John Benjamins Publishing.
  • Ehala, M. (2010). Ethnolinguistic vitality and intergroup processes. Multilingua, 29(2), 203-221. https://doi.org/10.1515/mult.2010.009
  • Ehala, M. & Zabrodskaja, A. (2011). The impact of inter-ethnic discordance on subjective vitality perceptions. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 32(2), 121–136. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2010.541915
  • Emgin, B. (2009). Finiteness and complementation patterns in Pazar Laz [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Boğaziçi University.
  • Gibbons, J., & Ashcroft, L. (1995). Multiculturalism and language shift: A subjective vitality questionnaire study of Sydney Italians. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 16(4), 281–299.
  • Giles, H., Bourhis, R. Y., & Taylor, D. M. (1977). Towards a theory of language in ethnic group relations. In R. Y. Bourhis, S. El-Geledi, & I. Sachdev (Eds.), Language, ethnicity and intergroup relations (pp. 307–348). Academic Press.
  • Giles, H., & Johnson, P. (1987). Ethnolinguistic identity theory: A social psychological approach to language maintenance. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 68, 69–99.
  • Giles, H., Rosenthal, D., & Young, L. (1985). Perceived ethnolinguistic vitality: The Anglo and Greek-Australian setting. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 6(3–4), 253–269.
  • Grenoble, L. A., & Whaley, L. J. (2006). Saving languages: An introduction to language revitalization. Cambridge University Press.
  • Gürpınar, T. (2000). The dialect of Pazar Laz and its case system [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Boğaziçi University.
  • Haarmann, H. (1992). Measures to increase the importance of Russian within and outside the Soviet Union: A case of covert language-spread policy (A historical outline). International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 95, 109–129.
  • Haugen, E. (1972). The ecology of language. In A. S. Dil (Ed.), The ecology of language: Essays by Einar Haugen (pp. 325–339). Stanford University Press.
  • Haznedar, B., & Avcı-Bucaklişi, İ. (2023). The current status of Laz in Turkey. In Z. Ünlü & B. G. Hewitt (Eds.), Lazuri: An endangered language from the Black Sea (pp. 1–32). Vernon Press.
  • İmer, K. (1997). Türkçe–Lazca konuşan ikidillilerde kod değiştirimi. In K. İmer & N. E. Uzun (Eds.), VIII. Uluslararası Türk dilbilimi konferansı bildirileri (pp. 275–283). Ankara Üniversitesi Dil ve Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesi Yayınları.
  • Kutscher, S. (2008). The language of the Laz in Turkey: Contact-induced change or gradual language loss? Turkic Languages, 12, 82–102.
  • Lacroix, R. (2009). Description du dialecte laze d’Arhavi (caucasique du sud, Turquie): Grammaire et textes [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Université Lyon 2.
  • McNamara, T. F. (1987). Language and social identity: Israelis abroad. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 6(3–4), 215–228.
  • Mufwene, S. S. (2017). Language vitality: The weak theoretical underpinnings of what can be an exciting research area. Language, 93(4), 202–223.
  • Phinney, J. S. (1990). Ethnic identity in adolescents and adults: Review of research. Psychological Bulletin, 108(3), 499–514.
  • Sachdev, I., Bourhis, R. Y., Phang, S., & D’Eye, J. (1987). Language attitudes and vitality perceptions: Intergenerational effects among Chinese Canadian communities. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 6(3–4), 287–307.
  • Sitaridou, I. (2013). Greek-speaking enclaves in Pontus today: The documentation and revitalization of Romeyka. In M. C. Jones & S. Ogilvie (Eds.), Keeping languages alive: Language endangerment, documentation, pedagogy and revitalization (pp. 98–112). Cambridge University Press.
  • Uzum, M., Demir, N., & Bagriacik, M. (2023). Recycling a mixed language: Posha in Turkey. Languages, 8(1), Article 52.
  • Vaux, B. (2007). Homshetsma: The language of the Armenians of Hamshen. In H. Simonian (Ed.), The Hemshin: History, society and identity in the highlands of Northeast Turkey (pp. 257–278). Routledge.
  • Weaver, C. M. (2019). A multi-generational acoustic and sociolinguistic study of emphasis in Turoyo [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Chicago.
  • Yağmur, K. (2011). Does ethnolinguistic vitality theory account for the actual vitality of ethnic groups? A critical evaluation. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 32(2), 111–120.
  • Yağmur, K., & Akıncı, M.-A. (2003). Language use, choice, maintenance, and ethnolinguistic vitality of Turkish speakers in France: Intergenerational differences. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 164, 107–128. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijsl.2003.050
  • Yağmur, K., & Ehala, M. (2011). Tradition and innovation in the ethnolinguistic vitality theory. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 32(2), 101–110.
  • Yağmur, K., de Bot, K., & Korzilius, H. (1999). Language attrition, language shift and ethnolinguistic vitality of Turkish in Australia. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 20(1), 51–69.
  • Yağmur, K., & Kroon, S. (2003). Ethnolinguistic vitality perceptions and language revitalisation in Bashkortostan. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 24(4), 319–336.
  • Yağmur, K., & Kroon, S. (2006). Objective and subjective data on Altai and Kazakh ethnolinguistic vitality in the Russian Federation Republic of Altai. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 27(3), 241–258.
  • Yin, R. K. (2014). Case study research: Design and methods. Sage

“Dilimiz yok olmasın. Dilimiz hafızamızdır.”: Lazcanın etnodilbilimsel canlılığı üzerine karma yöntemli bir inceleme

Year 2025, Volume: 36 Issue: 3 - Türkiye'de Tehlikedeki Diller Özel Sayısı (Konuk Editörler: Mehmet Akkuş, Çiğdem Sağın Şimşek) / Special Issue - Endangered Languages in Turkey (Guest Editors: Mehmet Akkuş, Çiğdem Sağın Şimşek), 157 - 188, 27.01.2026

Mehmet Akkuş , Çiğdem Sağın Şimşek , Gülay Akın

https://doi.org/10.18492/dad.1587071

Abstract

Bu çalışma, tehlike altındaki bir Güney Kafkas dili olan Lazcanın çağdaş durumunu ve etnodilbilimsel canlılık kuramı çerçevesi bağlamında bu canlılığı şekillendiren etkenleri incelemektedir. Karma yöntemli bir yaklaşım benimsenerek, Lazca konuşan topluluklarda anketler ve görüşmeler gerçekleştirilmiştir. Anketler (n=259) dil canlılığıyla ilgili unsurları incelerken, görüşmeler (n=5) topluluğun yaşanmış deneyimlerini ve algılarını anlamak için anlatısal veriler sunmuştur. Sosyokültürel ve demografik boyutları kapsayarak bu alandaki önemli bir boşluğu doldurmayı amaçlayan bu çalışma, Lazcanın görünürlüğü üzerinde etkili olan çeşitli unsurları ortaya koymaktadır. Elde edilen bulgular, dilsel, kültürel ve toplumsal dinamiklerin şekillendirdiği farklılıkları gözler önüne sermektedir. Nicel veriler, konuşurların miras dillerine yönelik canlılık algılarında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı ortalama farklılıklar olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Nitel çözümlemeler ise kuşaklar arası gerilimler, toplumsal uyum süreçleri ve dil kullanımı üzerine odaklanarak Lazcanın karşı karşıya olduğu direnç ve zorlukları vurgulamaktadır.

Keywords

Lazca etnodilbilimsel canlılık Türkçe tehlike altındaki diller

Supporting Institution

TÜBİTAK

Project Number

TÜBİTAK 3501 Kariyer Geliştirme Programı kapsamında 221K226 numaralı proje desteği

Thanks

Bu makaleden elde edilen bulgular, TÜBİTAK 3501 Kariyer Geliştirme Programı kapsamında 221K226 numaralı proje desteğiyle gerçekleştirilmiş olan alan araştırmaları sayesinde üretilmiştir. Yürütücüsü olduğum bu proje için TÜBİTAK'a teşekkür ederim.

References

  • Akkuş, M. (2019). A note on language contact: Laz language in Türkiye. International Journal of Bilingualism, 23(4), 856-860. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006917703458 Akkuş, M., & Akkuş, B. (2020). A multilingual “contact” hub in which Altai faces Caucasia in north-eastern Turkey: Laz encounters Turkish in Artvin. In N. Yavuz (Ed.), Artvin araştırmaları 2 (pp. 117–132). Artvin Çoruh University.
  • Akkuş, M., & Sağın Şimşek, Ç. (2022). The zone of ethnolinguistic social networking (ZonES) in Khalaj Turkic: A model for language endangerment. Dilbilim Araştırmaları Dergisi, 33(2), 221-245. https://doi.org/10.18492/dad.1126225
  • Allard, R., & Landry, R. (1986). Subjective ethnolinguistic vitality viewed as a belief system. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 7, 1-12.
  • Bourhis, R. Y. (2017). Bilingual health care in Quebec: Public policy, vitality and acculturation issues. In M. Drolet, P. Bouchard, & J. Savard (Eds.), Accessibility and active offer: Health care and social services in linguistic minority communities (pp. 349–396). University of Ottawa Press.
  • Bourhis, R. Y., Giles, H., & Rosenthal, D. (1981). Notes on the construction of a subjective vitality questionnaire for ethnolinguistic groups. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 2, 145–155.
  • Bourhis, R. Y., & Sachdev, I. (1984). Vitality perceptions and language attitudes: Some Canadian data. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 3(2), 97–127.
  • Bourhis, R. Y., & Landry, R. (2012). Group vitality, cultural autonomy and the wellness of language minorities. In R. Y. Bourhis (Ed.), Decline and prospects of the English-speaking communities of Quebec (pp. 23–69). Canadian Heritage.
  • Bourhis, R. Y., Sachdev, I., Ehala, M., & Giles, H. (2019). Assessing 40 years of group vitality research and future directions. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 38(4), 409–422.
  • Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative research in psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
  • Bromham, L., Dinnage, R., Skirgård, H., Ritchie, A., Cardillo, M., Meakins, F., Greenhill, S., & Hua, X. (2022). Global predictors of language endangerment and the future of linguistic diversity. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 6(2), 163-173.
  • Crystal, D. (2000). Language death. Cambridge University Press.
  • Dragojevic, M., Gasiorek, J., & Vincze, L. (2018). Vitality, language use, and life satisfaction: A study of bilingual Hungarian adolescents living in Romania. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 37(4), 431-450.
  • Dubé-Simard, L. (1983). Genesis of social categorisation, threat to identity and perception of social injustice: Their role in intergroup communication. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 2(2-3-4), 183-205. https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X8300200207
  • Edwards, J. (1992). Sociopolitical aspects of language maintenance and loss: towards a typology of minority language situations. In Willem Fase, Koen Jaspaert, & Sjaak Kroon (Eds.), Maintenance and loss of minority languages, 37-54. John Benjamins Publishing.
  • Ehala, M. (2010). Ethnolinguistic vitality and intergroup processes. Multilingua, 29(2), 203-221. https://doi.org/10.1515/mult.2010.009
  • Ehala, M. & Zabrodskaja, A. (2011). The impact of inter-ethnic discordance on subjective vitality perceptions. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 32(2), 121–136. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2010.541915
  • Emgin, B. (2009). Finiteness and complementation patterns in Pazar Laz [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Boğaziçi University.
  • Gibbons, J., & Ashcroft, L. (1995). Multiculturalism and language shift: A subjective vitality questionnaire study of Sydney Italians. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 16(4), 281–299.
  • Giles, H., Bourhis, R. Y., & Taylor, D. M. (1977). Towards a theory of language in ethnic group relations. In R. Y. Bourhis, S. El-Geledi, & I. Sachdev (Eds.), Language, ethnicity and intergroup relations (pp. 307–348). Academic Press.
  • Giles, H., & Johnson, P. (1987). Ethnolinguistic identity theory: A social psychological approach to language maintenance. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 68, 69–99.
  • Giles, H., Rosenthal, D., & Young, L. (1985). Perceived ethnolinguistic vitality: The Anglo and Greek-Australian setting. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 6(3–4), 253–269.
  • Grenoble, L. A., & Whaley, L. J. (2006). Saving languages: An introduction to language revitalization. Cambridge University Press.
  • Gürpınar, T. (2000). The dialect of Pazar Laz and its case system [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Boğaziçi University.
  • Haarmann, H. (1992). Measures to increase the importance of Russian within and outside the Soviet Union: A case of covert language-spread policy (A historical outline). International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 95, 109–129.
  • Haugen, E. (1972). The ecology of language. In A. S. Dil (Ed.), The ecology of language: Essays by Einar Haugen (pp. 325–339). Stanford University Press.
  • Haznedar, B., & Avcı-Bucaklişi, İ. (2023). The current status of Laz in Turkey. In Z. Ünlü & B. G. Hewitt (Eds.), Lazuri: An endangered language from the Black Sea (pp. 1–32). Vernon Press.
  • İmer, K. (1997). Türkçe–Lazca konuşan ikidillilerde kod değiştirimi. In K. İmer & N. E. Uzun (Eds.), VIII. Uluslararası Türk dilbilimi konferansı bildirileri (pp. 275–283). Ankara Üniversitesi Dil ve Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesi Yayınları.
  • Kutscher, S. (2008). The language of the Laz in Turkey: Contact-induced change or gradual language loss? Turkic Languages, 12, 82–102.
  • Lacroix, R. (2009). Description du dialecte laze d’Arhavi (caucasique du sud, Turquie): Grammaire et textes [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Université Lyon 2.
  • McNamara, T. F. (1987). Language and social identity: Israelis abroad. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 6(3–4), 215–228.
  • Mufwene, S. S. (2017). Language vitality: The weak theoretical underpinnings of what can be an exciting research area. Language, 93(4), 202–223.
  • Phinney, J. S. (1990). Ethnic identity in adolescents and adults: Review of research. Psychological Bulletin, 108(3), 499–514.
  • Sachdev, I., Bourhis, R. Y., Phang, S., & D’Eye, J. (1987). Language attitudes and vitality perceptions: Intergenerational effects among Chinese Canadian communities. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 6(3–4), 287–307.
  • Sitaridou, I. (2013). Greek-speaking enclaves in Pontus today: The documentation and revitalization of Romeyka. In M. C. Jones & S. Ogilvie (Eds.), Keeping languages alive: Language endangerment, documentation, pedagogy and revitalization (pp. 98–112). Cambridge University Press.
  • Uzum, M., Demir, N., & Bagriacik, M. (2023). Recycling a mixed language: Posha in Turkey. Languages, 8(1), Article 52.
  • Vaux, B. (2007). Homshetsma: The language of the Armenians of Hamshen. In H. Simonian (Ed.), The Hemshin: History, society and identity in the highlands of Northeast Turkey (pp. 257–278). Routledge.
  • Weaver, C. M. (2019). A multi-generational acoustic and sociolinguistic study of emphasis in Turoyo [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Chicago.
  • Yağmur, K. (2011). Does ethnolinguistic vitality theory account for the actual vitality of ethnic groups? A critical evaluation. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 32(2), 111–120.
  • Yağmur, K., & Akıncı, M.-A. (2003). Language use, choice, maintenance, and ethnolinguistic vitality of Turkish speakers in France: Intergenerational differences. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 164, 107–128. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijsl.2003.050
  • Yağmur, K., & Ehala, M. (2011). Tradition and innovation in the ethnolinguistic vitality theory. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 32(2), 101–110.
  • Yağmur, K., de Bot, K., & Korzilius, H. (1999). Language attrition, language shift and ethnolinguistic vitality of Turkish in Australia. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 20(1), 51–69.
  • Yağmur, K., & Kroon, S. (2003). Ethnolinguistic vitality perceptions and language revitalisation in Bashkortostan. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 24(4), 319–336.
  • Yağmur, K., & Kroon, S. (2006). Objective and subjective data on Altai and Kazakh ethnolinguistic vitality in the Russian Federation Republic of Altai. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 27(3), 241–258.
  • Yin, R. K. (2014). Case study research: Design and methods. Sage
There are 44 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Language Documentation and Description, Sociolinguistics
Journal Section Research Article
Authors

Mehmet Akkuş 0000-0002-9604-1418

Çiğdem Sağın Şimşek 0000-0002-5234-7546

Gülay Akın 0000-0001-6272-423X

Project Number TÜBİTAK 3501 Kariyer Geliştirme Programı kapsamında 221K226 numaralı proje desteği
Submission Date November 18, 2024
Acceptance Date October 14, 2025
Publication Date January 27, 2026
Published in Issue Year 2025 Volume: 36 Issue: 3 - Türkiye'de Tehlikedeki Diller Özel Sayısı (Konuk Editörler: Mehmet Akkuş, Çiğdem Sağın Şimşek) / Special Issue - Endangered Languages in Turkey (Guest Editors: Mehmet Akkuş, Çiğdem Sağın Şimşek)

Cite

APA Akkuş, M., Sağın Şimşek, Ç., & Akın, G. (2026). “May our language not perish. Our language is our memory.”: A mixed-methods investigation of the ethnolinguistic vitality of Laz. Dilbilim Araştırmaları Dergisi, 36(3 - Türkiye’de Tehlikedeki Diller Özel Sayısı (Konuk Editörler: Mehmet Akkuş, Çiğdem Sağın Şimşek) / Special Issue - Endangered Languages in Turkey (Guest Editors: Mehmet Akkuş, Çiğdem Sağın Şimşek), 157-188. https://doi.org/10.18492/dad.1587071

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Journal DOI: 10.18492/dad