The Zone of Ethnolinguistic Social Networking (ZonES) in Khalaj Turkic: A Model for Language Endangerment

Mehmet Akkuş; Çiğdem Sağın Şimşek

doi:10.18492/dad.1126225

EN TR

The Zone of Ethnolinguistic Social Networking (ZonES) in Khalaj Turkic: A Model for Language Endangerment

Abstract

Social network and ethnolinguistic vitality have been separately studied in various language constellations with different speech communities and participant profiles so far. However, studies focusing on the interplay between social networks and ethnolinguistic vitality are quite scarce, even though the number of endangered languages is increasing in number. Adopting a mixed-hybrid model involving social network theory and ethnolinguistic vitality, this study aims to investigate whether the interplay between language vitality and language use in constructing or maintaining social networks could be observed in Khalaj-Persian by observing 26 multilingual Khalaj-Persian individuals. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews, field work notes, and a language use questionnaire. The effect of generational difference was also manipulated by dividing the participants into three generation groups (older, middle-aged, and younger) based on their ages. The findings revealed that there was an intimate relation between language use in networking and ethnolinguistic vitality for predicting language endangerment with its limitations. The intergenerational analysis showed that the older participants were more inclined to use their heritage language, i.e., Khalaj, with Khalaj-speaking individuals whenever possible, while the younger participants tended to use Persian predominantly in their social networks.

Keywords

Halaççada Etnodilbilimsel Ağ Canlılığı Alanı (ZonES): Bir Dilin Tehlikeye Girmesini Saptamak için Model

Öz

Toplumdilbilim alanında, toplumsal ağ ve etnodilbilimsel canlılık konuları şimdiye kadar farklı konuşma toplulukları ve katılımcı profilleri ile çeşitli dil kümelerinde ayrı ayrı incelenmiştir. Ancak, ilgili alanyazında sosyal ağ ve etnodilbilimsel canlılık arasındaki etkileşimin yok olma tehlikesi altındaki dillere odaklanan çalışmaların sayısı göreceli olarak azdır. Bu çalışma, (toplumsal ağ ve etnodilbilimsel canlılık kuramlarını içeren) karma bir model önermektedir. Bu doğrultuda, bu çalışma toplumsal ağların oluşumu veya sürdürülmesinde dil canlılığı ile dil kullanımı arasındaki etkileşimini odağına alarak, 26 çok dilli Halaçça-Farsça katılımcıyı inceleyerek söz konusu çok dilli ortamda oluşup oluşmadığını incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Çalışmadaki veriler yarı yapılandırılmış görüşmeler, alan araştırması notları ve dil kullanım anketi yoluyla toplanmıştır. Katılımcılar yaşlarına göre üç kuşak grubuna (yaşlı, orta yaşlı ve genç) ayrılmış ve böylece kuşağın etkisinin ortaya çıkartılması hedeflenmiştir. Çalışma verilerinden elde edilen bulgular, toplumsal ağ oluşturma aşamasında dil kullanımı ve toplumsal etkenlerin dilin tehlikeye girmesini öngörmesi açısından etnodilbilimsel canlılık bağlamında yakın bir ilişki olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Kuşaklararası analiz ise, daha yaşlı katılımcıların mümkün olduğunca Halaçça konuşan bireylerle birlikte miras dillerini, yani Halaççayı kullanmaya daha meyilli olduklarına; genç katılımcıların ise sosyal ağlarında ağırlıklı olarak Farsça kullanmaya eğilimli olduklarına işaret etmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Supporting Institution

Destekleyen kurum bulunmamaktadır.

References

Akkuş, M. (2022). Lexical copies in Khalaj: A contribution to the World Loanword Database (WOLD). Turkic Languages, 26, 36–57.
Akkuş, M. & Sağın Şimşek, Ç. (2021, April 29-30). Tehlike altındaki bir dil olarak Lazca konuşurlarının dil tercihleri ve toplumsal ağları arasındaki ilişkinin dilin canlılığı üzerindeki etkileri [Paper presentation]. 34. Ulusal Dilbilim Kurultayı, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey.
Allard, R. & Landry, R. (1992). Ethnolinguistic vitality beliefs and language maintenance and loss. Maintenance and Loss of Minority Languages, 1, 171-195. https://doi.org/10.1075/sibil.1.14all
Blake, R. &. & Josey, M. (2003). The /ay/ diphthong in a Martha’s Vineyard community: What can we say 40 years after Labov? Language in Society, 32, 451-485. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404503324017
Bloomberg, L. D. & Volpe, M. (2019). Completing your qualitative dissertation: a road map from beginning to end. SAGE Publications.
Bosnalı, S. (2016). Değinim durumundaki azınlık dillerinin sürdürümü. Border Crossing, 6(2), 292–304.
Bourhis, R. Y. (1979). Language and ethnic interaction: A social psychological approach. In H. Giles & B. Saint-Jacques (Eds.) Language and ethnic relations (pp. 117-141). Pergamon.
Chambers, J.K. (2013). Patterns of variation including change. In J. K. Chambers & N. Schilling (Eds.) The handbook of language variation and change (pp. 297-324). Blackwell Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118335598.ch14

Clark, V. L. P., Creswell, J. W., Denise, O. G., & Shope, R. J. (2008). Mixing quantitative and qualitative approaches: an introduction to emergent mixed methods research. In S. N. Hesse-Biber & P. Leavy (eds.) Handbook of emergent methods (pp. 363-387). The Guilford Press.
Creswell, J. W. & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design choosing among five approaches. SAGE Publications.
Doerfer, G. (1971). Khalaj materials. Indiana University Press.
Doerfer, G. (1987). Lexik und Sprachgeographie des Chaladsch. 2 Volumes. Harrassowitz.
Doerfer, G. (1988). Grammatik des Chaladsch (Turcologica 4). Harrassowitz.
Eckert, P. (1989). Jocks and burnouts: social categories and identity in the high school. Teachers College Press.
Eckert, P. (2000). Language variation as social practice: The linguistic construction of identity in Belten High. Wiley-Blackwell.
Edwards, V. (1986). Language in a black community. Multilingual Matters.
Edwards, W. F. (1992). Sociolinguistic behavior in a Detroit inner-city black neighborhood. Language in Society, 21(1), 93-115. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404500015050
Ehala, M. (2010). Refining the notion of ethnolinguistic vitality. International Journal of Multilingualism, 7(4), 363-378. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790711003637094
Ehala, M. (2015). Ethnolinguistic vitality. In T. Karen (Ed.) The international encyclopedia of language and social interaction (pp. 1-7) John Wiley & Sons.
Evans, B. (2004). The role of social network in the acquisition of local dialect norms by Appalachian migrants in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Language Variation and Change, 16(2), 153-167. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954394504162042
Ferguson, C. A. (1972). Diglossia. In P. P. Giglioli (Ed.) Language and social context (pp. 232-251). Penguin.
Fishman, J. A., Cooper, R. L., & Ma, R. (1971). Bilingualism in the Barrio. Indian University Press.
Gal, S. (1978). Peasant men can't get wives: Language change and sex roles in a bilingual community. Language in Society, 7(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404500005303
Giles, H., Bourhis, R. Y. & Taylor, D. N. (1977). Towards a theory of language in ethnic group relations. In H. Giles (Ed.) Language, ethnicity and intergroup relations (pp. 307-348). Academic Press.
Hatami Khajeh, B. (2013). İran'da Yaşayan Halaç Türklerinin Sosyo-Kültürel Yapısı. [Unpublished Master’s thesis]. Hacettepe University.
Hulsen, M., Bot, K. de & Weltens, B. (2002). “Between two worlds”. Social networks, language shift, and language processing in three generations of Dutch migrants in New Zealand. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 153, 27-52. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijsl.2002.004
Johanson, L. (2021). Turkic. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781139016704
Landry, R. & Allard, R. (1994). Diglossia, ethnolinguistic vitality, and language behavior. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 108, 15-42. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijsl.1994.108.15
Li Wei (1995). Variations in patterns of language choice and codeswitching by three groups of Chinese/English speakers in Newcastle upon Tyne. Multilingua 14(3), 297-323. https://doi.org/10.1515/mult.1995.14.3.297
Matsumoto, Kazuko 2010 The role of social networks in the post-colonial multilingual island of Palau: Mechanisms of language maintenance and shift. Multilingua, 29(2). 133−165.
Middle age (2022, September 5). In Merriam-Webster’s dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/medium%20age
Milroy, L. & Llamas, C. (2013). Social networks. In J.K. Chambers & N. Schilling (Eds.) The handbook of language variation and change (pp. 409-427). Blackwell Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118335598.ch19
Milroy, J. & Milroy, L. (1978). Belfast: Change and variation in an urban vernacular. In P. Trudgill (Ed.) Sociolinguistic patterns in British English (pp. 19-36). Arnold.
Milroy, L. & Wei, L. (1995). A social network approach to code-switching. In L. Milroy & P. Muysken (Eds.) One speaker, Two languages (pp. 136-157). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511620867.007
Polinsky, M. (2018). Heritage languages and their speakers. Cambridge University Press.
Rahimi, M. (2020). Dil canlılığı bağlamında Halaç Türklerinin durumu. Modern Türklük Araştırmaları Dergisi, 17, 131-145.
Raschka, C., Li W. & Lee, S. (2002). Bilingual development and social networks of British-born Chinese children. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 153, 9-25. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijsl.2002.007
Russell, J. (1982). Networks and sociolinguistic variation in an African urban setting. In S. Romaine (Ed.) Sociolinguistic variation in speech communities (pp. 125-140). Arnold.
Sachdev, I., Bourhis, R. Y., Phang, S., & D’Eye, J. (1987). Language attitudes and vitality perceptions: Intergenerational effects amongst Chinese Canadian communities. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 6, 287-307. https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X8763009
Sallabank, J. (2010). The role of social networks in endangered language maintenance and revitalization: The case of Guernesiais in the Channel Islands. Anthropological Linguistics, 52(2), 184-205.
Schmidt, A. (1985). Young people’s Dyirbal. Cambridge University Press.
Stoessel, S. (2002). Investigating the role of social networks in language maintenance and shift. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 153, 93-131. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijsl.2002.006
Tribur, Z. (2017). Social network structure and language change in Amdo Tibetan. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 245, 169−206.
UN [United Nations Population Division] (2022, September 5). Personal correspondence with Marybeth Weinberger, Chief, Population and Development Section, January 2001. https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/events/expert-group/1/index.asp
Velázquez, Isabel 2013 Mother’s social network and family language maintenance. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 34(2). 189−202.
Yagmur, K. (1997). First language attrition among Turkish speakers in Sydney. Tilburg University Press.
Yagmur, K. (2009). Language use and ethnolinguistic vitality of Turkish compared with the Dutch in The Netherlands. Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development, 30(3), 219-233. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434630802369445
Yagmur, K. & Akinci, 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
Yagmur, K., Bot, K. de, Korzilius, H. (1999). Language attrition, language shift and ethnolinguistic vitality of Turkish in Australia. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 20(1), 51-69. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434639908666369
Yagmur, K. & Kroon, S. (2003). Ethnolinguistic vitality perceptions and language revitalisation in Bashkortostan. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 24(4), 319-336. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434630308666504
Yagmur, 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. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434630608668778
Yağmur, K., & Bayram Jacobs, D. (2015). Language maintenance and shift patterns of the Turkish speakers in the Netherlands. bilig Journal of Social Sciences of the Turkish World, 74, 261-286.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Linguistics

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Mehmet Akkuş ^*
0000-0002-9604-1418
Türkiye

Çiğdem Sağın Şimşek
0000-0002-5234-7546
Türkiye

Publication Date

December 31, 2022

Submission Date

June 5, 2022

Acceptance Date

December 17, 2022

Published in Issue

Year 2022 Volume: 33 Number: 2

DOI

https://doi.org/10.18492/dad.1126225

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA73RP34TN

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

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

Cited By

Romeykanın Etnodilbilimsel Canlılık Kuramı Çerçevesinde İncelenmesi

Ankara Üniversitesi Dil ve Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesi Dergisi

https://doi.org/10.33171/dtcfjournal.2024.64.2.30

"Charming yet challenging": Exploring ethnolinguistic identity perceptions of Khalajs through positioning theory

Dil Araştırmaları

https://doi.org/10.54316/dilarastirmalari.1549075

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

Dilbilim Araştırmaları Dergisi

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