A case study of five bilingual individuals

Abstract

This study attempted to investigate the language use and cultural identity of bilingual second-generation re-migrated Turks. The research questions addressed how these individuals use both languages, how important both languages are for their social/cultural identity, and how they manage their dual cultural/ethnic identities in a monolingual/monocultural society such as Turkey. Five people participated in this study, all of whom spent at least 13 years in Germany, four of whom were born in Germany, and four of whom returned to Turkey between the ages 12-17. Participants were selected based on their self-assessment as bilingual. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, observations, and questionnaires, in order to be able to triangulate the data. In the interviews, data were obtained about the participants' general background, experiences, attitudes, opinions, language use, and cultural identity issues. The purpose of the observations was to obtain data about participants' language use, specifically code-switching in a variety of settings. The questionnaire assessed the subjects' degree of acculturation towards both Turkish and German cultures, in terms of their language use, social contact, behaviour, values, attitudes, and ethnic self-identification. Results of the study indicate several general themes regarding language use, cultural identity, and the relationship between language and culture across the five subjects. All five participants considered themselves bicultural and bilingual. Although German was their dominant language in their early years, they now consider the Turkish language as more useful in Turkey, as it is an essential tool for communication. However, among their Turkish friends from Germany they continue using the German language, so they will not forget it. If they forget the German language, they are concerned they will lose a part of their identity. There are also many ways in which these individuals still identify with the German culture, particularly their attitudes and values. However, they have also become more or less adjusted to living in Turkey, and do not feel they would fit in or feel comfortable living in Germany any more. All of them had great difficulty adjusting to life in Turkey when they first came. The Turkish language was a major problem for them, as well as the educational system, the lifestyle, the mentality of the people, and the nature of friendships. Regarding ethnic self-identification, one male and two female participants identified themselves as Turkish. The other two males identified themselves as Turkish-German and German-Turkish. All of them stated that a bilingual person is also bicultural, as the language reflects automatically the culture. Even though they feel themselves comfortable in the German language and can express themselves better in it than the Turkish language, they reported that they are equally comfortable with both languages and cultures.