Abstract
BILINGUALISM, LANGUAGE CHOICE, AND LANGUAGE LOYALTY IN AHISKA TURKS IN KYRGYZSTAN IN TERMS OF THE GENERATION VARIABLE
Maintaining language in language communities surrounded by the predominant language and culture requires a joint effort. This effort in maintaining and using language is defined within language loyalty. Ahiska Turks in Kyrgyzstan has shown a great determination in maintaining Turkish and Turkish identity even after 75 years of their forced exile. In this study, Turkish language loyalty in Ahiska Turks living in Kyrgyzstan was analyzed in terms of the generation variable. This study, based on descriptive survey model, was conducted with 131 Ahiska Turks living in Bishkek and surrounding areas. Data were collected using the language biography questionnaire and Turkish language loyalty scale. Data demonstrate that Turkish proficiency and Turkish usage is higher in participants of 30-60 age group than in participants on 10-29 age group. In addition, although there has not been any statistically significant difference, it is observed that the 30-60 age group has higher Turkish language loyalty scores. Although participants in the 10-29 age group have a positive attitude towards the maintaining and using Turkish, this cannot be put into practice. All these results confirm the three-generation model.
Keywords
Bilingualism, language loyalty, language maintenance, intergenerational differences, Ahiska Turks.