Project Title:

Ethnolinguistic Vitality of Khorasani Turkic

Funding Organization(s):

YTB – Humanities and Social Development Research Support Program (BESKAP)

Project Team:

Dr. Bilgit SAĞLAM (F.Ü. – Coordinator); Dr. Fatih ÖZEK (F.Ü. – Researcher)

Doç. Dr. Mehmet AKKUŞ (Artvin Çoruh Üniversitesi - Researcher)

Dr. Mehdi REZAEI (Allameh Tabataba’i University – Researcher)

Start–End Date:

01.08.2025-ongoing

Project Summary:

This project aims to investigate the perceptions of ethnolinguistic vitality (EV) among speakers of Khorasani Turkish in Iran, who live under the sociolinguistic dominance of Persian, through both quantitative and qualitative methods. Framed within Giles, Bourhis, and Taylor’s (1977) ethnolinguistic vitality theory, the study explores the extent to which Khorasani Turkish speakers perceive their language as vital, how these perceptions relate to the dominant position of Persian, and their perspectives on the future of their language. The fieldwork is designed to cover four dialect regions (Joveyn, Servilayat, Kalat, Bojnurd) and aims to collect data from 200 survey participants and conduct 8 in-depth interviews. Data will be gathered using the Subjective Ethnolinguistic Vitality Questionnaire (Bourhis, Giles & Rosenthal, 1981) alongside complementary demographic and language history forms. Quantitative data will be analyzed with SPSS 22.0, employing Independent Samples t-test, ANOVA, Mann Whitney U, and Kruskal Wallis H tests. The findings will be evaluated in terms of the sustainability of Khorasani Turkish, identity empowerment, and contributions to language policy.

Project Title:

Ethnolinguistic Vitality of Kazakh Spoken in Mongolia

Funding Organization(s):

YÖK Research University Support Program

Project Team:

Dr. Fatih ÖZEK (Fırat University – Principal Investigator); Dr. Bilgit SAĞLAM (Fırat University – Researcher); Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mehmet AKKUŞ (Artvin Çoruh University – Researcher)

Start–End Date:

01.02.2025-ongoing

Project Summary:

This project aims to examine the perceptions of ethnolinguistic vitality (EV) among speakers of Kazakh Turkish living in the Bayan-Ölgii region of western Mongolia through quantitative methods. The theoretical framework is based on the ethnolinguistic vitality theory developed by Giles, Bourhis, and Taylor (1977). The study employs the Subjective Ethnolinguistic Vitality Questionnaire developed by Bourhis, Giles, and Rosenthal (1981), which will be administered to approximately 250 participants. In addition, the research will analyze participants’ language preferences, intergenerational differences, and the sociolinguistic visibility of Kazakh Turkish in the context of Mongolian dominance. Data will be analyzed using SPSS 22.0, applying Independent Samples t-test, ANOVA, Mann Whitney U, and Kruskal Wallis H tests. The project hypothesizes that Kazakh Turkish speakers will perceive their own language as having low vitality, while viewing Mongolian as having high vitality. The findings are expected to contribute both to the theoretical literature and to language policies aimed at protecting minority languages in Mongolia.

Project Title:

Mutual Intelligibility of Closely Related Local Languages in Elazığ

Funded by

TÜBİTAK (1001 – Scientific and Technological Research Projects Support Program)

Project Team

Prof. Dr. Fatih ÖZEK (F.U.-Coordinator), Prof. Dr. Charlotte GOOSKENS (University of Groningen-Researcher), Arş. Gör. Dr. Bilgit SAĞLAM (F.U.-Researcher)

Project Duration:

15.09.2018-14.09.2021

Summary:

The project examined the mutual intelligibility (MI) rates among local languages spoken in Elazığ using experimental methods. Within the scope of the project, the MI rates between Kurdish and Zazaki variants were measured by assessing the extent to which native speakers could understand the variants used in TRT6 broadcasts and textbooks prepared by the Ministry of National Education (MEB) in these languages.

A mixed-methods design was employed in the research, and data were collected using tools such as the Recorded Text Test (RTT), cloze test, perceived distance test, and attitude test. The collected data were analyzed using the Levenshtein distance scale, cluster analysis, and multidimensional scaling methods. The findings of the study were shared with TRT6 and MEB.