MASTER THESIS Language maintenance and shift of two Armenian communities in Athens and Istanbul: A comparative study BACKGROUND INFORMATION Details of student: Name: TalinKiroumpian ANR: 682197 Name of the Supervisor(s): Name supervisor 1: Prof. Dr. K. Yagmur Name supervisor 2: Dr. V. Draulans Name of MTO supervisor: Dr. H.G. Siebers Title of the Circle: Language Maintenance Shift Word count: 21.000 approx. 1 Abstract In this study I intended to investigate language maintenance and shift patterns of Armenians living in two different cultural contexts: Athens and Istanbul. Given the large socio-historical and cultural differences regarding Armenian communities in the two cities, exploring language use, choice, preference and dominance of Armenian will be interesting. Due to the cultural and religious differences between Armenians and the two other communities (i.e., Greeks and Turks), I assume Armenians’ identity perception in the two contexts would be different. This study has a comparative study design in order to highlight the differences in the language use patterns between those respective communities. First, the differences will be explored through a survey aiming at both students who are over fourteen years old, parents and members of the Armenian community. In addition, interviews will be used to gain a deeper insight and understanding of identity issues. The focus is on language maintenance efforts of Armenian people who had a long history of struggle with issues of bilingualism and language shift. Diglossia is a term used to define the involvement of a community with two languages (Ferguson, 1959; Fishman, 1972, 1980). Fishman (1972, 1980) defines diglossia as the existence of two languages side by side within a geographical area. Fishman and Garc a (2010) claim that language is a group’s symbol of identity and a cement of basic social, emotional and spiritual principles of a community that are transmitted from generation to generation. The continuity and maintenance or shift in language use is greatly dependent on these issues. In this research is important to include the notion of ethnic identity as a major factor of influence regarding issues of language choice and language use patterns. There is a little research that had been conducted in Armenian communities of Athens and Istanbul. Embedded in this research the notion of ethnic identity is highlighted, the language maintenance and shift issues are discussed and the coexistence of the two languages influenced by historical perspectives is analyzed. Due to the little research that has been conducted concerning issues of language maintenance and shift, this research aims to contribute to the field of linguistics and especially to issues of language maintenance and shift with 199 questionnaires and 16 interviews that have been selected and conducted in a period of almost two months regarding the Armenian language in two different cultural contexts of Athens and Istanbul. Key words: language maintenance and shift, ethnic and cultural identity, ethnolinguistic vitality, social networks, Armenian, Armenian schools in Athens, Armenian schools in Istanbul, Armenian cultural institutions in Athens, Armenian cultural institutions in Istanbul. 2 Contents Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................... 5 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................... 6 1.1. Overview ............................................................................................................ 6 1.2. General Profile of the thesis ............................................................................... 6 1.3. The target group .................................................................................................. 7 1.4. Overview of the thesis ......................................................................................... 8 2. The Armenian Community in Athens and in Istanbul ........................................ 9 3. Theoretical Background ....................................................................................... 11 4. Research Methodology .......................................................................................... 18 4.1. Research Question ......................................................................................... 18 4.2. Research Design ............................................................................................ 19 4.3. Data Collection .............................................................................................. 20 4.4. Data Analysis ................................................................................................ 20 4.5. Survey Instrument ......................................................................................... 22 4.6. Interviewees Profile ....................................................................................... 24 4.7. Sample Strategy ............................................................................................. 25 4.8. Research Quality Indicators........................................................................... 26 5. Results ..................................................................................................................... 28 5.1. Background Information................................................................................ 28 5.2. Ethnic Identification ...................................................................................... 30 5.3. Cultural Identity............................................................................................. 32 5.4. Cultural norms and values ............................................................................ 33 5.5. Social Network .............................................................................................. 34 5.6. Ethnolinguistic Vitality ................................................................................. 34 5.7. Language choice, use and preference ........................................................... 35 5.8. Demographic Status....................................................................................... 38 3 5.9. Education ....................................................................................................... 39 5.10. Media ........................................................................................................... 43 5.11. Religious Matters and Marriage patterns ................................................... 45 5.12. Cultural Organizations and activities .......................................................... 47 5.13. Discussion.................................................................................................. ..50 6. Conclusions and Discussion .................................................................................. 54 6.1. Identity ........................................................................................................... 54 6.2. Social Networking ......................................................................................... 55 6.3. Religious matters and marriage patterns ....................................................... 56 6.4. Ethnolinguistic Vitality ................................................................................. 57 6.5. Language use, choice and preference patterns .............................................. 58 Some Final Remarks .................................................................................................... 59 Limitations .................................................................................................................. 60 References ................................................................................................................... 62 4 Acknowledgements My research project has been possible with the help and support of numerous people, some of whom I would like to mention here. First and foremost, I offer my utmost gratitude to my supervisor Prof. Dr. Kutlay Yagmur, who read numerous versions and revisions of this research and guided me in the right direction. Without his patience, valuable advice, support and deep knowledge this research would have been impossible. From the very early stages of this research until the very end, his extraordinary experiences and thoughts combined with his unflinching encouragement and his friendly approach made this research project possible. I gratefully acknowledge my second reader Dr. Verlee Draulans for her valuable advice, active interest and crucial contribution to this thesis. I am deeply grateful to my contact person in Istanbul Ms. Quin Minassian whose valuable personal contacts gave me the opportunity and the pleasure to meet and interact with a bunch of beautiful people who made my stay in Istanbul extraordinary. In addition, I would like to acknowledge and express my deep gratitude to my second contact person in Istanbul Mr. Arsen Arsek who became the link between me and the Armenian schools in Istanbul. Without him my observations in the Armenians schools, the students’ participation and finally the interviews with the respectful directors, head of schools would simply be impossible. Moreover, I would like to thank Ms. Frago Karaoglan for her great hospitality. She kindly offered me her beautiful house, her office facilities and the most important her delicious Turkish-Greek mixed dishes. She made my stay in Istanbul