A MULTIFACTORIAL SOCIOLINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF BUSINESS NAMING PRACTICES IN TURKEY A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY ALİ FUAD SELVİ IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING JULY 2007 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Sencer Ayata Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts. Prof. Dr. Wolf Konig Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts. Doç. Dr. Joshua M. Bear Supervisor Examining Committee Members Doç Dr. Joshua M. Bear (METU, FLE) Dr. İsmet Babaoğlu (Doğuş Univ.) Dr. Hasan İnal (Ankara Univ.) iii I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last Name : Ali Fuad Selvi Signature : iv ABSTRACT A MULTIFACTORIAL SOCIOLINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF BUSINESS NAMING PRACTICES IN TURKEY Selvi, Ali Fuad M.A., Program in English Language Teaching Supervisor : Assoc. Prof. Dr. Joshua M. Bear July 2007, 169 pages The growing world supremacy of English and its relentless spread across the globe is both widely criticized for becoming a ‘threat’ and causing socio-cultural destruction in the form of linguistic imperialism and appreciated for being a ‘basic survival skill’ and a global commodity to which every individual adds a distinct flavor and which has crucial pragmatic and instrumental functions, benefits and prestige for its users. Acknowledging the current global role and status of English in mind, this thesis investigates the causes and consequences of English language use in business naming practices in shop names in Turkish business discourse. As a result of the study, it was concluded that foreign influence in shop names in Turkish discourse might be grouped under three major categories: (a) foreign signs (both English and non-English signs), (b) hybrid signs (Turkish-English, English-Turkish), and (c) Englishized Turkish signs (names using of Turkish words spelled according to English orthographical conventions to looks like English and sound like Turkish). Research results indicated that business naming practices are manifestations of English language dominance in Turkey. Foreignization of shop names in Turkish is spearheaded by English. Nevertheless, foreign words in business names include those from languages other than English. The undisputed dominance of English in business discourse is not limited to business names but includes window displays, signs on the window or door of commercial entities, exterior signs for public entities such as billboards, as well as advertising posters. While certain sectors such as personal care, restaurants and cafes, stores selling v information system goods are more susceptible to English language use, others such as durable consumer goods, pharmacies, auto galleries, gas stations, car repairers, driving schools, bookstores, and publishing houses almost have no place for the English language occurrences. Keywords: Sociolinguistics, Naming, Branding, Foreign Branding, English in Turkey ÖZ vi TÜRKİYE’DEKİ İŞYERİ İSİMLERİNİN TOPLUMDİLBİLİMSEL AÇIDAN ÇOK ETKENLİ ANALİZİ Selvi, Ali Fuad Yüksek Lisans, İngiliz Dili Öğretimi Tez Yöneticisi: Doç. Dr. Joshua M. Bear Temmuz 2007, 157 sayfa İngilizce’nin günümüzdeki küresel ölçekteki yükselişi, rolü ve önemi gerek sosyokültürel tahribata yol açtığı düşüncesiyle dil emperyalizminin kaynağı şeklinde bir tehdit olarak algılanmakta, aynı zamanda kullanıcılarına çeşitli katkılar sağlayan, pragmatik ve işlevsel gereklilik arz eden ve daha da önemlisi temel yaşam gereksinimi olarak değerlendirilen, başlı başına bir prestij unsuru olarak değerlendirlmektedir. İngilizce’nin küresel anlamdaki rolü de dikkate alınarak yapılan bu çalışma Türk ticaret hayatının bir parçası olan iş yeri isimlerinde kullanılan başta İngilizce olmak üzere yabancı isimlerin sebeplerini ve sonuçlarını inclemektedir. Yapılan araştırma neticesinde, Türk ticari hayatında kullanılan iş yeri isimlerinin 3 ana başlık altında sıralanabilieceği gözlemlenmiştir: (a) yabancı isimler (İngilizce veya yabancı iş yeri isimleri), (b) melez isimler (Türkçe-İngilizce veya İngilizce- Türkçe isimler) ve (c) İngilezceleşmiş Türkçe isimler (Türkçe isimlerin İngilizce yazım kurallarına uygun biçimde yazılarak elde edilen hem Türkçe hem İngilizce isimler). Araştırma sonuçları göstermiştir ki, iş yeri isim uygulamaları İngilizce’nin Türkiye’de olan etkisinin belirgin bir göstergesidir. Ticari alanda kullanılan Türkçe isimleri yabancılaşması İngilizce öncülüğünde olmaktadır. Yine de iş yeri isimlerinde kullanılan yabancı isimler İngilizce dışında yabancı dillerden de örnekler içermektedir. İngilizce’nin ticari alanda gözlemlenen önlenemez etkisi sadece iş yeri isimleri ile sınırlı olmayıp iş yeri girişinde ve camlarında bulunan levhalar ve reklam panolarını da içermektedir.Bu çalışma ortaya koymuştur ki, İngilizce’nin ticari alandaki etkisi her sektörde aynı oranda değildir. Lokantalar, vii kafeler, bilgisayar mağazaları, kuaför ve güzellik salonları gibi iş yerleri İngilizce isim kullanmaya nispeten daha meyilli iken, dayanaklı tüketim malları, eczaneler, otomobil galerileri, tamirciler, kitapçılar ve yayınevleri İngilizce isim kullanma konusunda daha muhafazakardır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Toplumdilbilim, isim verme, marka, yabancı marka, Türkiye’de İngilizce. viii To My Parents, Eda and Sabri Selvi Who Always Kept Their Belief in Me and Done More Than I Deserve… ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all the people without whose constant support and help this study would never have been accomplished. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my thesis supervisor, advisor, mentor, Assoc. Prof. Joshua M. Bear, for his great inspiration, detailed supervision, infinite patience, and invaluable contributions. I am sincerely grateful to him for his enthusiasm about the work. I would like to make use of this opportunity to mention that he has worked with me in close collaboration, presented substantial feedback throughout the study. I wish to state that any remaining faults are mine. Besides, I would like to extend my gratitude to my thesis committee members Dr. İsmet Babaoğlu for his kindness, great efforts, and detailed comments, and Dr. Hasan İnal for his helpful suggestions and hospitality. My wholehearted appreciation goes to my wife, Bengü who kept her confidence in my ability, never lost her patience and always supported me at difficult times. I am particularly grateful for her unconditional love and never-ending support. I feel the necessity to mention two important names for their constant support: Babürhan Üzüm and Bedrettin Yazan. I am deeply grateful to Babürhan for his guidance, suggestions, assistance in data collection and insight throughout the research. I am particularly thankful to Bedrettin for his moral support and revising the earlier versions of the study. Moreover, the overall assistance that Deniz Şallı-Çopur provided in research design is gratefully acknoweldged. Finally, my family deserves a word of appreciation. I am deeply grateful to my mother Eda Selvi and my father Sabri Selvi for encouragement and support they provided. They not only never lost confidence in me but also sincerely supported me in any moment of my life. I am thankful to my sister Elif for her understanding and moral support, and my brother Selim for his presence and assistance in overcoming technical details. x TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM............................................................................................III ABSTRACT...............................................................................................IV ÖZ........................................................................................................VII DEDICATION.........................................................................................VIII ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..............................................................................IX TABLE OF CONTENTS................................................................................XI LIST OF TABLES.....................................................................................XVI LIST OF FIGURES……………………................................................................XVII CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................1 1.0 Presentation....................................................................................1 1.1 Background to the Study...................................................................1 1.1.1 English in the World....................................................................3 a. English in the field of Education: Global Business of ELT................10 b. English in Academia.................................................................11 c. English in Academic Publishing...................................................15 1.1.2 The Dark Side of the Moon.........................................................16 a. Colonial Background of English: Expansion on Horse.....................17 b. Spread of English in the Age of