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Between Language and Identity: Discursive Constructions of Intergenerational Transmission among Urban Circassians in Türkiye

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Title: Between Language and Identity: Discursive Constructions of Intergenerational Transmission among Urban Circassians in Türkiye
Language: English
Authors: Yasemin Oral-Saribaş (ORCID 0009-0006-0329-7868), Murat Topçu (ORCID 0000-0002-7819-3610)
Source: Multilingua: Journal of Cross-Cultural and Interlanguage Communication. 2026 45(4):437-463.
Availability: De Gruyter Mouton. Available from: Walter de Gruyter, Inc. 121 High Street, Third Floor, Boston, MA 02110. Tel: 857-284-7073; Fax: 857-284-7358; e-mail: service@degruyter.com; Web site: http://www.degruyter.com
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 27
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Languages, Urban Areas, Language Role, Cultural Influences, Language Maintenance, Language Minorities, Public Policy, Indigenous Populations, Adults, Language Attitudes
Geographic Terms: Turkey (Ankara), Turkey (Istanbul)
DOI: 10.1515/multi-2025-0203
ISSN: 0167-8507
1613-3684
Abstract: This study explores how intergenerational transmission of Circassian is discursively constructed and negotiated among urban Circassians in Türkiye. Drawing on group-based interviews with twelve adults in İstanbul and Ankara, it shows how participants mobilize spatial imaginaries as discursive resources through which transmission is retrospectively organized and evaluated. Rather than treating transmission as a purely ecological or structural process, the analysis highlights its ideologically mediated nature. Participants move between three intersecting explanatory layers: ecological alignment, evaluative benchmarks of competence, and structural dynamics. Village life is remembered as enabling natural immersion and representing an idealized model of transmission, whereas urban settings are framed as fragmented and discontinuous. At the same time, transmission is assessed against an imagined ideal of full, fluent speakerhood, rendering partial and receptive competences insufficient. This evaluative regime narrows the boundaries of linguistic legitimacy even as cultural identification remains intact, producing an ambivalent configuration in which identity is partially decoupled from language. The findings suggest that sustaining minority languages in urban contexts depends not only on exposure or institutional provision, but also on rethinking the norms through which competence and transmission are defined and recognized.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 20260101
Accession Number: EJ1513371
Database: ERIC
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  Data: Between Language and Identity: Discursive Constructions of Intergenerational Transmission among Urban Circassians in Türkiye
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  Data: English
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Yasemin+Oral-Saribaş%22">Yasemin Oral-Saribaş</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0009-0006-0329-7868">0009-0006-0329-7868</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Murat+Topçu%22">Murat Topçu</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7819-3610">0000-0002-7819-3610</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Multilingua%3A+Journal+of+Cross-Cultural+and+Interlanguage+Communication%22"><i>Multilingua: Journal of Cross-Cultural and Interlanguage Communication</i></searchLink>. 2026 45(4):437-463.
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  Data: De Gruyter Mouton. Available from: Walter de Gruyter, Inc. 121 High Street, Third Floor, Boston, MA 02110. Tel: 857-284-7073; Fax: 857-284-7358; e-mail: service@degruyter.com; Web site: http://www.degruyter.com
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  Data: Y
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  Data: 27
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  Data: 2026
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  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Languages%22">Languages</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Urban+Areas%22">Urban Areas</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+Role%22">Language Role</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cultural+Influences%22">Cultural Influences</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+Maintenance%22">Language Maintenance</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+Minorities%22">Language Minorities</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Public+Policy%22">Public Policy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Indigenous+Populations%22">Indigenous Populations</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Adults%22">Adults</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+Attitudes%22">Language Attitudes</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Geographic Terms
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Turkey+%28Ankara%29%22">Turkey (Ankara)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Turkey+%28Istanbul%29%22">Turkey (Istanbul)</searchLink>
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  Data: 10.1515/multi-2025-0203
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
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  Data: 0167-8507<br />1613-3684
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: This study explores how intergenerational transmission of Circassian is discursively constructed and negotiated among urban Circassians in Türkiye. Drawing on group-based interviews with twelve adults in İstanbul and Ankara, it shows how participants mobilize spatial imaginaries as discursive resources through which transmission is retrospectively organized and evaluated. Rather than treating transmission as a purely ecological or structural process, the analysis highlights its ideologically mediated nature. Participants move between three intersecting explanatory layers: ecological alignment, evaluative benchmarks of competence, and structural dynamics. Village life is remembered as enabling natural immersion and representing an idealized model of transmission, whereas urban settings are framed as fragmented and discontinuous. At the same time, transmission is assessed against an imagined ideal of full, fluent speakerhood, rendering partial and receptive competences insufficient. This evaluative regime narrows the boundaries of linguistic legitimacy even as cultural identification remains intact, producing an ambivalent configuration in which identity is partially decoupled from language. The findings suggest that sustaining minority languages in urban contexts depends not only on exposure or institutional provision, but also on rethinking the norms through which competence and transmission are defined and recognized.
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        Value: 10.1515/multi-2025-0203
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
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        PageCount: 27
        StartPage: 437
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Languages
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      – SubjectFull: Urban Areas
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      – SubjectFull: Language Role
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      – SubjectFull: Cultural Influences
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      – SubjectFull: Language Maintenance
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      – SubjectFull: Language Minorities
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      – SubjectFull: Public Policy
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      – SubjectFull: Indigenous Populations
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      – SubjectFull: Adults
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      – SubjectFull: Language Attitudes
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      – SubjectFull: Turkey (Ankara)
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      – SubjectFull: Turkey (Istanbul)
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      – TitleFull: Between Language and Identity: Discursive Constructions of Intergenerational Transmission among Urban Circassians in Türkiye
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            NameFull: Murat Topçu
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