Research on T ürkendeutsch

Harold Schiffman hfsclpp at gmail.com
Sun Jun 8 13:19:49 UTC 2008 

Research Proposal<http://rachelschlechty.blogspot.com/2008/06/research-proposal.html>

*Research Question: *

The question that I will be attempting to address is two fold; what has been
the overall linguistic effect of the mass migration of Turks to Berlin, with
respect to Türkendeutsch, and how do both the Turkish and the Germans view
this change?

This question relates to our larger group topic of immigration by addressing
the varied perceptions and views of integration through one of its most
pivotal components, language.

*Research Methods:*

An essential part of my research will be developing an understanding of
official European Union and German policy related to linguistic integration.
The need to understand these laws and regulations is of the utmost
importance because I will be asking people how these policies have affected
them and what they think about them. If I wish to question people about
these policies, I have to know what they are and be able to explain them if
need be. I intend to acquire the needed knowledge for this aspect of the
project before leaving for Berlin. This includes reading both the European
Union policy on minority language and linguistic integrations, as well as
reading published laws and articles produced within Germany.

In terms of determining the linguistic effects of the Turks in Berlin, I
intend to undertake two courses of study. I hope to contact the department
of linguistics at the Berlin universities and see if any faculty members are
examining Türkendeutsch. There is also a professor at the Universität
Hannover who I know is working on such a project, but I would prefer working
with someone in Berlin, rather than communicating through e-mails or the
phone. Through this contact, I hope to be referred to academic articles and
other resources that detail the linguistic interaction taking place in
Berlin. The second aspect of answering this question is observation. My
observations will be done in two main ways: interviews, which I will explain
later and direct observation. Direct observation for me will entail spending
a significant amount of time in areas of high migrant population including
Kreuzberg and Prinzlauerberg. I have seen several academic and news articles
about Türkendeutsch and I would like to experience it first hand. Because I
have an advanced understanding of German, I hope to be able to both listen
for anomalies in people's speech and have some conversations with Turkish
Berliners.

In terms of surveys, I plan to develop two surveys in order to discover the
different perceptions of the linguistic change occurring in Berlin. Both
surveys will be oral with an oral consent script explaining who I am, the
goals of my project, and that no names are being recorded. One survey will
be directed towards Turks addressing their use of multiple languages, their
feelings on official policy and their opinion of German. I have begun to
compile a list of possible questions for this survey in both English and
German. (Please see attached.) The second survey will be used to obtain the
German perspective on linguistic integration, focusing specifically on the
changing qualities of German. As of now, I have been unable to develop
questions for this survey, but I intend to have an outline of my intended
interviews before leaving for Germany.

In terms of gathering opinions on linguistic integration, the age of my
subjects will differ tremendously in order to look for a pattern, but I do
not intent to survey individuals under the age of 18. Based on what I've
encountered so far, these surveys should reveal, that young people are the
most willing to integrate speaking multiple languages or showing an obvious
preference for German over Turkish. I intent to recruit my subjects mostly
through social groups, community organizations, and face-to-face encounters
at local hang out spots. I hope that visits to the Turkish markets and
Marzahn will give me a good perspective on the possible groups of subjects
that I could interview.

The final avenue I would like to pursue is doing a case study. I feel that
having some sort of extended interaction with a multi-generation migrant
family would provide our group with a better understanding of the impact of
integration and immigration policies. Our group has found a few
organizations in Berlin that may be able to facilitate a case study for us,
as both approaching individuals and explaining our project may be a daunting
task. I hope to ask our German contact at Humbolt how to approach this task.
Ideally we would be able to spend extensive amounts of time with one family
so that they would feel comfortable openly expressing their feelings with
us. This could include having dinner with the family, spending some time at
their home, or any other activities they would feel comfortable with. I
intend to ask our case study family, should we be successful in finding one,
questions similar to those that I have created for my interviews and
surveys.


Fragen für das Gespräch mit einem Türken

   - Seit wann sind Sie in Deutschland?
   - Welche Generation Migrant(in) sind Sie?
   - Welche Generation Migrant(in) sind Sie?
   - Wie fühlen Sie sich auf Deutsch?
   - Ist es ihnen lieber, ihre Muttersprache zu benutzen oder Deutsch?
   - Gibt es Situationen in denen Sie nur ihre Muttersprache betnutzen
   können oder wollen? Ist das auch so für Deutsch?
   - Wie haben Sie Deutsch gelernt? War es schwierig? Haben Sie das gerne
   gemacht? Ist es ihnen wichtig, gut Deutsch zu können? Glauben Sie, dass
   andere Leute auch ihrer Meinung sind?
   - Ist es Ihnen wichtig, dass ihre Kinder ihre Muttersprache lernen?
   - Was denken Sie über die Sprachpolitik? Sollen die Schulen ihre Türkish
   lehren?


Possible Interview Questions

   - How long have you lived in Germany?
   - What generation immigrant are you?
   - What languages do you speak?
   - How do you feel speaking German?
   - Do you prefer your native language or German?
   - Are there situations in which you can only use your native language or
   situations that you only want to use your native language in? Is this true
   of German too?
   - How did you learn German? Did you find it hard? Did you want to learn
   it or where you resistant? Do you think it's important to know German? Do
   you think others agree with your opinion?
   - Is it important to you that your children learn your native language?
   - What do you think about the politic of language? Should Turkish and
   east European languages be supported in German schools?


Rachel's Work Cited (MLA)

"Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. " *Wikipedia.* 2008.
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 20 May 2008 .

"German courses for Turkish spouses. " *Turkish Daily News* [Ankara] 9 Feb.
2008, National ed.: 1. *ProQuest Newsstand*. ProQuest. University of
Washington Libraries, Seattle WA. 20 May. 2008

"German politicians criticize Turkish premier's call for Turkish schools. "
*BBC Monitoring European* 12 February 2008 1. *ProQuest Newsstand*.
ProQuest. University of Washington Libraries, Seattle WA. 20 May. 2008 .

"Türkendeutsch." *Studipedia*. 2008. 1 June 2008 .

Watzinger-Tharp, J. "Turkish-German Language: An Innovative Style of
Communication and Its Implications for Citizenship and Identity." *JOURNAL
OF MUSLIM MINORITY AFFAIRS*. 24 (2004): 285-294.

"Wie Jugendliche redden: Türkendeutsch als Szenesprache" *RP Online*.
(2007): .

"Working hard in language courses to be eligible to reside in Germany.
" *Turkish
Daily News* [Ankara] 28 Apr. 2008, National ed.: *ProQuest Newsstand*.
ProQuest. University of Washington Libraries, Seattle WA. 20 May. 2008
http://www.proquest.com/>.

"Younger Turkish generation in Germany driving force for integration - poll.
" *BBC Monitoring European* 13 February 2008 1. *ProQuest Newsstand*.
ProQuest. University of Washington Libraries, Seattle WA. 20 May. 2008 .

-- http://rachelschlechty.blogspot.com/2008/06/research-proposal.html
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