Linguistic security and language policy notions in Turkey in the context of modernization process

Abstract

The article is devoted to learning and analyzing such definitions as «linguistic security», «language policy», «state modernization» in the case of the Turkish Republic. The article reveals the notion of the named definitions and gives the examples on implementation of some aspects of linguistic security and language policy in Turkish society as an aspect of its modernization process and state-building policy. The subject of research also is language policy strategies and reforming of the Turkish language in the twentieth century.

Speaking about language policy strategies, the author proposes some different definitions of them: protectionist, pragmatic and nationalistic. In this context, the process of providing of linguistic security of Turkish language as a international language in the geopolitical aspect spell out in detail its status as Eurasian country and statebuilding policy. In first case Turkey always tried to function as a bridge between East and West, and to support intercultural dialogue with Turkish speaking countries. Speaking about state-building policy of Turkish Republic in the past and now Turkish government used to implement nationalistic and protectionist functions of language policy strategy. The idea of «one language, one state, one people» was the fundamental basis of state-building policy and modernization process in Turkey from the end of 1920th. The most crucial parts of them are changing ottoman alphabet to Latin one, language reform o replacement of old Arabic-Persian words to new created Turkish ones and so on.

After the ending of the Cold War, language police becomes the pat of foreign policy conceptions such as Pan-Turkism, Neo-Ottomanism and so on. It helps to create a platform for developing of cultural, economic relations between Turkey and post-soviet republics. The pragmatic function of its linguistic security strategy is implementing here.

Nowadays, we can see deepens of language policy and linguistic security of Turkey were it combines both nationalistic and pragmatic vectors.