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A STUDY OF TURKISH VOWEL HARMONY AND THE POWER OF LANGUAGE

Hunter, Hannah S
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1376315922

Abstract Details

2013, BA, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of English.
Language holds power. It either allows for communication or it disables communication. Language can be used to oppress a particular group of people, or control a particular group of people. Oppression through language is a form of structural violence that has been a part of Turkish history since the beginning of the Ottoman Empire. The struggle between Arabic and Turkish is parallel to the struggle between secularism and Islam. This struggle has been displayed in modern Turkey through the two main political parties; the secular party and the religious party. The recent protests in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey, are centered on the age-old battle of secularism vs. Islam. The connection between Turkish vowel harmony and Turkish politics may not be immediately obvious. However, they are in fact linked through the power that language holds. Language shapes culture, just as culture shapes language. Although the history and politics of the Turkish language are very important to the topic of this thesis, the focus is in fact on vowel harmony. Vowel harmony is a distinct feature of the Turkish language and is explained at the very beginning of the thesis. Although vowel harmony is a significant feature of Turkish, it does have exceptions. These exceptions are clearly addressed in the chapter titled “Disharmony.” However, what is also shown is that every word has a little vowel harmony. Even when vowel harmony is broken, Turkish has a rule to fix it and continue on with a new harmony. Vowel harmony is never completely dropped in Turkish. This resilience of a Turkish linguistic feature embodies the resilience of Turkish identity. Instead of allowing the foreign borrowing to break vowel harmony, the Turkish language adapted and created rules to continue vowel harmony. In the same way, instead of allowing foreign peoples to break their spirit, the Turkish people rose up and reclaimed their identity as Turks at the end of the Ottoman Empire.
Elizabeth Howard, Dr. (Advisor)
93 p.
Language; Linguistics
Turkish; Vowel Harmony; Language; Ottoman

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Hunter, H. S. (2013). A STUDY OF TURKISH VOWEL HARMONY AND THE POWER OF LANGUAGE [Undergraduate thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1376315922

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Hunter, Hannah. A STUDY OF TURKISH VOWEL HARMONY AND THE POWER OF LANGUAGE . 2013. Kent State University, Undergraduate thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1376315922.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Hunter, Hannah. "A STUDY OF TURKISH VOWEL HARMONY AND THE POWER OF LANGUAGE ." Undergraduate thesis, Kent State University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1376315922

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by Kent State University Honors College and OhioLINK.