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| Toğrul Atabay |
Toğrul Atabay states that the naming of languages and dialects around the world is not based on linguistic science, but is rather driven by political interests. In an interview with Voice of America, the Turkologist explains the differences between terms like "language," "dialect," and "accent," and draws attention to the incorrect naming of languages that arise due to the assimilation policies pursued by states against ethnic minorities, as well as the presentation of some dialects as independent languages with the emergence of new nation-states.
However, the Southern Turkologist emphasizes that political motives behind language naming are biased:
“Official language names are often driven by political concerns, sometimes originating from official political sects or religions. In linguistics, we call these 'misnomers,' meaning misleading or deliberately incorrect naming.”
According to him, “The majority of the current language names are misnomers arising from political motives, either because nation-states want to separate from other nation-states, or due to the assimilation policies of dominant nation-states over their minorities. These names are not based on real linguistic considerations.”
Atabay points out that these incorrect names can sometimes be unconscious, sometimes conscious, or even agreed upon:
“This misnaming can sometimes be unconscious, such as when Turkish was referred to as Ottoman or Chagatai. Or it can be conscious, such as when Iran introduced the term 'Azeri' for Turkish. Or it could be agreed upon, like the naming of 'Orduca' and 'Hindi' due to religious differences or political conflicts. These names, of course, do not carry any value from a linguistic perspective; from a linguistic standpoint, diachronic naming is fundamental. That is, languages are named according to their roots, relationships, and linguistic criteria…”
The Southern researcher working in Turkey's language institutes explains the different forms in which a language is spoken in different geographical areas and among different social classes, and clarifies the terms "dialect," "accent," "sociolect," and "variant" in linguistics:
“In linguistics, when we divide a language into smaller subgroups, we can refer to them as 'dialects.' A lower level of dialect would be 'accents,' which are more often differentiated by local or geographical variations. The way a language is spoken in different geographical areas or by non-local people can be referred to as accents... There are also smaller variations, including those within different communities, groups, and classes, which are generally called 'sociolects,' or slang. Another distinction is 'variant,' which does not have a sharp boundary.”
According to him, "From a purely linguistic perspective, without political concerns, a language, over a period of centuries or even over a millennium, can give birth to different languages or dialects. In this case, of course, geographical spread, cultural division, and sometimes artificial reasons can also give rise to dialects and languages. Political reasons, along with religious and sectarian mixing, play a role. Accents, which are small dialects, can eventually evolve into larger dialects and, when they gain the weight of a state language and political language, can eventually separate from the mother tongue to become a written language.”
Atabay also explains how these distinctions apply to Turkish languages and dialects.
He states, “If we take Turkish as an example, for instance, Chuvash, which separated from the mother tongue of Turkish two thousand years ago, can be understood in terms of its relation to Turkish, while other Turkish languages in Central Asia, depending on the perspective, are considered either languages or dialects. The Turkish spoken in Azerbaijan is generally referred to as a dialect or sometimes, as a term far from linguistics, as a 'variant.' The forms of these in different geographical areas are also referred to as accents.”
The Southern researcher draws attention to the fact that political designations can sometimes be temporary and may change over time. He refers to the official language of Moldova, which was renamed as "Moldovan" during the Soviet era, and how just a few years ago it was renamed back to its original name, "Romanian."
Toğrul Atabay notes that the colonial policies played a role in giving different names to the dialects of the Turkish language spoken in Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Iran, and emphasizes the impact of these policies on the naming process.
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Toğrul Atabay: İranda dil siyasətini siyasi motivlər istiqamətləndirir