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The Citizen speak Turkish! (Turkish: Vatandaş Türkçe konuş!) campaign was an initiative created by law students but sponsored by the Turkish government which aimed to put pressure on non-Turkish speakers to speak Turkish in public. In some municipal governments, fines were given to those speaking in any language other than Turkish. The campaign movement is considered significant contributor to Turkey's sociopolitical process of Turkification.

Political Background

Nationalism and secularism were one of the founding principals of the Turkish Republic. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the leader of the early years of the Republic, aimed to create a nation state (Turkish: Ulus) from the Turkish remnants of the Ottoman Empire. Kemalist ideology defines the "Turkish People" as "those who protect and promote the moral, spiritual, cultural and humanistic values of the Turkish Nation." Kemalist criteria for national identity or simply being a Turk also refers to a shared language. In 1931 in a speech in Adana, Ataturk was quoted during a speech as saying:

One of the most obvious, precious qualities of a nation is language. A person who says he belongs to the Turkish nation should in the first place and under all circumstances speak Turkish. It is not possible to believe a person's claims that he belongs to the Turkish nation and to Turkish culture if he does not speak Turkish.

— Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Many Turkish politicians and intellectuals believed that in order to attain full rights as a Turkish citizen, one must learn and speak Turkish. One such intellect, Hamdullah Suphi Tanrıöver, believed especially that minorities could not be accepted as citizens of Turkey if they did not speak Turkish or accepted Turkish culture. Consequently, non-Turkish languages taught in minority schools were becoming less common. In 1935 Prime Minister Ismet Inonu was quoted during a speech at the Republican Party's fourth congress by saying, "We will not remain silent. All citizens who live with us must speak Turkish!"

The campaign went beyond the measures of mere policy of speaking Turkish, to an outright prevention and prohibition of any other language.

"Citizen Speak Turkish!" Campaign

On January 13, 1928, the student union at the Darülfünun Law School in Istanbul started a campaign with the objective of preventing the use of languages other than Turkish to be used in public. Signs were held by campaign organizers that proclaimed, "We cannot call Turk to those who do not speak Turkish". Some campaigners also chanted, "Speak Turkish or leave the country!". Members of campaigners placed posters throughout Turkey proclaiming "Citizen speak Turkish!" and the message further spread into the mass media, press, and political circles throughout the country.

Some Turks started court cases against minority members who spoke a language other than Turkish under charges of violating Article 159 (now Article 301) for "insulting Turkishness" as a legal justification.

In the 1960s, the movement saw its revival as posters and signs were placed and hung throughout the country.

Government Sponsorship

Prior to the launch of the "Citizen Speak Turkish!" campaign, many initiatives were already taken by the government of Turkey to make Turkish the sole language of the public. In 1924 during a session of the Turkish National Assembly, a law was proposed to make Turkish a compulsory language and refusing to speak it resulted in a fine. Meanwhile, as the debates in the National Assembly were ongoing, the municipal government of Bursa took the first initiative, and began to impose fines to those who spoke a non-Turkish language in public areas. This was followed by Balikesir and Bergama in 1927.

After the launch of the "Citizen Speak Turkish!" campaign of 1928, arrests were being made all throughout the country with full support of the government who encouraged provincial governors 'to incorporate Turks with foreign dialects into the Turkish community by making Turkish their mother tongue'. In 1933 in the town of Mersin, British citizens who were speaking French were reportedly attacked in public. It was later reported that hundreds were being arrested for speaking Turkish in public. In a specific case, a M. Chalfoun and a certain Jewish merchant were arrested for speaking Arabic and French to a merchant in town. The accused were released only after the mayor of Mersin pardoned them after visiting them in prison.

New laws were being promulgated throughout the country. In 1936, the municipal governments of Tekirdag, Luleburgaz, and Edirne passed decrees to fine those who spoke non-Turkish languages in public. Soon thereafter, cities and towns such as Diyarbakır, Adana, Ankara, and Kırklareli followed suit.

See Also

• Racism and discrimination in Turkey
• Turkification
• Languages of Turkey

References

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18. ^ Cagaptay, Soner (2006). Islam, Secularism, and Nationalism in Modern Turkey : who is a Turk? (. ed.). London : Routledge. ISBN 9780415384582. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
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• Racism in Turkey
• Turkish nationalism