Turkish people distant from native minority languages: Project

ISTANBUL

A European Union-backed project, which had been started to examine the relationship between Turkish people and native minority languages, has shown interesting results.

According to a recent social experiment carried out on individuals whose mother language is Turkish, it has been revealed that Turkish speakers had difficulties understanding native minority languages in Turkey.

The footage from the project, which had been released on social media, has revealed just how distant Turkish speakers are from the Armenian, Greek, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) and Syriac languages native to the country.

The project shows volunteer participants trying to guess languages and titles they hear with headphones, with many voicing regret that they cannot distinguish between them.

At the end of the test, the participants voiced that they had been glad to attend the project, adding that they had noticed their unawareness in regards to the languages of minorities they have been living in the same country with.

The project, under the motto “Bridging the gap, building together a common future” by Rumvader, an association of Turkey’s minority Greek community, is supported by the Greek, Armenian, Sephardi and Syriac communities.