Learning the language of âthe otherâ : a linguistic ethnography of Turkish-language classes in a Greek-Cypriot school
This thesis is a linguistic ethnographic study of the introduction of Turkish-language classes in Greek-Cypriot Formal Education, a new initiative taken by the Cyprus Ministry of Education in 2003. Taking into account the history of conflict between the two communities, this project deals with the discursive (re-)negotiations of ethnic difference and ethnic relations that occur in classes where the subject to be taught is the language of 'The Other'. Focusing in particular on two Turkish-language classes in a Greek-Cypriot secondary school, the thesis draws mainly on data collected during five months of ethnographic fieldwork. With post-structuralist and anti-essentialist theoretical tools informing the ethnographic approach, and analytical frameworks from interactional sociolinguistics, it investigates how the details of classroom interaction connect with larger-scale processes, such as: i) the history of intercommunal/interethnic hostility and rival nationalisms; ii) educationald iscourseso f 'Hellenic Paideia'; iii) processesa nd discoursess hapedb oth inside and outsideC yprus (i. e. EU entry, initiatives for reconciliation); iv) students' repertoires shaped in contexts outside the classroom (i. e. youth
Charalambous, Constadina
Learning the language of âthe otherâ : a linguistic ethnography of Turkish-language classes in a Greek-Cypriot school. This thesis is a linguistic ethnographic study of the introduction of Turkish-language classes in Greek-Cypriot Formal Education, a new initiative taken by the Cyprus Ministry of Education in 2003. Taking into account the history of conflict between the two communities, this project deals with the discursive (re-)negotiations of ethnic difference and ethnic relations that occur in classes where the subject to be taught is the language of 'The Other'. Focusing in particular on two Turkish-language classes in a Greek-Cypriot secondary school, the thesis draws mainly on data collected during five months of ethnographic fieldwork. With post-structuralist and anti-essentialist theoretical tools informing the ethnographic approach, and analytical frameworks from interactional sociolinguistics, it investigates how the details of classroom interaction connect with larger-scale processes, such as: i) the history of intercommunal/interethnic hostility and rival nationalisms; ii) educationald iscourseso f 'Hellenic Paideia'; iii) processesa nd discoursess hapedb oth inside and outsideC yprus (i. e. EU entry, initiatives for reconciliation); iv) students' repertoires shaped in contexts outside the classroom (i. e. youth
learning language linguistic ethnography turkish language class greek_cypriot school linguistic_ethnographic study introduction turkish language class greek cypriot formal education new initiative take cyprus ministry education taking account history conflict community project deal discursive negotiation ethnic difference ethnic relation occur class subject taught language the other focusing particular turkish language class greek_cypriot secondary_school draw_mainly data_collect ethnographic fieldwork post_structuralist anti essentialist theoretical tool inform ethnographic analytical_framework interactional sociolinguistics investigate_detail classroom_interaction connect larger scale process history hostility rival nationalism paideia iii inside entry initiatives reconciliation student repertoire shape contexts outside_classroom youth