Dynamics of Russians' Attitudes towards Turkish: a Qualitative Study

Abstract In spite of the fact that Russia and Turkey are inextricably and intimately bound by ties of history with age-old commercial and cultural links, the aspect of dynamics of Russians’ attitudes towards Turkish has not been explored so far. The aim of the current study is, therefore, to investigate the attitudes towards Turkish in Russian-speaking community and to reveal which constituents there are and how they affect language attitudes. Over 100 people were interviewed by classical data collection system and the data was analyzed by mix of qualitative and quantative methods. We attach special importance to interviewing Russian expats in Turkey, and people who have an experience of other major life events related to this country because changing of the language attitudes toward Turkish mostly may be instigated by clash with Turkish traditions, art or representatives of Turkish ethnicity. The results of assessment show and explain the causal link between language attitudes and socio-cultural and socio-politic factors such as historically ethnic enmity, stereotypes, personal biography, political background. This research will help to understand the origins of formation of language attitudes, which may be used for better interpreting of the country's history, also, in sociology, political and economic spheres. Keywords: language attitudes, sociolinguistics, Turkish, ethnicity.