Wait a Minute! Istanbul Does Not Speak Turkish: An Analysis of a Story in the Turkish Press from 1937

Abstract

In the early years of the Turkish Republic, Turkey endeavoured to spread the Turkish language among non-Turkophone Turkish citizens. These efforts were also reflected in the Turkish press of the early Republican years. Asserting that the Turkish press of the early Republican years reflected hitherto Turkish political discourse, this article aims to analyse the argumentation of the letter written by the Turkish Member of Parliament Şeref Aykut and published in the Cumhuriyet newspaper in 1937. The letter problematizes the lack of Turkish language fluency among street vendors in Istanbul in 1937. To analyse the letter, I will combine the methods of the Viennese School of the Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA) by Reisigl & Wodak 2001; Wodak 1990, 1994; Wodak & Meyer 2001; Wodak & Chilton 2005; Wodak et al. 2009 with the categories of storytelling mentioned by van Dijk (1984, 1987).

Keywords

Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA); Topos/Fallacy; Topos of Locus Amoenus; Positive Self-Portrayal Strategies