Beyond Language: Kurdish Language Activism in the Face of Colonial Language Governmentality

This ethnographic work examines both the colonial language governmentality imposed by the Turkish state and the Kurdish language activism as a response to this system. Through a genealogical study, it calls for a reconsideration of the linguistic condition in Turkey as being more than nationalist, highlighting its foundation in intertwined ideologies of racism, imperialism, and colonialism. It then provides an analysis of new possibilities and directions led by the actors of the Kurdish language movement, which seeks to enhance not only the linguistic but also the socio-political condition of the Kurdish people by taking a ＂beyond language＂ approach. The work advances our thinking about language oppression and minority language activism.

Demet Arpacık, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.