Strategies of making and unmaking ethnic boundaries: Evidence on the Laz of Turkey

Abstract

The main aim of this article is to explore different strategies of boundary making and unmaking by a minority ethnic group. I apply the theories of “boundary work” and constructivist understanding of ethnicity and nationhood to the case of the Laz, one of the autochthons of the Eastern Black Sea region of Turkey. I analyze two main strategies—boundary crossing and contraction—in the context of three sets of encounters and interactions, with Turks/Turkishness, people of Black Sea—Karadenizli—and Kurds/Kurdishness. First, I argue that assimilating into the official Turkish identity is one of the strategies adopted by the ethnic Laz. The Laz are incorporated into Turkishness both by their search for economic mobility, status, and by assimilationist policies of the state especially aimed at the spread of Turkish. To become a full-fledged true member of the nation and access to potential benefits, Turkishness through language shift has been realized that allowed boundary crossing of the Laz. Second, I state that despite the efforts of the top-down assimilationist policies, noncontentious ethnic identities can be reproduced by means of symbolic boundaries. The Laz contextually activate symbolic boundaries in informal settings by contracting from other people of Black Sea—Karadenizli—or ethnic Turkishness. The ethnic language is substituted by nonthreatening ethnic performances and rhetoric, less marked and more subjective traits of self-asserted differences. Such symbolic boundaries correspond to unofficial forms of hierarchies and competition over local belongings. Third, the analysis of the Laz–Kurd relationship unveils that ethnic boundaries can be redefined according to changing conditions. The impact of the Kurds on the Laz identity, either by means of personal acquaintances or the relationship between the state and the Kurdish national movement, is imperative. It triggers contradictions in the Laz identity by revealing new potential redefinitions and recasting of boundaries.

Ethnicity and Social Exclusion

“…Assimilation is a strategy available to some, but not all, as demonstrated by Rodríguez-García et al (2021) in the context of Spain where biracial Spanish-born youths who more closely resemble the majority based on phenotype, language, or religious affiliation can develop identities that are not excluded, while Spaniards whose heritage is visibly different cannot. The ethnic Laz in Turkey likewise engage in assimilation, but also practice non-threatening boundary making in informal settings (Serdar 2019). Both Rodríguez-García et al (2021) and Serdar (2019) collected their data using semi-structured interviews.…”

“…The ethnic Laz in Turkey likewise engage in assimilation, but also practice non-threatening boundary making in informal settings (Serdar 2019). Both Rodríguez-García et al (2021) and Serdar (2019) collected their data using semi-structured interviews.…”

Indigenous ethnic languages in Bangladesh: Paradoxes of the multilingual ecology

“…The Chakma language also seems to lose its ground as a legitimate choice of language. May (2018: 165) stated, to this end:These linguistic ‘hierarchies of prestige’ (Liddicoat 2013), and related processes of language shift and loss (Fishman 1991), are, more often than not, closely linked to wider histories of colonialism, conquest, or confederation, or some combination of all three, which have marginalized minority language speakers in the first place (Kymlicka 1995, 2001) … they are also a direct consequence of the political nationalism of the last few centuries, along with the nation-state model to which it gave rise, and its related preoccupation with (public) linguistic homogeneity.Serdar (2019) explored the strategies of making and unmaking of ethnic boundaries of Laz, one of the minority ethnic autochthons of the Eastern Black Sea region of Turkey. With reference to the theories of ‘boundary work’ and constructivist understandings of ethnicity and nationhood, three specific features of assimilation are identified.…”

“…they are also a direct consequence of the political nationalism of the last few centuries, along with the nation-state model to which it gave rise, and its related preoccupation with (public) linguistic homogeneity. Serdar (2019) explored the strategies of making and unmaking of ethnic boundaries of Laz, one of the minority ethnic autochthons of the Eastern Black Sea region of Turkey. With reference to the theories of 'boundary work' and constructivist understandings of ethnicity and nationhood, three specific features of assimilation are identified.…”