French antipathy to Turkey's EU candidacy: the language dimension

Abstract

French political leaders have voiced objections to prospective Turkish membership of the European Union (EU), citing material reasons as well as cultural objections involving the uncertain role of a predominantly Islamic society within a European political and economic bloc. Given the importance of the French language as a component of France's assumed special status in Europe and the world, and the rising popularity of English in both the EU and Turkey, it is also likely that language remains a further source of cultural objection, however understated. Turkey, like many other countries in central and eastern Europe, has made English a key feature of its engagement with the EU and the new global economy, directly accelerating the decline of French language use, and contributing to French official antipathies towards the EU candidacy of the Turkish Republic.

Keywords:

• cultural identity
• language shift
• second language acquisition
• nationalism
• language policy
• diglossia

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Reşat Kayali, Malcolm Frankland, and three anonymous referees for their many valuable comments.