Debates on inter-ethnic marriages: assimilation or integration? The Turkish perspective

Abstract

This paper opens a new debate on ethnic intermarriage between Kurdish and Turkish people in Turkey. It addresses how the institution of marriage has become a political subject in the wake of the foundation of the republic and classifies these marriages according to their social and cultural environment. In order to understand the phenomenon, it opens a sociological investigation into the assimilation, integration and hybridisation processes involved in intermarriage between Kurdish and Turkish people. This paper looks at spoken language as an instrument of cultural continuity and a vector for the transfer of cultural institutions to future generations within a traditional-patriarchal society. It establishes a connection between the subjects of assimilation, integration and hybridisation with those of intermarriage and language.

Key words: intermarriage; hybridisation; language; patriarchy; women; cultural change.