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recordings of 4 Polish, 4 Russian and 4 Ukrainian native speakers were
transcribed and analyzed on the basis of the researchers’ newly-coined
phenomenon Functional Pragmatic Index of Language Distance (PILaD). The
results of the study revealed that LaRa is a successful mode of communication
among the speakers of Russian, Ukrainian and Polish languages.
More recently, the mutual intelligibility of Turkic languages in Central
Asia and Oghuz language group or branch of Turkic languages spoken in
Caucasus, Thrace and Anatolia, nowadays Republic of Turkey and Republic of
Azerbaijan along with Azerbaijan and southern provinces of Iran where Qashqai,
Sonqori, Aynallu and Afshar languages spoken have been under investigation by
Sağın-Şimşek (2012), Ataş & Akkuş (2012), Rehbein & Massakowa (2012) and
Kaffash Khosh (2012). However it would not be wrong to state that there is a
relatively small body of research dealing with LaRa within or between the
aforementioned Turkic languages or dialects. In this section, after the introduction
of the LaRa phenomenon among Turkic languages, some key aspects and
characteristics of Turkic languages and peoples will be briefly outlined.
The rate of mutual understanding varies not only within but also between
the branches of Turkic languages concerning the quintessence of mutual
understanding in receptive multilingual communication (as suggested by Ribbert
and ten Thije, 2007) or Lingua Receptiva (as suggested by Rehbein, ten Thije and
Verschik, 2012) (Tekin, 1978). There are a few studies of the mutual
intelligibility within or between the branches of these languages in such a
language mode. Among the earliest studies concerning mutual intelligibility
within and/or between the branches of Turkic languages and Turkish, Tekin’s
study entitled Türk Dilleri Ailesi (The Family of Turkic Languages) published in
1978 can be given as an example.
In another study named as Türk Lehçeleri Üzerine (Ode to Turkic
Dialects) by Ercilasun (1994), he reviewed and discussed the study in terms of
data collection and methodology. More recent studies on LaRa among Turkic
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languages focused on Azerbaijani-Turkish communication (Sağın-Şimşek &
König, 2012); Turkish-Kazakh (Rehbein & Massakowa, forthcoming; Rehbein &
Massakowa, 2012), Turkish-Turkmen (Sağın-Şimşek, in print). However, in a
recent study on Azerbaijani and Turkish LaRa communication, Sağın-Şimşek &
König (2012) put forward that even though Azerbaijani and Turkish are
typologically related languages, the rate of comprehension on the side of Turkish
interactants is not ‘high as is estimated’ (p. 315).
If we take a deeper look at the studies dealing with the status quo of LaRa
within and/or between the branches of Turkic languages and Turkish as a
language mode, studies of Tekin’s on Türk Dilleri Ailesi (The Family of Turkic
Languages) (1978) and Ercilasun’s Türk Lehçeleri Üzerine (Ode to Turkic
Dialects) (1994) can be exemplified. In a recent study, Sağın-Şimşek & König
(2012) studied understanding in an Azerbaijani-Turkish LaRa language
constellation.
Tekin (1978) conducted his research on the basis of the mutual
intelligibility data collection method which was prepared and used by American
linguists in order to investigate the rate of mutual intelligibility among Indian
languages spoken in the US. He selected ten sentences from Turkic languages
Gagauz, Azerbaijanian, Turkmen, Kazakh, Karakalpak, Karaim, Uzbek, Chuvash,
Yakut, Tuvan, Bashkir, Kumyk, Khakas, Karachay-Balkar, Uyghur, Tatar, Altay
Turkic, Kyrgyz, and Nogay written in Latin alphabet. He suggested that the rate of
mutual intelligibility between Turkish and closely-related Turkic languages such
as Azerbaijani and Gagauz was high. Yet, according to him, lexical gap between
these languages had a negative impact upon the mutual intelligibility.
Ercilasun (1994) criticized Tekin’s data collection method on account of
the fact that the interlocutors should converse with each other by using their native
languages instead of evaluating the written sentences. He stated that it would not
be beneficial to give written texts to the participants to measure the rate of
intelligibility as he regarded this method of data collection as “unnatural” (p. 338).
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He claimed that the most practical and beneficial method to measure the mutual
intelligibility rate would be to make the intelocutors be exposed to the Turkic
languages under investigation.
Sağın-Şimşek & König (2012) investigated Azerbaijani and Turkish language
understanding within the framework of receptive multilingualism. A group of 30
Turkish university students took part in the study which took 40 minutes in total
and was conducted in a classroom setting. Before the test, the participants were
asked to fill a language awareness questionnaire. Questionnaire items included
their age, gender, home language, other languages known, attitudes towards
Azerbaijani, and their self-reflections about how well they could speak and
understand. Language understanding test which composed of two Azerbaijani
newspaper articles “with an average level of complexity” in both written and
spoken forms was conducted. Later on, self-reflections and comments of
participants were asked. The study suggested that the intelligibility was not high
as estimated in spite of the fact that these two languages are classified as closely-
related languages of Turkic origin.
2.2.Understanding
The studies on RM focused on the concept of mutual intelligibility. As the
term itself suggests, mutuality of understanding is the main subject in such works.
In this study rather than mutual intelligibility, the focus is on “ understanding”
whose definition lies in the answers of the following four questions:
(a) what does the hearer (exactly) hear;
(b) how does the hearer, to the best of his/her hearing, perceive and
interpret the
intended and/or implied utterance of the speaker;
(c) what is the hearer's attitude to the utterances/propositions expressed and
implied by the speaker; and
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