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Turkification is a term used to describe a cultural change in which someone non-Turkish is made to become Turkish. It can be used in contexts in connection with Kurds, Bulgarians, Bosniaks, Albanians, Arabs, Roma, Georgians, Jews, Africans, Armenians, Greeks and various ethnicities of the Black Sea basin as well as the North Caucasus. The use of the term does not assert a denial of the existence of individuals who may have Turkified stock in their lineage, yet who feel pride or are comfortable in their Turkishness, nor a questioning of their identity. The term De-Turkification can be used to describe the process in an opposite direction.

Kurds

The Turkish government has, since its inception systematically sought to assimilate the Kurdish population of Turkey. From the birth of the state until 1991, the existence of a separate Kurdish identity was denied. During the 1930s and 1940s, the government had disguised the presence of the Kurds statistically by categorizing them as "Mountain Turks", denying their ethnic identity. According to CNN Turk, today there are media events as well as privately-sponsored education in the Kurdish language, although the general interest shown is rather limited.

Pomaks

The Muslim Bulgarian community in Turkey is not recognized by the Turkish government as an ethnic minority and has been largely assimilated. The Bulgarian language is declining rapidly in usage and Turkish has largely replaced it as the first language even among those who identify as Pomaks.

Black Sea groups

Georgians, Hamshenis and Laz live along the eastern Black Sea coastline. These areas have witnessed a considerable depopulation during the second half of the 20th century as many people have moved to the big cities of northwest Turkey. Assimilation within urban centres is high and the descendants of such emigrees typically lose all traces of their ethnic identity within the span of a few generations.

References

1. Turkey - Linguistic and Ethnic Groups - U.S. Library of Congress
2. http://www.cnnturk.com/TURKIYE/haber_detay.asp?PID=318&HID=2&haberID=114032 Kurdish courses close one after the other because of lack of interest, July 2005

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