Abstract
Considering the population of Turkish citizens living outside Turkey and the size of the countries they live in, it is important for the future of Turkey and the Turkish language that the Turkish language is maintained and passed on to the future. This study examines the processes of preserving and developing the mother tongue of Bulgarian students of Turkish origin living in Aachen, Germany. In particular, the research deals with the language use habits of these students in Turkish and German, language fidelity and attitudes towards their language. It explores how language maintenance interacts with demographic factors such as educational attainment, place of residence, marital status, etc. and finds that students show a strong tendency to preserve their mother tongue, but that the use of Turkish may decrease over time as German is the dominant language. The data used in the study were collected by interview method, one of the qualitative research methods, and the research was conducted using a phenomenological design. The population of the study consists of Bulgarian students of Turkish origin who continue their education in three different schools in the city of Aachen in Germany. The sample of the study consisted of 30 Bulgarian students of Turkish origin studying in three different schools in Aachen, Germany. The results of the study also discuss the effects of language policies and educational systems on this process and provide recommendations to support the language maintenance processes of Bulgarian students of Turkish origin living in Germany. Keywords: Language Maintenance, Bilingualism, Cultural Identity, Educational Policies, Bulgarian Students, Mother Tongue
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