Power in Turkish Migrant Families

Abstract

In this article, power relationships in Turkish families living in the Netherlands were studied by analyzing competition in conversational turn-taking. The notion of competition refers to those instances of turn-taking in which two or more persons are talking simultaneously, and one of them completes his or her turn at the cost of the other(s). A power hierarchy can be constructed on the basis of symmetries and asymmetries in winning and losing verbal competitions. The power structures of two immigrant Turkish families of different orientation and origin have been analyzed with the intention, from a methodological point of view, of contributing to the valid and reliable measurement of conversational power. In addition, the analyses reported in this article differ from mainstream research on Turkish family power, in that the focus is on power processes rather than on power outcomes. Finally, the data are based on observation rather than self-report. The results do not support the stereotype that Turkish families are rigid hierarchies of patriarchal authority. Power patterns in Turkish families - especially migrant families - appear to be changing rapidly.