English in the Expanding Circle: Elements for a comparative study of sociolinguistics profile of English in Turkey and Portugal

Tez Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Letras, English and American Studies, Portekiz

Tez Danışmanı: Rita Queiroz De Barros

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2019

Tezin Dili: Türkçe

Özet:

This dissertation discusses the sociolinguistic profile of English in two Expanding

Circle countries, Turkey and Portugal. The use of English in functional domains typically

affected by English in such speech communities is assessed through the observation of its

use in the media, the tourism sector and shop naming. The dissertation then examines the

circumstances in which English is taught and learned in the subject countries, considering

in particular the history and current status of English language teaching in each of them, the

attitudes, especially of learners, towards the English language, and the levels of proficiency

in English in both speech communities.

Results from the investigation reveal that English is less present in Turkey than in

Portugal within the domains of media and tourism, though its relevance in shop naming

practices is similar in both countries. The teaching/learning circumstances of English are

found to be quite different in the two speech communities, with the maintenance, in

Turkey, of more traditional methodologies and less successful results, as proficiency

indexes remain lower in Turkey than in Portugal. Attitudes to English prove to be

favourable in Portugal and mixed in Turkey.

The sociolinguistic profile of English and Turkey proves therefore to be different,

though both countries are growingly dependent on English and not so distant members of

its Expanding Circle.