İki Dilli Bireylerin İçsel Düşünce Süreçlerinin Araştırılması: Türkiye'deki Suriyeli Göçmen Çocukların Kendi Beyanlarına Dayalı Dil Kullanımı Üzerine Bir Çalışma
Year 2025,
Volume: 9 Issue: 2, 125 - 136, 29.12.2025
Aylin Yardımcı
Abstract
Küreselleşmenin en gözle görülür etkilerinden biri de farklı dil ve kültürlere sahip insanların eğitim, seyahat, göç gibi çeşitli nedenlerle farklı ülkelerde yaşamaya başlamasıdır. Yeni bir ulusta hayatta kalabilmek için, özellikle göç eden bireyler, o ülkenin dilini edinmelidir. Ailelerinin göç ettiği ülkelerde doğan bireyler, kendi ana dillerini de öğrenmekte ve sıklıkla iki dilli olarak yetiştirilmektedirler. Bu çalışmanın amacı, Suriye iç savaşı sonucunda Türkiye’ye yerleşen ve şu anda geçici koruma kapsamında geçici barınma merkezlerinde yaşayan Suriyeli iki dilli çocukların kendi beyanlarına dayalı içsel düşünce süreçlerini araştırmaktır. Çalışma verileri açık uçlu sorular ve yüz yüze görüşmeler yoluyla toplanmıştır. Çalışmanın sonuçları, Türkçenin iki dilli Suriyeli göçmen çocukların iç düşünce süreçlerinde baskın dil olduğunu ancak Arapçanın da önemli bir etkiye sahip olduğunu göstermektedir. Bu veriler ışığında, ikinci dilin ve kültürünün baskın olduğu toplumlarda büyüyen iki dilli bireylerin düşünce süreçlerinde de ikinci dilin baskın dil olduğu sonucuna varılmıştır. Çalışmanın bulgularının, Türkiye'deki iki dilli nüfusun karşılaştığı sosyokültürel sorunlara ilişkin bilgi birikimini ilerletmesi ve müfredat oluşturmayı amaçlayan gelecekteki araştırma projelerine bilgi sağlaması beklenmektedir.
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Bassetti, B., & Filipović, L. (2022). Researching language and cognition in bilinguals. International Journal of Bilingualism, 26(1), 3-12. https://doi.org/10.1177/13670069211022860
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Birjandi, P., & Sabah, S. (2015). A review of the language-thought debate: Multivariant perspectives.
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Chanyeam, C., & Wongthai, N. (2025). The Influence of Grammatical Number on Cognition of
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Cook, V. (2011). Thinking in a mind with two languages. Second Language, 10, 3-11.
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Costa, A. C., Cury, L., Finger, I., Mota, N. B., & Weissheimer, J. (2023). Two Languages in One Mind:
Biliteracy, Speech Connectedness and Reading in 5th Grade Bilingual Children. Ilha do Desterro, 76(3), 93-115. https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-8026.2023.e94537
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Creswell, J. W. (2002). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative (pp.
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Diller, K. C. (1970). “Compound” and “coordinate” bilingualism: A conceptual artifact. Word, 26(2),
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Enke, S., Gunzenhauser, C., Hepach, R., Karbach, J., & Saalbach, H. (2022). Differences in cognitive
processing? The role of verbal processes and mental effort in bilingual and monolingual children’s planning performance. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 213, 105255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2021.105255
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García, O. (2009). Education, multilingualism and translanguaging in the 21st century. Social justice through multilingual education, 140-158.
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García, O., Flores, N., & Chu, H. (2011). Extending bilingualism in US secondary education: New variations. International Multilingual Research Journal, 5(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/19313152.2011.539486
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Hamers, J. F., & Blanc, M. (2000). Bilinguality and bilingualism. Cambridge University Press.
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Hammer, K. (2019). Bilingual cogito: inner speech in acculturated bilinguals. International Journal of
Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2017.1285862
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Haritos, C., & Nelson, K. (2001). Bilingual memory: The interaction of language and thought. Bilingual
Research Journal, 25(4), 605-626. https://doi.org/10.1080/15235882.2001.11074469
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Hoff, E. (2018). Bilingual development in children of immigrant families. Child development perspectives, 12(2), 80-86. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12262
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Indivero, V. M. (2013). Think twice, speak once: Bilinguals process both languages.
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Javier, R. A. (2007). The bilingual mind: Thinking, feeling and speaking in two languages. Springer Science & Business Media.
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Kroll, J. F., Bobb, S. C., & Hoshino, N. (2014). Two languages in mind: Bilingualism as a tool to
investigate language, cognition, and the brain. Current directions in psychological science, 23(3), 159-163. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721414528511
-
Krumm, H. J., & Plutzar, V. (2008). Tailoring language provision and requirements to the needs
and capacities of adult migrants. Retrieved June, 30, 2021.
-
Levinson, S. C. (1997). From outer to inner space: linguistic categories and non-linguistic thinking.
Language and conceptualization, 1, 13-45. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139086677.002
-
Lucy, J. A. (1992). Language diversity and thought: A reformulation of the linguistic relativity hypothesis. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511620843
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Lucy, J. A. (1999). Linguistic relativity hypothesis. The MIT Encyclopedia of the Cognitive Sciences.
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-
Malt, B. C. (2024). Representing the world in language and thought. Topics in Cognitive Science, 16(1),
6-24. https://doi.org/10.1111/tops.12719
-
McLeod, S. (2022). Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of cognitive development.
Retrieved from Simply Psychology: https://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html.
-
Mulyani, M. (2017). IDENTIFYING THE CONCEPT OF BILINGUALISM AND BILINGUALS
-
THROUGH SEVEN BAKER’ S DIMENSIONS OF BILINGUALISM. Englisia: Journal of Language, Education, and Humanities, 5(1), 29-40. https://doi.org/10.22373/ej.v5i1.1669
-
Ning, S., Hayakawa, S., Bartolotti, J., & Marian, V. (2020). On language and thought: Bilingual experience influences semantic associations. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 56, 100932.
-
Pakpahan, F. H., & Saragih, M. (2022). Theory of cognitive development by Jean Piaget. Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2(1), 55-60. https://doi.org/10.52622/joal.v2i2.79
-
Palinkas, L. A., Horwitz, S. M., Green, C. A., Wisdom, J. P., Duan, N., & Hoagwood, K. (2015).
-
Purposeful sampling for qualitative data collection and analysis in mixed method implementation research. Administration and policy in mental health and mental health services research, 42, 533-544.
-
Paradis, J. (2008). Are simultaneous and early sequential bilingual acquisition fundamentally different. Models of interaction in bilinguals.
-
Pavlenko, A. (2005). Bilingualism and thought. Handbook of bilingualism: Psycholinguistic approaches, 433453.
-
Pavlenko, A. (2009). Bilingualism and thought. Handbook of Bilingualism: Psycholinguistic approaches, (pp.433-453).
-
Pavlenko, A. (2014). The bilingual mind: And what it tells us about language and thought. Cambridge University Press.
-
Pliiddemann, P. (1997). 'Additive'and'subtractive': Challenges in education for multilingualism. Per linguam, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.5785/13-1-197
-
Presidency of Migration Management of the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Türkiye.
https://www.goc.gov.tr/gecici-korumamiz-altindaki-suriyeliler
-
Resnik, P. (2021). Multilinguals’ use of L1 and L2 inner speech. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2018.1445195
-
Schmiedtová, B., Von Stutterheim, C., & Carroll, M. (2011). Language-specific patterns in event
construal of advanced second language speakers. Thinking and speaking in two languages, 66-107.
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Schroeder, S. R. (2018). Do bilinguals have an advantage in theory of mind? A meta-analysis. Frontiers
in Communication, 3, 36. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2018.00036
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Toassi, P. F. P., Lauro, J., Gadelha, L. M. D. S., & Carthery-Goulart, M. T. (2023). Effect of
interlingual homographs and word frequency on bilingual lexical access. Ilha do Desterro, 76(3), 67-91. http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/2175-8026.2023.e94613
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Treffers-Daller, J. (2012). Thinking for speaking and linguistic relativity among bilinguals: Towards a new research agenda. Language, Interaction and Acquisition, 3(2), 288-300.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/lia.3.2.06tre
Exploring the Inner Thought Processes of Bilingual Individuals: A Study on Self-Reported Language Use of Syrian Immigrant Children in Türkiye
Year 2025,
Volume: 9 Issue: 2, 125 - 136, 29.12.2025
Aylin Yardımcı
Abstract
One of the most visible effects of globalization is that people of different languages and cultures begin to live in different countries for a variety of reasons, including education, travel, and migration. To survive in a new nation, individuals who migrate, in particular, must acquire the language of that country. Individuals born in countries to which their families immigrated learn their native language and are frequently raised bilingual. The purpose of this study is to investigate the self-reported inner-thought processes of 96 Syrian bilingual children who have settled in Türkiye as a result of the Syrian civil war and are currently living in temporary shelters under temporary protection in order to gain more insight about the cognitive processes of bilingual individuals. The study data were gathered through open-ended questions and face-to-face interviews. The results of the study show that Turkish is the dominant language in the inner thought processes of bilingual Syrian immigrant children, although Arabic also has a significant influence. As a result of this data, it has been concluded that bilingual individuals growing up in societies where L2 and its culture are dominant also have L2 as the dominant language in their thought processes. It is anticipated that the study's findings will advance knowledge of the sociocultural problems faced by the bilingual population in Türkiye and inform future research projects aimed at creating a curriculum.
Ethical Statement
Approval from the Ethics Committee for the current study was obtained by Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University Social Sciences and Humanities Ethical Committee, under decision number 2025-9, on May 9, 2025.
This study has been presented as an “abstract paper” on 17th International IDEA Conference: Studies in English held at Fırat University, Elazığ, Türkiye between 7-9 May, 2025.
References
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Adserà, A., & Pytliková, M. (2016). Language and migration. In The Palgrave handbook of economics and language (pp. 342-372). London: Palgrave Macmillan UK.
-
Aggun, N. (2021). Bilingualism and the brain. Artuklu İnsan ve Toplum Bilim Dergisi, 6(2), 138-144.
https://doi.org/10.46628/itbhssj.1026418
-
Athanasopoulos, P. (2006). Effects of the grammatical representation of number on cognition in bilinguals. Bilingualism: Language and cognition, 9(1), 89-96. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728905002397
-
Athanasopoulos, P., & Kasai, C. (2008). Language and thought in bilinguals: The case of grammatical number and nonverbal classification preferences. Applied psycholinguistics, 29(1), 105-123.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716408080053
-
Baker, C. (2011). Foundations of bilingual education and bilingualism. Multilingual matters.
-
Bassetti, B., & Filipović, L. (2022). Researching language and cognition in bilinguals. International Journal of Bilingualism, 26(1), 3-12. https://doi.org/10.1177/13670069211022860
-
Birjandi, P., & Sabah, S. (2015). A review of the language-thought debate: Multivariant perspectives.
BRAIN. Broad Research in Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience, 3(4), 56-68.
-
Chanyeam, C., & Wongthai, N. (2025). The Influence of Grammatical Number on Cognition of
Bilinguals: A Test of the Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis. LEARN Journal: Language Education and Acquisition Research Network, 18(1), 405-432. https://so04.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/LEARN/index
-
Cook, V. (2011). Thinking in a mind with two languages. Second Language, 10, 3-11.
-
Costa, A. C., Cury, L., Finger, I., Mota, N. B., & Weissheimer, J. (2023). Two Languages in One Mind:
Biliteracy, Speech Connectedness and Reading in 5th Grade Bilingual Children. Ilha do Desterro, 76(3), 93-115. https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-8026.2023.e94537
-
Creswell, J. W. (2002). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative (pp.
146-166). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
-
Diller, K. C. (1970). “Compound” and “coordinate” bilingualism: A conceptual artifact. Word, 26(2),
254-261. https://doi.org/10.1080/00437956.1970.11435596
-
Enke, S., Gunzenhauser, C., Hepach, R., Karbach, J., & Saalbach, H. (2022). Differences in cognitive
processing? The role of verbal processes and mental effort in bilingual and monolingual children’s planning performance. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 213, 105255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2021.105255
-
García, O. (2009). Education, multilingualism and translanguaging in the 21st century. Social justice through multilingual education, 140-158.
-
García, O., Flores, N., & Chu, H. (2011). Extending bilingualism in US secondary education: New variations. International Multilingual Research Journal, 5(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/19313152.2011.539486
-
Gottardo, A., & Grant, A. (2008). Defining bilingualism. Encyclopedia of language and literacy development, 1-7.
Green, D. W. (1998). Bilingualism and thought. Psychologica Belgica, 38(3-4). DOI: 10.5334/pb.936
-
Hamers, J. F. (1981). Psychological approaches to the development of bilinguality. Elements of bilingual theory, 28-47.
-
Hamers, J. F., & Blanc, M. (2000). Bilinguality and bilingualism. Cambridge University Press.
-
Hammer, K. (2019). Bilingual cogito: inner speech in acculturated bilinguals. International Journal of
Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2017.1285862
-
Haritos, C., & Nelson, K. (2001). Bilingual memory: The interaction of language and thought. Bilingual
Research Journal, 25(4), 605-626. https://doi.org/10.1080/15235882.2001.11074469
-
Hoff, E. (2018). Bilingual development in children of immigrant families. Child development perspectives, 12(2), 80-86. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12262
-
Indivero, V. M. (2013). Think twice, speak once: Bilinguals process both languages.
-
Javier, R. A. (2007). The bilingual mind: Thinking, feeling and speaking in two languages. Springer Science & Business Media.
-
Kroll, J. F., Bobb, S. C., & Hoshino, N. (2014). Two languages in mind: Bilingualism as a tool to
investigate language, cognition, and the brain. Current directions in psychological science, 23(3), 159-163. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721414528511
-
Krumm, H. J., & Plutzar, V. (2008). Tailoring language provision and requirements to the needs
and capacities of adult migrants. Retrieved June, 30, 2021.
-
Levinson, S. C. (1997). From outer to inner space: linguistic categories and non-linguistic thinking.
Language and conceptualization, 1, 13-45. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139086677.002
-
Lucy, J. A. (1992). Language diversity and thought: A reformulation of the linguistic relativity hypothesis. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511620843
-
Lucy, J. A. (1999). Linguistic relativity hypothesis. The MIT Encyclopedia of the Cognitive Sciences.
MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 475-476. https://doi.org/10.1016/B0-08-043076-7/03042-4
-
Malt, B. C. (2024). Representing the world in language and thought. Topics in Cognitive Science, 16(1),
6-24. https://doi.org/10.1111/tops.12719
-
McLeod, S. (2022). Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of cognitive development.
Retrieved from Simply Psychology: https://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html.
-
Mulyani, M. (2017). IDENTIFYING THE CONCEPT OF BILINGUALISM AND BILINGUALS
-
THROUGH SEVEN BAKER’ S DIMENSIONS OF BILINGUALISM. Englisia: Journal of Language, Education, and Humanities, 5(1), 29-40. https://doi.org/10.22373/ej.v5i1.1669
-
Ning, S., Hayakawa, S., Bartolotti, J., & Marian, V. (2020). On language and thought: Bilingual experience influences semantic associations. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 56, 100932.
-
Pakpahan, F. H., & Saragih, M. (2022). Theory of cognitive development by Jean Piaget. Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2(1), 55-60. https://doi.org/10.52622/joal.v2i2.79
-
Palinkas, L. A., Horwitz, S. M., Green, C. A., Wisdom, J. P., Duan, N., & Hoagwood, K. (2015).
-
Purposeful sampling for qualitative data collection and analysis in mixed method implementation research. Administration and policy in mental health and mental health services research, 42, 533-544.
-
Paradis, J. (2008). Are simultaneous and early sequential bilingual acquisition fundamentally different. Models of interaction in bilinguals.
-
Pavlenko, A. (2005). Bilingualism and thought. Handbook of bilingualism: Psycholinguistic approaches, 433453.
-
Pavlenko, A. (2009). Bilingualism and thought. Handbook of Bilingualism: Psycholinguistic approaches, (pp.433-453).
-
Pavlenko, A. (2014). The bilingual mind: And what it tells us about language and thought. Cambridge University Press.
-
Pliiddemann, P. (1997). 'Additive'and'subtractive': Challenges in education for multilingualism. Per linguam, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.5785/13-1-197
-
Presidency of Migration Management of the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Türkiye.
https://www.goc.gov.tr/gecici-korumamiz-altindaki-suriyeliler
-
Resnik, P. (2021). Multilinguals’ use of L1 and L2 inner speech. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2018.1445195
-
Schmiedtová, B., Von Stutterheim, C., & Carroll, M. (2011). Language-specific patterns in event
construal of advanced second language speakers. Thinking and speaking in two languages, 66-107.
-
Schroeder, S. R. (2018). Do bilinguals have an advantage in theory of mind? A meta-analysis. Frontiers
in Communication, 3, 36. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2018.00036
-
Toassi, P. F. P., Lauro, J., Gadelha, L. M. D. S., & Carthery-Goulart, M. T. (2023). Effect of
interlingual homographs and word frequency on bilingual lexical access. Ilha do Desterro, 76(3), 67-91. http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/2175-8026.2023.e94613
-
Treffers-Daller, J. (2012). Thinking for speaking and linguistic relativity among bilinguals: Towards a new research agenda. Language, Interaction and Acquisition, 3(2), 288-300.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/lia.3.2.06tre