A quarter century of online discussions on Arabic and Kurdish in Turkey: a comparative analysis of language attitudes and controversies

Abstract Over the past two decades, Turkey has introduced reforms to enhance the linguistic rights of its two most widely spoken minority languages, Kurdish and Arabic, marking a departure from its historically monolingual policies. Violations of linguistic rights and continued shifts toward Turkish continue, though, explained by previous research as resulting from poor policy implementation. Language attitudes and ideologies at the grassroots level also play a critical role in the effectiveness of language policies, however, but these remain largely overlooked both in research and policymaking. This study therefore systematically analyzes 2,075 topic titles and 10,000 individual comments posted about Kurdish and Arabic on a popular Turkish online forum between 1999 and 2024, revealing a pervasive ideology of normative monolingualism and widespread negativity toward both languages, despite the reforms that were introduced. Kurdish receives a more positive reception than Arabic, but its use is still considered controversial, particularly in political and educational contexts. Because Arabic is often linked to political Islam and Syrian refugees, it is viewed quite negatively. The study thus shows that well-intentioned language policies still have to be implemented in actual contexts, and that grassroots attitudes and ideologies may contribute to thwarting their effectiveness. Policymakers wishing to increase the success of their language policies may have to work on creating a favorable reception of these policies, not least in major online social spaces.