Heritage Language Attrition Among Second-Generation Immigrant Turks Residing in Austria and Germany

Abstract

This study investigated how heritage language attrition was maintained in agglutinative languages and in which areas it affected the second-generation immigrant Turks residing in Austria and Germany. Although extensive research has examined language attrition in immigrant communities, research remains scarce on how heritage-language maintenance is managed by second-generation immigrants and on the degree to which they value preserving their native tongue for cultural and identity reasons. Given Turkish’s agglutinative framework, where meaning is encoded via long bound-morpheme sequences, this language seems particularly susceptible to attrition, as speakers often simplify morphological complexity Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used in this research with 37 participants. An online questionnaire assessed first-language use frequency across contexts, perceived declines in speaking, reading, writing, and listening, and comfort levels in Turkish versus German; semi-structured interviews elaborated on these experiences; and a custom-scored C-test measured inflectional proficiency. Three phenomena/results pertaining to language attrition were observed: necessary input for maintaining the heritage language primarily comes from home and family environments rather than educational facilities, reading and writing were affected from language erosion more than speaking and listening, and second generation immigrants put a great deal of attention on maintaining their heritage in the name of their culture and identity. Consequently, implementations for educational practices were given to enhance the durability of the heritage language. This study revealed that, due to the agglutinative nature of Turkish, inflectional suffixes might be the most vulnerable target for language attrition. Analysis of C-test scores collected via an online survey revealed that plural, locative, and dative case markings in reading tasks are especially vulnerable to heritage‐language attrition, whereas nominative and person case markings remain comparatively resilient. These findings highlight the importance of sustained input, tailored teaching strategies, and community engagement in preserving Turkish heritage competencies among second-generation immigrants.