There are an estimated 3.5 million people of Turkish origin living in Germany. Most live
in urban areas; the vast majority live in West Germany. This group is known collectively
as “Almanya Türkleri” or “German Turks”. That’s the formal term, and a more common,
slang term is “Almancılar.” -- connotation of a Turkish person who has something to do with
Germany.
Turks in Germany are a much younger population overall than Germans. A quarter of
the mainstream German population is older than 60, compared to only 5% of the Turkish
population.
Their first major presence in Germany came in the form of foreign guest workers, or “yabancı
misafir işçi.” Large-scale immigration (göç) of Turkish workers began in the beginning of
the 1960s due to high population growth and mass unemployment within Turkey and labor
shortages in north-west Europe.
Most Turks believed they would only stay in Germany temporarily and would one day return
back to Turkey to build a new life for themselves. But many have now been expatriates for
generations (“Gurbetçiler”).
Many took advantage of the right of family reunification to have their families join them in
Germany. And as a result the number of Turks in Germany nearly doubled between the 1970s
and 80s. This also created a much younger age profile than the German population because of
the larger numbers of children in Turkish families.
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Citizenship (yurttaşlık or vatandaşlık) laws have tended to favor legitimacy by descent
rather than place of birth. Reforms have been made extending opportunities for German
citizenship, but restrictions on dual citizenship are still high. Since the year 2000, children
born in Germany are entitled to adopt German citizenship, and increasing numbers of second-
generation Turks have opted for this. Foreign citizens, which many Turks still are, are known
as yabancı vatandaşlar.
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Most Turks in Germany live in two conflicting cultures with vastly different behavior codes.
At work or school, German culture tends to dominate, but during free time, social networks
divide along ethnic lines of Turkish culture (Türk kültürü). The social networks are still
overwhelmingly Turkish.
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The Turkish language is Germany’s second language. Second and third generation Turks
often speak Turkish with a German accent or modeled on a German dialect. The majority use
Turkish in their homes and neighborhoods.
Interestingly, Turkish in Germany is often used not only by members of its own community
but also by people with a non-Turkish background. Especially in urban areas, it functions as a
peer group language for teenagers. There’s a German creole called kanak sprak or kanakisch
or turkdeutsch where Turkish is modified by adding German grammatical and syntactical
structures. It's also sprinkled with Arabic or Turkish words, such as Yalla (Arabic for let's
go), Wallah (a compressed form of the Arabic for by Allah which is used to mean "really")
and lan, short for Turkish "ulan" and used to mean "guy" or "dude". The Turkish langauge
has been used as an expression of solidarity and identity for Turkish youth, especially in
Turkish rap and hip-hop.
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Turks are the biggest foreign population, and they’ve left their mark on most German cities.
One of the most referenced cultural transfers is Döner kebabs, which have become traditional
German food. But there are problems of integration, as immigrant communities tend to form
cultural enclaves within Germany. Rejection of the strange and unfamiliar on the side of the
Germans and a strong concentration on religion and tradition on the side of the Turkish can
create a vicious circle of alienation.
One of the biggest problems is language gap. -- "Most third-generation Turks in Germany do
not have a sufficient knowledge of German even though most of them have been born and
raised here," says Ali Ucar, a professor of pedagogy at Berlin's Technical University.
There was a study of 273 preschool children from immigrant families in Berlin's Kreuzberg
district, most of whom were of Turkish origin, which found that 63% of the children spoke
little or no German and therefore "didn't meet the linguistic requirements for primary school."
This is because there is little reason to speak German outside work or school. Almost three-
quarters of German Turks live in urban enclaves with extensive Turkish networks of shops,
restaurants, mosques and professional services. They can even watch Turkish TV on more
than a dozen channels available via cable or satellite. One such television company is called
Türkiye Radyo Televizyon Kurumu, and broadcasts in Berlin.
Many politicians and other public figures have called attention to the problem of integration
for German Turks, and some local schools offer classes in Turkish, and many German
schools now offer courses to take Turkish as a foreign language.
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