AUC Philologica 2018/1, pp.87-95, 2018 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)
ABSTRACT MONOLINGUALITY OR MULTILINGUALISM? ANALYSIS OF LANGUAGE USAGE AND LANGUAGE REFLECTION IN THE FILM ALMANYA – WILLKOMMEN IN DEUTSCHLAND
The award-winning film Almanya – Willkommen in Deutschland (2011) tells the migration story of a Turkish family and their journey to Turkey in a humorous way. In the narrative of the history of immigration, German is substituted by gibberish, and the Turkish language is substituted by German. In contrast, a realistic language usage dominates when events in the film presence are depicted. The aim of this article is to explain how this migration film reflects on language, which is a most important tool for integration, and to explore the purpose of this language reflection. Linguistic analysis shows that realistic and unrealistic language usages engage the audience to question concepts of language and multilingualism. Although the image of a Turkish family integrated in Germany is portrayed on the surface of the film, the deep structure reveals an implicit critique of the monolinguality of the third generation, which was born and grew up in Germany.
Key words: Monolinguality, multilingualism, migration film, language reflection, cultural identity