How Do WE Address the Instructors in the Expanding Circle? Perspectives from Turkish EFL Speakers

Abstract

This paper explores the linguistic forms preferred by Turkish speakers of English to address instructors in academic settings. Far from the norm-referenced approach which focuses on labeling non-native-like practices as failures, this study casts light on the underlying mechanisms of the identified address preferences from a variationist point of view. To this end, 140 Turkish speakers of English as a foreign language reported the address forms they preferred on a discourse completion task. Next, ten participants were semi-structurally interviewed to reveal the motives behind their preferences. The results yielded that Turkish language and culture were mirrored on L2 English address practices through code-switching and translating. Along with the finding that the participants repudiated the address norms of the Inner Circle varieties of English, it was discussed that this can be a sign of a developing system of addressing in Turkish English as a variety in the Expanding Circle.