ABOUT THE PROJECT (PROJE HAKKINDA)
WHAT (NE)? : “ZIP DOWN TO THE ISTANBUL Street’s Wall writing for ‘zıpır’ Turkish” is a awarded project at Harvard for Turkish learners. As a part of Turkish curriculum, a sustainable web portal was designed as a digital resource of photographs of Istanbul Wall Writings to boost Turkish knowledge in creative, fun, engaging, surprising, melodic, and informative ways.
WHO (KİM)? : Project creator and the coordinator: Dr. Meryem Demir (Modern Turkish, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University)
Project Web Design Assistant (2022-2023): İlknur Aspir (Harvard Graduate School of Education)
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- E-mail: ilknuraspir@gse.harvard.edu
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WHERE (NEREDE)? : The photographs have been taken in different districts of Istanbul and will mainly be exhibited for Harvard Turkish learners.
WHEN (NE ZAMAN)? : It started in 2022 and continues.
WHY (NEDEN)? : Because; wall writings in Istanbul are a unique example of the Turkish language in multiple ways; idioms, expressions, poems, rhymes, songs, protests, and literacy prose. In this way, the Turkish curriculum will be enriched and expanded. Via this web portal, students will explore:
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- language mosaic; encountering informal language usage, enriching their learning experience through their ability to harmonize real-life examples with their knowledge.
- the cultural aspects of social interactions via lexicalization,
- identifying how demographic features have impressed on speech.
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FOR WHAT / WHO (NE / KİM İÇİN)? : Turkish learners can use the website to boost their knowledge in creative, fun, engaging, surprising, melodic, and informative ways. Also, scholars of different disciplines (like anthropology, linguistics, and music) will use this distinguished source for search for language & culture.
What not for: This website does not aim to teach Turkish. Students are expected to explore the website to strengthen their Turkish after learning new grammar material in class.
HOW TO USE (NASIL KULLANILMALI)? : The way of teaching grammar in the Harvard Turkish courses is adapted to explain photographs in the portal. Grammar explanations are limited, and principally translation from Turkish into English was avoided to prompt students to check a dictionary.
IN FUTURE (SONRASI) : As a sustainable project, we aim to, as well as search the linguistic forms, put a search on the cultural aspects of social interactions via lexicalizations, such as identifying how demographic features have impressed on speech. In the future;
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- districts whereby the photos of wall writings can be classified historically and culturally and can be enriched by local people’s… (such as voice records, short videos)
- if the database for wall writings is large enough, a mapping project can be implemented whereby the photos of wall writings will be accessed through an online/interactive map, allowing the students to navigate through the streets of Istanbul while improving their language skills.
- a social media account can be created where photos of Turkish wall writings will be posted, allowing students to interact with Turkish on a social media platform as well.
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PEDAGOGY : Anticipated pedagogical needs to meet:
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- the orientation of Turkish from basic to complex.
- response to visual forms
- response to verbal conditions such as written, and spoken explanations
- taking part in group work interactively
- functioning individually
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NOTE : On the website, all photographs are used for educational purposes. For example, some photos may include stores, small businesses, people, or political advertisements, but we have focused on the words and sentences for language education. Please note that some of the wall writings may contain humorous, slang, foul or sexually explicit language. It is not easy to find this type of writing as it may be erased as soon as it is noticed. Additionally, other examples of wall writings that mention LGBT or protests can be found at all levels. However, please be aware that the website may not necessarily provide the most accurate visualization or panorama of Istanbul as wall writings can vary greatly in content and style throughout the city.
