‘Google Amca’ and a Daughter in the UK: How Public Service-Providers in Beşiktaş Communicate with Limited Turkish Proficiency Service-Users

In recent years, the linguistic, cultural and ethnic profiles of some areas in Turkey have changed conspicuously. In Istanbul, districts like Esenyurt and Fatih have become famous for their unprecedentedly sizable populations of Limited Turkish Proficiency residents. The small and relatively prosperous district of Beşiktaş does not host such large communities of migrants, but its population has also become more diverse. Indeed, as an important commercial and touristic destination, with an average daytime population of around 2 million, it is no stranger to foreigners. When Limited Turkish Proficiency residents or visitors in Beşiktaş try to access basic services, they may face difficulties communicating with service providers, often (Turkish) monolinguals. How do service providers and the institutions they work for deal with such situations? What communication strategies or “bridging functions” (Kerremans et al. 2018) do they deploy? To answer this question, I have carried out an exploratory case study in three neighbourhoods of Beşiktaş, conducting semi-structured interviews with around 90 employees at a wide array of institutions, from estate agents to the local registry office. Topics covered include the frequency of communication problems, the use of contact languages, and practical and ethical consequences of the use of non-professional interpreters. This service provider-oriented study is unique in homing in on a very small urban area yet examining a broad range of sectors and settings (cf. Ross 2020, McKelvey 2021). The findings to be presented in my paper highlight the diversity of strategies employed by service providers. Particularly striking is the widespread use of Google Translate and the use of non-professional ad hoc interpreters, even in settings where legislation prescribes the deployment of professional interpreters.