Pomaks in Turkey

Pomaks in Turkey

Türkiye'deki Pomaklar
Total population
750,000
Regions with significant populations
Eastern Thrace
Languages
Pomak, Turkish
Religion
Sunni Islam
Related ethnic groups
South Slavic Muslims (mainly Torbeshi and Bosniaks)

The Pomaks in Turkey refers to a Slavic Muslims, who speak Bulgarian language. ^[1] They mostly live in Eastern Thrace, though some are also present in Anatolia. ^[2]

Numbers

Pomak-speaking population in Turkey ^[3]

Year	As first language	As second language	Total	Turkey's population	% of Total speakers
1935	32,661	8,380	41,041	16,157,450	0.25
1945	10,287	5,594	15,881	18,790,174	0.08
1950	36,612	0	36,612	20,947,188	0.17
1955	16,163	22,816	38,979	24,064,763	0.16
1960	24,098	28,602	52,700	27,754,820	0.19
1965	23,138	34,234	57,372	31,391,421	0.18

In the census of 1965, those who spoke Pomak as first language were proportionally numerous in Edirne (3.4%), Kırklareli (1.3%) and Çanakkale (1.0%).

Language

The Pomaks of Turkey speak a Bulgarian dialect. ^{[4] [5] [6] [7] [8]} According to Ethnologue at present 300,000 Pomaks in European Turkey speak Bulgarian as mother tongue. ^[9] It is very hard to estimate the number of Pomaks along with the Turkified Pomaks who live in Turkey, as they have blended into the Turkish society and have been often linguistically and culturally assimilated. ^[10] According to Milliyet and Turkish Daily News reports, the number of the Pomaks along with the Turkified Pomaks in the country is about 600,000. ^{[10] [11]}

References

1. Kristen Ghodsee (27 July 2009). Muslim Lives in Eastern Europe: Gender, Ethnicity, and the Transformation of Islam in Postsocialist Bulgaria. Princeton University Press. p. 38. ISBN   978-1-4008-3135-7.
2. "Pomaks in USA".
3. Fuat Dündar, Türkiye Nüfus Sayımlarında Azınlıklar, 2000
4. The Balkans, Minorities and States in Conflict (1993), Minority Rights Publication, by Hugh Poulton, p. 111.
5. Richard V. Weekes; Muslim peoples: a world ethnographic survey, Volume 1; 1984; p.612
6. Raju G. C. Thomas; Yugoslavia unraveled: sovereignty, self-determination, intervention; 2003, p.105
7. R. J. Crampton, Bulgaria, 2007, p.8
8. Janusz Bugajski, Ethnic politics in Eastern Europe: a guide to nationality policies, organizations, and parties; 1995, p.237
9. Gordon, Raymond G. Jr., ed. (2005). "Languages of Turkey (Europe)". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (Fifteenth ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. ISBN   978-1-55671-159-6.
10. "Trial sheds light on shades of Turkey". Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review. 10 June 2008. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
11. "Milliyet - Turkified Pomaks in Turkey" (in Turkish). www.milliyet.com.tr. Retrieved 8 February 2011.