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The infrastructure of the Turkish language in Bulgaria: Visualization, semiotization, and contemporary challenges. ΠΡΑΞΗMΑ. Journal of Visual Semiotics. 2025. Issue 2 (44). P. 105-132

In this article, we examine the role of the Turkish language in the semiotization of public space in Bulgaria. We begin by outlining the historical background that underpins the presence and significance of Turkish in the country, focusing primarily on the political framework that has shaped its use before and after Bulgarian independence. The Turkish population in Bulgaria constitutes the largest minority group in the country, and, therefore, the Turkish language continues to be the most important minority language. Next, we analyze the language management policies affecting Turkish in Bulgaria, considering the legal and social conditions under which it continues to develop in this southeastern European country. Through attempts at assimilation, the communist regime exerted pressure on Turkish and other Muslim communities living in Bulgaria, after changing its attitude since the democratic revolution. The historical and legal context is essential for understanding the semiotic representation of the Turkish language in the Bulgarian public sphere today. In our study, we then explore how this social background aligns with language management across different spheres in Bulgaria. We turn to the question of how the management of public space functions for the Turkish language. It is important to highlight that Turkish holds no official administrative status in Bulgaria and can therefore only appear in public spaces within certain domains. We argue that the visibility of the Turkish language in the public sphere in Bulgaria consists of two fundamental components: visualization and semiotization. Visualization is studied within the framework of linguistic landscapes, while semiotization is analyzed through semiotic landscapes. We briefly introduce these two theoretical approaches before exploring concrete examples of Turkish language use in Bulgaria. We analyze examples from relevant places with a dense Turkish minority, such as Shumen, Plovdiv, Razgrad, and others. Drawing on our empirical observations, we broaden the scope to explore both the significance and the challenges of Turkish language visibility in Bulgaria. As a result, our study shows that the Turkish language serves a niche infrastructure in the visualization of Bulgarian public space due to its absence from the administrative sphere, but the language appears where there is a sufficiently large ethnic Turkish community.

Keywords: Bulgaria, Turkish language, languages, visualization, minority languages, languages laws, language management, public space, linguistic landscapes, semiotics

The semiosis of the Turkish language in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Tracing the cityscapes of Sarajevo. ΠΡΑΞΗMΑ. Journal of Visual Semiotics. 2026. Issue 2 (48). P. 124-158

In this article, we examine the semiosis of Turkish in the landscapes of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, within the framework of linguistic landscapes theory and interpretive semiosis. Our study begins by tracing the changing status of Turkish in the historical process within the region. While Turkish held a decisive position as the language of administration and culture during the Ottoman period, it largely withdrew from the administrative sphere after 1878 during the Austro-Hungarian and Yugoslav periods. Despite this, it maintained its presence, at least to a limited extent, in the fields of education and religion. Nowadays, although Turkish is not an official administrative language in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and despite the fact that the Turkish population in Sarajevo is relatively small, it appears as a striking visual text in certain public spaces. This research was conducted using samples selected from 326 visual data collected in Sarajevo city centre. Considering this data, the visibility of Turkish in the public sphere was evaluated under three main functional categories. These are the preservation of cultural heritage, education and information, and tourism. Firstly, Turkish inscriptions in historical buildings restored by institutions such as TİKA were found to be producing a ‘semiotics of the past’ that refers to a shared history and the reconstruction process. Secondly, the use of Turkish in schools established or renovated with the support of the Republic of Türkiye and in the media (e.g. TRT Balkan) is considered a ‘semiotics of the future’ that prioritises knowledge transfer and long-term investment in younger generations. Thirdly, Turkish seen on maps and in hotels in tourist areas serves as a ‘semiotics of guidance’ and ‘semiotics of familiarity,’ particularly for visitors from Türkiye, making the space feel more familiar. In conclusion, this research reveals that despite Turkish being a minority language spoken by a few native speakers in Sarajevo, it functions as a symbolic and strategic ‘second-order semiotic process’ in the public sphere thanks to the historical, cultural and economic ties established with Türkiye. This situation demonstrates that Turkish is positioned not only as a communicative tool but also as an indicator that contributes to cultural diplomacy and peace-building.

Keywords: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkish language, languages, semiosis, Sarajevo, public space, linguistic landscapes, cityscapes