Identity in flux beyond the conflict zone: Multilingual dynamics in Ukrainians' lives in Istanbul

This thesis examines the national and transnational identity construction of multilingual Ukrainians who fled Ukraine due to the full-scale war that broke out between Ukraine and Russia in 2022 and migrated to Istanbul, Turkey. Focusing on the linguistic practices of 15 Ukrainian immigrants, this study draws on data from audio-recorded interviews. Based on the chronotopic analysis of audio-recorded interview data, the study reveals how Ukrainian immigrants (re)construct the meaning of Ukrainian-ness in the wake of the full-scale war in 2022 and how they construct and negotiate their transnational identities with the use of their multilingual repertoires in the context of their new lives in Istanbul by evoking multiple chronotopes within their interview accounts. Discussed in line with the poststructuralist approach to language use and identity construction, the findings suggest that identity is continuously shifting as it is negotiated and reconstructed through social and political radical changes and the use of linguistic structures that are ideologically associated with specific groups. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate that the transnational identity is constructed through various linguistic resources which allow immigrants to integrate into their host country while maintaining strong ties with their home country.