Association sets of basic words in turkish language according to gender

In our study called ?Association Sets of Basic Words in Turkish Language According to Gender?, it has been attempted to determine the effect of gender difference, social role and identity, economical and cultural circumstances and life style on perception, way of thinking and language.In this study a brain-based approach has been adopted while attempting to determine the human mentality, perception and the way of thinking on the basis of associations. The concept of association has been described in theoretical sense; on the other hand it has been referred to the neurophysiological authenticity of association and language. Bonds have been established between human brain/mentality and social structure, subsequently these bonds have been evaluated and classified in respect to the underlying grammatical and subcultural tendencies.600 participants took part in our dissertation study. These participants were divided into four categories according to their gender and social class. In accordance with the social class detecting questionnaire, two social classes were set as lower class and middle class; furthermore, both social classes were divided in itself into two as ?woman? and ?man?. Thus, the associations of men and women were evaluated considering not only their gender but also their social backgrounds.The associations of 207 target words which are selected within basic words in Turkish language were asked to the participants. Association data were evaluated with respect to grammatical and subcultural tendencies by being classified according to each participating group. Hence, the traces of life style, mentality and cultural authenticity were searched for in each participating group.As a result of assessing the data obtained from the study, it has been seen that there are differences in the associations of target words according to social classes and gender; and there are traces of subculture which is intrinsic to social class and gender, life style, way of perceiving, and mode of language use on associations. These different tendencies have been explained in parallel with economical and cultural authenticity, social role and life style of the participants.