The Other Language and the Others in Language in Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Play, I Turcs tal Friùl (The Turks in Friuli)

Abstract

Pier Paolo Pasolini (1922-1975) is still mostly recognised outside Italy as a film director and a provocative intellectual figure. International studies on his works, particularly the poems and plays he wrote in Friulian, a language other than standard Italian, have not been sufficiently explored in academic research. Pasolini’s 1944 work, the play called I Turcs tal Friùl (The Turks in Friuli), stands out as an extraordinary text among his early works. The Friulian language, recognised as a minority language by the Italian government, holds a special function for Pasolini. By writing in Friulian instead of standard Italian, Pasolini makes a shift from a "national language" to a "regional/ minority language," and this is a translingual act. The question of how Turks, who are the "cultural others" coming from outside, are represented in the play written in an "other language" can also be examined together with this topic and operates within a transnational framework." In this play, it will be observed that Pasolini creates a passage between the two “other” doors he opens consecutively, remaining faithful to his poetic and political stance. © 2025. Kaya, N.