This paper examines language maintenance and shift throughout three Turkish immigrant generations in the Netherlands. It is found, as Saltarelli and Gonzo described in 1977, that language history, self-evaluated language competence and modern language practices of third-generation children contrast with those of first- and second-generation bilinguals. Potential language shift to Dutch (for social and economic reasons) amid third-generation bilinguals provokes socioemotional an intergenerational tensions.