content tagged with mother language

Language death, language suicide and Zaza language

ONE CENTURY, ONE REGIME AND MOTHER TONGUE | ZAZA LANGUAGE

Language death, language suicide and Zaza language

The Zaza language can hold onto life and continue to live. We should not forget that we will lose our soul together with our language if this does not happen.

22 February 2023 Ercan Çağlayan

'Ban on education in mother language torments Kurdish children in Turkey'

MOTHER LANGUAGE DAY

'Ban on education in mother language torments Kurdish children in Turkey'

Young Kurdish people remember their first years at school as a nightmare. Tan says, “As we could not spell the words, the teacher held us at school till 9 pm. He was saying, ‘You are gonna learn this language’.”

22 February 2022

Three more languages die out in Turkey

MOTHER LANGUAGE DAY

Three more languages die out in Turkey

The Human rights Association has called on Turkey to abide by its responsibilities according to international conventions that it is a party to.

21 February 2022

'Surprising': 5-year-old Lusin talks about Homshetsi on Mother Language Day

FEBRUARY 21

'Surprising': 5-year-old Lusin talks about Homshetsi on Mother Language Day

“Homshetsi is a special language, Homshetsi is a beautiful language. I would like to sing you a song,” says Lusin Sultan, speaking to bianet on the occasion of February 21 International Mother Language Day.

21 February 2022 Evrim Kepenek

27 languages, 120 signatories: ‘Right to language is a human right’

MOTHER LANGUAGE DAY

27 languages, 120 signatories: ‘Right to language is a human right’

On International Mother Language Day, the Network for Monitoring, Documenting and Reporting on Language Rights (DHİBRA) released a statement in the mother languages of Turkey and requested the removal of obstacles to mother languages.

21 February 2022

98.7 percent want education in mother language in Turkey, shows survey

98.7 percent want education in mother language in Turkey, shows survey

According to the results of a recent survey carried out by the Socio-Political Field Research Center, 87.7 percent of respondents say that education should be in the mother language starting from pre-school.

3 February 2022

Ban on Kurdish theater play brought to Parliamentary agenda

Ban on Kurdish theater play brought to Parliamentary agenda

HDP MP Dündar has recalled that the ban on meetings and demonstrations imposed once every 15 days in the province has been cited by the Mardin Governor’s Office as the reason for the ban on the “Tartuffe” theater play to be staged in Kurdish.

7 December 2021

Kurdish Language Platform: If there is to be equality, it must first be in language

Kurdish Language Platform: If there is to be equality, it must first be in language

Şerefxan Cizîrî, the Spokesperson for the Kurdish Language Platform, has said, “We need to bring the problems about language to the agenda of politics. Mother language must be guaranteed by the Constitution.”

19 October 2021

Mother language obstacle to coronavirus vaccination

MEDICAL CHAMBERS IN SOUTHEAST

Mother language obstacle to coronavirus vaccination

While the Health Ministry’s coronavirus vaccination campaign is moving apace, the desired vaccination rates have not yet been reached in some cities, especially in the Kurdish-majority ones. Mother language is reportedly a factor behind this.

30 June 2021 Cansever Avinç

'Children think that Kurdish is banned'

CHILDREN’S USE OF MOTHER LANGUAGE

'Children think that Kurdish is banned'

From the report of the Migration and Humanitarian Assistance Foundation: "Though it is not forbidden to speak Kurdish, children’s expressions reveal that they were subjected to de facto obstructions and exclusion when speaking in their mother language."

99.1 percent of families want their children to be educated in their mother language

99.1 percent of families want their children to be educated in their mother language

Answering the questions of Socio-Political Field Research Center, 53.6 percent of the respondents said, "I speak, understand, read and write my mother language” while 32.3 percent stated, "I speak, I understand, but I cannot read or write.”

10 May 2021 Ruken Tuncel

Kurdish Language Platform: Our language is our existence

Kurdish Language Platform: Our language is our existence

The Kurdish Language Platform slams Minister of National Education Selçuk, who answered a Parliamentary question by saying, “No language other than Turkish shall be taught as a mother tongue to Turkish citizens at any institution of education."

‘No language other than Turkish shall be taught,’ says Education Minister

‘No language other than Turkish shall be taught,’ says Education Minister

Minister of National Education Ziya Selçuk has answered the Parliamentary question of HDP MP Sıdık Taş about education in the mother language. The Minister has referred to Article 42 of the Constitution.

Application to add Kurdish to Women’s Emergency Support App

Application to add Kurdish to Women’s Emergency Support App

Lawyers from the Diyarbakır Bar Association have applied to the Ministry of Interior and said that “an application developed to protect women needs to offer services in the languages existing and spoken in the country.”

‘Baku Turkish’ spoken in Kurdish-majority Diyarbakır, according to Ministry

‘Baku Turkish’ spoken in Kurdish-majority Diyarbakır, according to Ministry

The Ministry of National Education of Turkey has prepared an introductory book on Diyarbakır, making no mention of Kurds or Kurdish. The language spoken in the province is similar to ‘Baku Turkish’ in Azerbaijan, according to the book.

Study: Younger Zazas in Dersim reluctant to learn Zaza language, increasingly identify as 'Turks'

Study: Younger Zazas in Dersim reluctant to learn Zaza language, increasingly identify as 'Turks'

"The oldest generation is monolingual and this language is the Zaza language. The middle-aged generation, who learned the second language mainly at school, are bilingual. The younger generation are again monolingual but this language is Turkish," says Dr. Güntaş-Aldatmaz.

1 March 2021 Evrim Kepenek

‘Right of mother tongue-based health is above politics’

REQUEST IN 6 MOTHER LANGUAGES

‘Right of mother tongue-based health is above politics’

The Şişli Branch of the Health and Social Service Laborers Union (SES) has raised its request for healthcare services in mother language by releasing a statement in six mother languages and English to mark the International Mother Language Day.

22 February 2021

‘People uneasy about using their mother language in public transport’

‘People uneasy about using their mother language in public transport’

Ahead of the International Mother Language Day on February 21, Diyarbakır-based Socio-Political Field Research Center has conducted a study shedding light on how frequently people speak in their mother languages in public.

17 February 2021

‘Half the students in Diyarbakır unable to access distance education’

‘Half the students in Diyarbakır unable to access distance education’

The Diyarbakır Branches of Education Union have shared their report on education with the public. The report has shown that 4,300 of 47,228 students who graduated from secondary school cannot enroll in an institution for further formal education.

25 January 2021

‘We are about to lose a generation’

EDUCATION IN DİYARBAKIR

‘We are about to lose a generation’

“The problem of education in mother language is negatively affecting access to education in Diyarbakır. If necessary measures are not taken, we are faced with the risk of losing a generation,” says Education Union Diyarbakır No 1 Branch Co-Chair Kaya.

25 November 2020

‘Disregarding mother language in education means disregarding the child’

‘Disregarding mother language in education means disregarding the child’

In a Parliamentary question addressed to the Minister of Education, HDP MP Dilan Dirayet Taşdemir has underlined that one of the most fundamental human rights of an individual is to be educated in her or his mother language.

17 September 2020

Trustee appointed to Batman, road signs in Kurdish removed from province

Trustee appointed to Batman, road signs in Kurdish removed from province

Appointed a trustee by the Ministry of Interior, the Municipality of Batman has renewed the traffic icons in the province. The road signs of “pedestrians first” are no longer in Turkish-Kurdish language pair, but now solely in Turkish.

A Story of Statement of Defense in Kurdish at 22nd Heavy Penal Court

A Story of Statement of Defense in Kurdish at 22nd Heavy Penal Court

Tried for having written an article on speaking in Kurdish in the trial of Özgür Gündem Editorsi-in-Chief on Watch campaign, Kayar in the summary judgement was asked by the chief judge “Why don’t you make your statement of defense in Turkish”.

24 October 2017 Tansu Pişkin

Parliament to discuss court reform

Parliament to discuss court reform

The Turkish government has submitted to parliament a reform allowing defendants to use languages other Turkish in court, a key demand of jailed hunger strikers.

13 November 2012

Kurdish Politician Speaks Mother Tongue in Parliament, Live Broadcast Cut

Kurdish Politician Speaks Mother Tongue in Parliament, Live Broadcast Cut

Parliament Speaker Toptan ordered a cut in the live broadcasting from parliament when Türk, co-chair of the Kurdish DTP spoke Kurdish in a party meeting at parliament.

25 February 2009 Tolga Korkut