Languages in Black Sea disappear

  • actual
  • 11:04 21 February 2024
  • |
img
İZMİR - Due to monist policies, the languages spoken in the Black Sea are in danger of extinction. Sümeyye Yıldızlı from Pontus Greeks and Mahir Ozkan from Hemşin emphasized that their mother language must be the official and education language.
 
The lands of Anatolia and Mesopotamia have hosted many civilizations throughout history. However, the different languages and cultures that spread over these lands faced danger of extinction with the emergence of nation states. According to the "Atlas of World’s Languages in Danger" published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2009 on the occasion of February 21, World Mother Language Day, 15 languages in Turkey are in danger of extinction. Some of these languages are also found in the Black Sea region. According to the data, Romeika, Hemşin and Laz languages are among the "endangered" languages. Romeika, which is particularly facing oblivion, is spoken only in 70 villages of Trabzon and Rize today.
 
Sümeyye Yıldızlı, a Pontian, and Mahir Özkan, one of the writers of Gor Hemşin Culture and Language Magazine, talked about the pressure on their mother language and what needs to be done against it.
 
'FIRST THE POPULATION WAS TURKISHIZED'
 
Sümeyye Yıldızlı (Elis Patulanti), from Trabzon's Çaykaralı district and whose mother language is Romeika, stated that Romeika is a language spoken in the Black Sea Region. Stating that the language, which was widely used during the Ottoman period, was ravaged due to the concept of a single identity during the construction of the nation state, Yıldızlı said: "The ravage begins when the Christian population is first Islamized and then Turkified through various policies. The language is marginalized in the context of Greek identity with assimilation policies and every non-Turkish element is considered an enemy. The formula of acceptable citizenship was presented to people as Turkishness. Of course, a language like Romeika would create a contradiction under this performance. While Romeika could read literary articles in the magazines published in Trabzon 100 years ago, it was buried in a hundred years of silence. It was pushed to the tops of the mountains, its living space was restricted." 
 
'THE STATE RESPONSIBLE'
 
Stating that people who were first pushed to the mountains were forced to migrate to different cities over time, Yıldızlı said that those who stayed in the villages had to receive education in Turkish. Drawing attention that those who speak or work in the language are marginalized by conspiracy theories, Yıldızlı said: “The living conditions of the language were taken away and left to 'die'. Just as the claims that the language is disappearing in its natural course are unfounded, the approach of 'what is done is done, what should we do now' is also extremely wrong. The state is responsible for the extinction of this language, whether through its action or negligence. Nowadays, reverse migration plans are coming to the fore."
 
'LIFE BEGINS WITH LANGUAGE'
 
Yıldızlı continued as follows: "This language is our mother language. It has been a part of our existence for thousands of years. The death of the language means our death. Why shouldn't we exist? The first condition for the survival of the language is, of course, that it be spoken in daily life. Oppression and assimilation must be abandoned and this language must be opened to the public sphere. It should be made one of the service languages in the public sphere and living spaces should be produced with this language. Education in the mother language is already the right of every person. The psychological and sociological problems this causes on individuals and societies have been revealed many times in many studies."
 
'LANGUAGE AND IDENTITIES ARE DISAPPEARING'
 
Mahir Ozkan, one of the writers of Gor Hemşin Culture and Language Magazine, said that the decline in the language, which started with the Islamization of Hemşin people in the 17th century, increased with the Republic's "one language, one identity" policy. Stating that Hemşin has been completely forgotten with the urbanization in the last 30 years, Ozkan said: "The extinction of a language means the disappearance of an identity. It is difficult for a society that has lost its language to carry its identity beyond a few generations. This means the disappearance of feeling and thought. For me, too. There are complex emotions created by the process of extinction of our language. On the one hand, I feel anger. Because I know that it does not have to be like this, it is possible otherwise. I feel great anger that our existence depends on the will of others. However, the efforts to keep the language alive and pass it on to future generations make me feel proud and honoured."
 
SUGGESTIONS FOR PROTECT THE LANGUAGE 
 
Adding that many precautions can be taken against the extinction of native languages, Ozkan said: "Methods such as preparing a dictionary, publishing books, preparing educational materials and opening courses can be applied. The steps that need to be taken politically can be listed as making all languages in our country the language of education along with Turkish, giving different identities a constitutional status, accepting languages other than Turkish as official languages in the regions where they are spoken and ensuring that public services are carried out in multilingual ways. Our duties should be to raise our children in their mother language while continuing cultural and literary studies to insist on using our native language within the family and to bring the demands I mentioned above to the political agenda. The world is a multilingual world. The fact that our mother languages are official languages or the language of education does not alienate us from each other. On the contrary, it brings it closer. It is possible and necessary for the age for education to be in the mother language and multilingually. On the occasion of February 21, I invite everyone to protect their language and identity and to struggle to establish a democracy based on the equality of rights of languages."
 
MA / Tolga Güney
 

View More Articles

20/04/2025
16:35 Visits continue to hospital where Onder being treated
16:35 Release call for ill prisoner Cam
15:57 Attack on DEM Party building in Seyhan
15:56 Our demand for Öcalan's freedom will not change says Newroz Uysal Aslan
15:06 DEM Party: Deputy Group Chairpersons to meet with Minister of Justice
14:35 Turkey must fulfil Öcalan's call says Ahmet Faruk Unsal
13:57 Relatives of prisoners: process cannot move forward without freedom
12:48 ‘Dream Traveller’ Aksu's mother: Let's embrace the process
09:27 People who lost relatives in clashes: Steps must be taken for peace
19/04/2025
13:19 Suspicious death of Rojin Kabais: Lawyers to meet with prosecutor
13:18 Makhmur citizens on on vigil for 640 days: İmralı system must be abolished
13:17 Simon Dubbins: Öcalan's leadership absolutely critical
18/04/2025
14:59 Raids on Baloch villages: 18 detained, 1 killed
14:57 627 attacks in 4 days
11:14 Families applies to go to İmralı
10:54 Forcing students to be spies under name of seminars
10:11 'Önder's condition same, life threat continues'
09:45 We must organise social reaction against violence to women says TJA member Ayse Minaz
17/04/2025
16:51 Iran bans 7 women artists from singing
16:46 Selcuk Kozagacli arrested
15:38 KCK's statement for Sırrı Sureyya Onder
15:30 Seriously ill prisoner Cam suffers a heart attack
15:14 Protest against execution in front of Urmia Prison
14:55 Selcuk Kozagacli detained
12:23 Warden threats prisoners: Once this process end we know what will do to you
12:01 Statement from hospital: Onder responds positively to treatment
11:28 Lawyers applies to meet with Abdullah Öcalan
11:19 Mothers of prisoners expect concrete steps from the state
10:27 Dr Sarria: Legal recognition of Kurdish is the most important thing
10:06 CPT's stance is political says Lawyer Ekin Yeter
16/04/2025
13:59 Journalist Welat Ekin released and acquitted
13:37 Amed citizens wait for steps: Abdullah Öcalan must be freed
11:48 Police wanted on red notice in Turkey but not apprehended
10:54 It is the parliament that will convince us says Rahşan Demirel's mother
10:45 Sırrı Süreyya Önder taken to intensive care
10:18 Abdullah Öcalan must be free for process to move forward says Lawyer Demir
09:33 The family Öcalan sends greetings to: We want to see him
09:12 Önder's operation continues: His heart started beating
15/04/2025
19:08 Call for 'release' of Shahla Pirastah
16:45 Letter from Nargis Mohammadi to the UN
16:22 Campaign to send money to prisoners continues
16:07 CPT once again did not visit İmralı
14:55 Many issues to be on agenda at meeting with Ministry says Tulay Hatimogullari
14:38 SOHR: 17 women and children abducted
11:55 Lawyers applies to meet with Abdullah Öcalan
10:32 'No peace without women's voice'
09:50 ‘Right to hope’ must be implemented say ÖHD lawyers
09:43 Rojhilat Newroz celebrations: Öcalan's call resonated widely
09:42 Peace can only come by respect of the identities, languages and cultures says Prof Dr Dunbar
14/04/2025
16:29 'Prohibition of torture and ill-treatment’ violated in Sincan Prison