As celebrations marking 15 May Kurdish Language Day concluded, the central demand voiced during demonstrations and events was for Kurdish to be recognized as an official language and a language of education. The Wan branch of the Education and Science Workers’ Union (Eğitim Sen) also organized the 3rd Kurdish Language Symposium as part of the events.

 

Many participants from all four parts of Kurdistan attended the symposium titled “The Situation of Kurdish and Kurdish Education in Kurdistan.” Discussions focused on the condition of Kurdish dialects as well as the use of Kurdish in law and other fields. Speakers stressed the need for “radical steps” for the Kurdish language.

 

 

‘SITUATION IN BAKUR AND BAŞUR’

 

Lawyer and researcher Azad Weledbegî, who attended the symposium from Hewlêr (Erbil) in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, said the fragmentation among Kurds has also led to fragmentation in language. Weledbegî stated that Kurdish was officially recognized as a language in the Iraqi constitution in 2005 and that there was no legal obstacle in this regard. However, he said laws were not being implemented in practice and that private schools were increasingly favoring English over Kurdish in Başur (Southern Kurdistan, Iraq).

 

Weledbegî said assimilation in Bakurê Kurdistanê (Northern Kurdistan, Tukey) had also reached serious levels, adding that he observed younger generations no longer speaking their mother tongue. He expressed hope that such events would help raise greater awareness about the importance of the Kurdish language. He also noted that Kurdish receives less attention in education and that resources in Kurdish are lacking in certain academic disciplines.

 

“However, there is a struggle in Bakur. The government needs to officially recognize Kurdish,” he said.

 

THE SITUATION OF THE KIRMANCKÎ DIALECT

 

Serhat Temel from the SAMER Center for Field Research, who gave a presentation on the condition of the Kirmanckî dialect, said the biggest problem facing Kirmanckî is that it is “not being spoken.” Stressing the need to focus more attention on the dialect, Temel criticized the understanding that Kurdish exists only through the Kurmancî dialect.

 

“How can a language develop or spread if it cannot find space for itself?” he asked, warning that Kirmanckî could disappear within 50 years if the current trend continues. He stressed that the Kirmanckî dialect must find space in all areas of life.

 

‘THE NEW GENERATION IS GROWING UP WITH TURKISH’

 

Writer Qahir Bateyî pointed out that Kurdish still lacks the status of an educational language and an official language, saying the situation for Kurdish is becoming increasingly dire. Bateyî said that despite bans in the past, Kurdish continued to be spoken and preserved, but that this sensitivity no longer exists today.

 

“Yes, we still cannot receive education in our mother tongue, but we could not in the past either. Even so, Kurds tried to preserve what existed. Today, even children in villages are beginning to grow up speaking Turkish,” he said.

 

Bateyî stressed the need for a strategy for Kurdish, saying Kurds themselves could work to preserve their language: “Kurds must develop such an effort and such a strategy that the ban on Kurdish is lifted and the state is forced to officially recognize Kurdish. We have a history of struggle capable of making this language a language of education from primary school to university. But now we have to start somewhere.”

 

MA / Ceylan Sahinli - Lutfu Pala