VAN - Writer and politician Diba Keskin calling for support for the Kurdish Language Campaign that was launched for Kurdish to be accepted as an official language and language of education, said: "In order to keep Kurdish alive, we must give priority to our language."
The Kurdish Language Platform's petition launched by the February 21 Language Commission on February 22, demanding that Kurdish be accepted as the official language and language of education, continues. Diba Keskin called for support for the campaign, which will last until May 15 and will be sent to the relevant institutions.
DEMAND FOR KURDISH TO BE AN OFFICIAL LANGUAGE
Emphasizing that the campaign launched for Kurdish is a need and should be supported, Keskin drew attention to the importance of mother tongue in human life. Saying that people can only exist with their mother tongue, Keskin said, "Yes, we exist when we speak a language other than our mother tongue. But we cannot continue to be ourselves." Keskin, who wanted Kurdish to be an official language, said, "We grew up with the stories and clauses in Kurdish told by our parents. We have always nurished our souls in this way. Now we want it to continue like this. We have the right to speak our language."
CALL FOR SUPPORT
Saying that some dialects of Kurdish are in danger of extinction, Keskin called for an end to the bans on the language. Pointing to the effects of assimilation, Keskin said, "Who can read Kurdish literary works in the society today? How many of our people can work in newspapers, televisions, cinema and markets comfortably, using their mother tongue? Everything is in Turkish. Children go to school and speak Turkish. How can we develop our language like this? This is why we all need to support this campaign."
PRIORITY TO KURDISH
"In order for the campaign to achieve its goal, all democratic groups should support it," said Keskin, adding that in addition to criticizing the state regarding language, people should also take steps to keep the language alive. Keskin said, "We also have a shortcoming here. If we do not criticize ourselves, we will be unfair to our language, our culture and our parents who bring us up. We are not passing on the stories that our parents told us to our own children. We keep our language inside in a box. We speak Turkish with our friends and children in daily life. We need to give priority to Kurdish in our lives."