Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said, “It is the duty of all of us to protect and develop our Turkish language in the face of social media language, uncontrolled use of foreign concepts and new habits created by the digital world.” he said.
At the ceremony held by the Turkish Language Association (TDK) on the occasion of the 94th Language Day at the Atatürk Conference Hall of the Atatürk Supreme Institution of Culture, Language and History, Turkish Language Service Awards were given to individuals and institutions that contributed to the preservation, development and survival of the Turkish language in the Turkish world.
At the ceremony, Prof., who contributed to the development of Turkish with his academic studies. Dr. Gülsün Leyla Uzun and Assoc. Prof. for their work on keeping the Turkish language heritage alive in the Balkans. Dr. Menent Shukrieva was awarded the award.
Turkmeneli Television, which makes the voice of the Turkish world heard internationally, and Ankara University Faculty of Languages, History and Geography, were presented with Turkish Language Service Awards for their work in the field of Turcology and language research.
“Turkish language is the heart and mind of the Turkish nation”
Speaking at the ceremony, Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said, “Today, we are celebrating with great pride the 94th anniversary of the September 26 Language Festival, which is the holiday of our Turkish language, which carries the spirit, memory and independence of our nation.” he said.
Ersoy also stated that they were happy to present the “Turkish Language Service Awards” to people of science, culture and art who devoted their lives to the Turkish language.
Emphasizing that language is a nation’s memory, identity, existence and bill of independence, Ersoy said, “Turkish is not just a language for us, it is the carrier of our thousands of years of history, civilization and common values. In the words of Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of our Republic, ‘Turkish language is the heart and mind of the Turkish nation.” he said.
Ersoy said that at the First Turkish Language Congress held on September 26, 1932, historical steps were taken towards the enrichment and development of Turkish, as well as the importance and protection of the national language.
“If thousands of foreign young people are learning our beautiful Turkish, this is the fruit of the determined steps taken.”
Stating that their duty today is to carry this precious heritage to the future with the means of the age, Ersoy said:
“In the last 24 years, under the leadership of our President, our country has taken important steps to increase the visibility and influence of our Turkish language in the world in many fields, from culture to art, from education to public diplomacy. We are bringing the voice of our Turkish to all corners of the world with our Yunus Emre Institutes. Today, our Turkish is one of the common values of a wide geography of hearts extending not only from Edirne to Kars, but also from the Adriatic to the Great Wall of China. Today, from Tokyo to Washington, from Sarajevo to “If thousands of young foreigners are learning our beautiful Turkish all the way to Johannesburg, this is the fruit of the determined steps taken.”
“It is our duty to protect and develop our Turkish language”
Minister Ersoy stated that they keep the language and cultural heritage of the Turkish world and the geography of the heart alive with the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA).
Underlining that they personally restored the heirloom works of our ancestors and the monuments written in Turkish on site, Ersoy said, “We are reviving our linguistic heritage, from the Orkhon Monuments Museum to the madrasahs in the Balkans. We have brought the weight and prestige of Turkish to the highest level in education, digital content and public diplomacy.” he said.
Reminding İsmail Gaspiralı’s ideal of “Unity in language, thought and work”, Ersoy stated that this ideal has gradually become a concrete reality thanks to the cooperation and common will of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan with the leaders of the member countries of the Organization of Turkic States.
Emphasizing that the agreement on the Common Turkish Alphabet is one of the concrete and meaningful steps towards the ideal of a common language and a common future, Ersoy said:
“We have important responsibilities as well as opportunities before us. It is our duty to protect and develop our Turkish in the face of social media language, uncontrolled use of foreign concepts and new habits created by the digital world. Because those who cannot produce their own concepts are forced to think with the concepts of others. For this reason, we must all use our Turkish correctly, beautifully and carefully, from our families to our schools, from our media to our public institutions. Protecting Turkish means protecting our national memory and our future.”
Stating that the Turkish Language Service Awards are a sign of respect for the efforts and lives devoted to Turkish, Ersoy congratulated the people of science, culture and art who were deemed worthy of the award.
Ersoy thanked those who worked to enrich and keep the Turkish language alive, the Turkish Language Association and those who contributed to the ceremony and said, “Happy September 26 Language Day. May our Turkish language have a loud voice, a strong word, and a permanent and bright horizon.” he said.
“Every step taken contributes to building the Turkish world of the future.”
President of Atatürk Higher Institution of Culture, Language and History, Prof. Dr. Derya Örs also stated that Atatürk’s establishment of language and history institutions was one of the important steps towards the development of history, language, culture and national awareness after the War of Independence.
Stating that language is a determining factor in the journey of nations on the stage of history, Örs said, “For centuries, our country has flowed like a huge river extending from the steppes of Asia to the middle of Europe to the borders of Mesopotamia, adding abundance to every geography it touched, feeding from those geographies and creating a vast basin of civilization in the process.” he said.
Stating that the Higher Institution and its institutions are working to protect and develop the common civilization heritage of the Turkish world, Örs said, “Every step taken under the guidance of our High Council, from the common alphabet to common terminology studies, from digital databases to cultural interaction projects, contributes to building the Turkish world of the future.” he said.
“The future of language is no longer just in books and dictionaries”
TDK President Prof. Dr. Osman Mert also celebrated the 94th anniversary of the First Turkish Language Congress held under the auspices of Atatürk and the Language Day.
Stating that language is the strongest memory that connects the past to the present and the present to the future, Mert said that the Turkish Language Association has been working for 94 years to enrich Turkish and make it a universal language of science and art.
Mert said, “In accordance with the requirements of the digital age, we are working to represent Turkish accurately and strongly in artificial intelligence algorithms, databases, and the digital world. Because we know that the future of a language is no longer shaped only in books and dictionaries, but in data, algorithms and artificial intelligence.” he said.
Stating that the Turkish Language Service Awards owe a debt of loyalty to the individuals and institutions that contribute to the development and survival of the Turkish language, Mert gave information about the work of the academics and institutions deemed worthy of the award.
Following the speeches, the Turkish Language Service Awards were presented to their owners by Minister Ersoy. The ceremony ended with a family photo shoot.
