Every year on 21 February, International Mother Language Day draws attention to the protection of linguistic diversity around the world. According to data from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), around 40 percent of the approximately seven thousand languages spoken globally today are at risk of disappearing. One language is reported to vanish completely every two weeks, while a large part of the world’s population uses only a few dominant languages.
Declared in 1999 and officially observed since 2000, the day once again brings to the forefront the importance of education in the mother tongue and the protection of cultural heritage. According to a report published by UNESCO on 4 March 2025, there are 8,324 languages used as spoken or sign languages worldwide. Of these, around seven thousand are still in use today. However, only 351 are used as languages of education. Globally, only 40 percent of children receive education in their mother tongue.
One of these endangered languages is Kirmanckî. The language, estimated to be spoken by between two and four million people, is facing the risk of extinction.
Families who seek to preserve their languages make great efforts to protect their children from all forms of assimilation policies, stressing that “the first school for the mother tongue is the home.” One of them is Hüseyin Dalga, the father of six-year-old Rodin. Originally from Bingöl (Çewlîg), Dalga has been struggling for years to protect his mother tongue, Kirmanckî.
Dalga has spoken Kirmanckî with his six-year-old son since the day he was born. He said: “A person who does not know their mother tongue cannot live their culture. Someone who cannot do this becomes assimilated. Keeping our culture and language alive and protecting them is in our hands.”
Dalga urged the protection and development of the mother tongue to build strong social awareness and stressed that Kirmanckî must be passed down from generation to generation. He said that the mother tongue is a fundamental element of an individual’s identity, culture, and social existence.
Dalga also said that learning one’s mother tongue is not difficult, adding that the more languages a person learns, the more their perception develops and the more open-minded they become. Dalga also said that language, culture, and life are interconnected. He said: “If a person does not speak their mother tongue, they cannot live their culture. If they do not speak their own language and live in their culture, they gradually disappear and become assimilated. Their social identity is erased.”
My greatest fear is the loss of our mother tongue
Dalga said he wants his son Rodin to grow up with his own language and culture and explained that they have spoken Kirmanckî at home since the day Rodin was born.
Dalga also said: “I want my son Rodin to know the language and culture of his mother and father when he grows up. That is why we have spoken our mother tongue, Kirmanckî, with him since the day he was born. We communicate with him constantly in our own language. But when Rodin grows up and starts school, Turkish will be spoken at school and among his friends. My greatest fear is that he will drift away from his own mother tongue under this influence. I worry that one day, like many of our young people, he will say, ‘I understand it, but I cannot speak it.’”
People are not making enough effort
Dalga said that language rights were denied in the past and that the struggle continues today. He added: “So far, we have protected our language and culture largely through our own efforts. Conditions are better than before; the internet exists, and learning is easier. Despite this, we are not making enough effort. When there is a concert or an event, everyone is happy, but we often do not know what kind of struggle made this possible.”
Anyone who loses their mother tongue drifts away from everything
Dalga said that the loss of language leads to assimilation and continued as follows: “If a person loses their own language, they drift away from their culture and, over time, begin to adopt another culture. Everyone’s culture belongs to them; we must first keep our own culture alive. Wanting one’s own mother tongue is not a radical demand; it is a human right. Leaders speak of democracy and demand language rights for Turks living in other countries. We also want the same rights for our own language. This is not an extreme or radical demand that cannot be met.”
We must struggle for our language
Hüseyin Dalga said that cultural diversity is a source of richness and added: “Just as cultural diversity is seen as a richness in the world, our language should be valued in the same way. The more colorful and diverse humanity is, the more beautiful it becomes.” He also called on families regarding elective courses, stating that existing opportunities should be used until full mother-tongue rights are secured. Dalga said: “Families should guide their children on this issue and choose elective courses. We must struggle for our language and continuously voice our demands. We must stand up for our rights and keep our language and culture alive. Because a person’s first language education begins at home.”
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