People of science, culture and art who contributed to Turkish language came together at the ceremony held at the Atatürk High Institution of Culture, Language and History on the 94th anniversary of the September 26 Language Day. The power of Turkish from past to future and its impact on the world came to the fore in the program, where the Service to the Turkish Language Awards also found their owners.
Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, in his speech at the program, said that Turkish is not only a means of communication, but also one of the basic elements that carry the history, civilization and common values of the nation.
"LANGUAGE IS THE MEMORY OF A NATION"
Ersoy, the founder of the Republic, Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, said, "Turkish language is the heart and mind of the Turkish nation." Recalling his promise, he stated that historical steps were taken towards the protection, enrichment and development of Turkish at the First Turkish Language Congress held on September 26, 1932.
Stating that today's responsibility is to carry this heritage to the future with the means of the age, Ersoy said, "Language is a nation's memory, its identity, its document of existence and independence. Turkish is not just a language for us; it is the carrier of our thousands of years of history, civilization and common values." he said.
THE VOICE OF TURKISH IS AROUND THE WORLD
Minister Ersoy said that in the last 24 years, under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, steps have been taken to increase the visibility and influence of Turkish in the world in many areas from culture to art, from education to public diplomacy.
Stating that Turkish has been delivered to all corners of the world through Yunus Emre Institutes, Ersoy stated that today thousands of foreign young people from Tokyo to Washington, from Sarajevo to Johannesburg are learning Turkish.
Noting that the linguistic and cultural heritage of the Turkish world and the geography of the heart is kept alive with the work of TIKA, Ersoy said that the written heritage of Turkish and the heirlooms of our ancestors, from the Orkhon Monuments Museum to the madrasahs in the Balkans, are being revived on site.
COMMON TURKISH ALPHABET ACCESSORY
Pointing to İsmail Gaspiralı's ideal of "Unity in language, thought and work", Minister Ersoy stated that the cooperation between the member countries of the Organization of Turkic States strengthens this understanding.
Evaluating the agreement reached on the Common Turkish Alphabet, Ersoy said that this is "one of the most concrete and meaningful steps of the ideal of a common language and common future."
TURKISH WARNING IN THE DIGITAL WORLD
Drawing attention to the new threats to Turkish, Ersoy emphasized that the responsibility of protecting and developing Turkish in the face of social media language, uncontrolled use of foreign concepts and new habits created by the digital world falls on all segments of society.
Ersoy said, "Because those who cannot produce their own concepts are forced to think with the concepts of others." he said.
Underlining that Turkish should be used correctly, beautifully and carefully, from families to schools, from the media to public institutions, Ersoy said, "To protect Turkish means to protect our national memory and future." he said.
LOYALTY TO LIVES DEDICATED TO TURKISH
In the program, "Turkish Language Service Awards" were presented to people of science, culture and art who devoted their lives to Turkish. Turkish Language Service Awards; Assoc. Prof. from Konstantin Preslavski Shumen University, Bulgaria. Dr. Menent Shukrieva, Prof. from Ankara University. Dr. Gülsün Leyla Uzun was presented to Türkmeneli Television and Ankara University Faculty of Languages, History and Geography by Minister Ersoy. Stating that the awards are a sign of respect for the efforts and lives devoted to Turkish, Minister Ersoy congratulated the names deemed worthy of the award and expressed his gratitude on behalf of the nation. Ersoy also commemorated the scientists and intellectuals who have worked from past to present to enrich and keep the Turkish language alive, and thanked the Turkish Language Association, which organized the program, and those who contributed. Minister Ersoy concluded his speech by saying, "Happy 26 September Language Day. May our Turkish language have a loud voice, a strong word, and a permanent and bright horizon." He concluded with these words:
