Dr. Luqman Gol Davi: Kurds must have policy; planning for Kurdish language

On August 27, the Ministry of Education of the transitional government issued a decision allocating only three weekly classes to the Kurdish language, alongside Arabic and English. The grades for Kurdish would be added to the overall total in accordance with certain procedures and criteria.

The decision sparked a wave of reactions within Kurdish society, which called for education in their areas to be conducted entirely in Kurdish. Dissatisfied reactions were also voiced by political parties and institutions in the region.

On this issue, our ANHA agency interviewed sociolinguistics researcher and current lecturer at Rojava University, Dr. Luqman Gol Davi, who has conducted numerous studies and research on language. He spoke about the efforts made to serve the Kurdish language, the transitional government’s decision, historical examples of struggles for language rights, and the requirements for developing the Kurdish language.

“In Rojava, Kurdish-language education developed on the basis of a political decision”

Dr. Luqman Gol Davi discussed the efforts made in support of the Kurdish language in Rojava, saying: “The language issue in Rojava did not emerge in 2012 or afterward. Rather, linguistic activities and efforts have been carried out systematically since 2000. One of the major shortcomings is that, to this day, there is no museum or archive documenting the linguistic works and activities.”

He noted that what schools and linguistic institutions have relied upon is sustained effort and work based on a consistent political decision to train teachers and teach Kurdish in Rojava and Syria.

Gol Davi described the transitional government’s decisions as reflecting the state’s vision, continuing: “If we look at the positive side, the Kurdish language has been recognized as a national language, and this decision constitutes a positive legal text. When it becomes a constitutional provision in the law, this means that the right of this national language will be protected by the constitution. At that point, what matters most is the extent to which society, politicians, and civil society organizations are capable of consolidating and developing the Kurdish language here.”

He pointed out that there is also another decision related to the constitutional issue, saying: “The legal text considers the Kurds an indigenous people, which means that they are an indigenous people with their own culture and language. Accordingly, when this decision is recognized in the constitution, it will have consequences and implications. The current state has now accepted that it is a centralized and unitary state. In such a state, it is possible for people to protect their culture and language, and there are examples of this around the world.”

He added: “However, absolute rejection or absolute acceptance is no longer useful to us. This government exists, and the Kurdish military and political forces have reached an agreement with it and decided to integrate with it. Accordingly, how can one protect the gains of the revolutionary period? This is the question we must ask ourselves.”

The Basque experience in protecting the language

Dr. Luqman Gol Davi cited the struggle of the Basque people living in Spain as a historical example, saying: “When we look at history, the decisions of this transitional government go even further than the decisions of Spain’s dictator Franco. In the 1980s, Franco declared that Spain was a centralized and unitary state, but he did not say that the Basque language was a national language or that the Basque people were an indigenous people. He merely said that Basques could manage their administrative affairs in their own language in their regions.”

He continued: “Today, in the Basque Country, within the two regions located in Spain, their language is used as an official language in schools and universities. Three models were implemented there. In the first, Spanish is the language of instruction, while Basque is a compulsory subject that students must learn. In the second, Spanish and Basque are taught on an equal basis (50%), with both languages receiving the same amount of instruction. In the third model, Basque is the language of instruction, while Spanish is a compulsory subject that students must learn.”

He added: “These three models have been implemented since the beginning of the 1980s, and the geographical reality of the Basque language has changed today. They began from a situation resembling the one North Kurdistan is experiencing today, where only 31% of people over the age of 65 knew Basque. Today, this has changed completely, and the age group that speaks Basque the most is now between 10 and 14 years old. Through patience and gradual progress, Basque families today have begun sending their children to the model in which Basque is the language of education and Spanish is a subject that must be learned.”

“This requires patience and a language policy”

Dr. Luqman Gol Davi proposes that the Kurdish people undertake work and activities similar to those carried out by the Basque people, saying: “This requires patience and a language policy. If we do not have language policy and planning, we will not be able to achieve development. Families must choose their language. If the state were to say that Kurds from Jazira to Kobani and Afrin could receive their education in Kurdish, would Kurds choose their own language? The fundamental issue is to develop a community-based language policy and planning, and this goes beyond political parties; it is a societal issue.”

He added: “We must not wait for what the state might offer. Rather, the question is: Do we have the vision and will to formulate a language policy, or not? Political forces must take action. When intellectuals and politicians make a decision, society also adopts that decision. There is a need to establish a language policy for all of Kurdistan: in North Kurdistan and Turkey, in Rojava and Syria, and in Rojhelat and Iran. I see this as an inevitable and indispensable matter.”

A call to continue efforts to serve the language

At the conclusion of his remarks, Dr. Luqman Gol Davi called on Kurdish families, teachers, and those working in the field of language to continue their efforts to serve the language, educate children, prepare small books and make them available to children, choose their language of instruction, and hold firmly to it.

Who is Luqman Gol Davi?

Dr. Luqman Gol Davi was born in the Midyat district of Mardin Province in North Kurdistan and grew up in Nusaybin, Mardin. He received his university education at the University of Göttingen in Germany and the University of Paris in France, studying Kurdish, Arabic, and Iranian studies. He completed his postgraduate studies at the University of Paris. He obtained a PhD in Iranian Studies, with his dissertation at the University of Göttingen in Germany focusing on the oral literature of the Botan and Golemerg regions.

After completing his studies, he worked as a lecturer at the universities of Paris, Göttingen, Erfurt, and Hamburg. However, he devoted most of his efforts and activities to working in Kurdish media. What he enjoyed most was writing children’s stories in Kurdish.

Dr. Luqman currently teaches postgraduate and doctoral students at Rojava and Kobani universities. He also serves as an adviser to the Kurdish Language Research Center at Rojava University. Most of his research and studies focus on Kurdish oral literature.

ANHA