2025-02-16

Soran University Holds a Forum marking International Mother Language Day

Soran University Holds a Forum marking International Mother Language Day
The Department of Kurdish Language at the Faculty of Arts - Soran University is holding various events on the occasion of International Mother Language Day.
 
The Department of Kurdish Language at the Faculty of Arts at Soran University held a meeting entitled "The role of the mother tongue in preserving the Kurdish identity" on Sunday, February 16, 2025, in Ismail Bishkaji Hall, in observance of International Mother Language Day.
The event was attended by SU President ,AP.Dr. Sherwan Sharif Qurtas, members of the Kurdistan Parliament, government and party officials, university council members, professors, and students. 
During the forum , researchers discussed the importance of the mother tongue and its impact on the survival of the nation and keeping its identity and culture alive. On the other hand, the means of survival of the Kurdish language and the reasons for its decline in the educational and scientific process were discussed. The experts also shed light on the role of the forces that have invaded Kurdistan in the collapse of the Kurdish language, explaining the positive and negative effects of technology on the language.
 
At the beginning of the event,  SU President delivered a speech in which he welcomed the attendees,  and thanked its organizers. SU President spoke about the importance of the mother tongue:” We are here today to commemorate and celebrate the mother language.  The mother tongue is the identity of any people and nation; through it, a nation's identity, culture and civilization are determined. The Kurdish language is one of the hundreds of officially recognized languages in the world and is a rich language that must be preserved and further developed”.
He emphasized the  importance Soran University attaches to the Kurdish language: Soran University is working to make Kurdish the language of science and research. To this end, we seek to establish the Kurdish Language Service Centre with the Kurdish Department, so that the Kurdish language remains alive and becomes the language of science and research”.
The first day of the event featured three panel discussions.
The first panel: The Position of the Kurdish Language
Prof. Dr. Yadgar Rasul Hamdamin, panel moderator
1. Prof.Dr. Rafiq Shawani, The Kurdish language among the languages of the world.
2. Prof. Dr. Muhammadi Mahwi, The Mental Lexicon and its Role in Interpretation and Education.
3. Prof. Dr. Wuria Omar Amin, The most persecuted language in the world is Kurdish.
 
The second panel: Language, Literature and Language Policy
AP.Dr. Hazhar Abdul-Ghafoor, panel moderator
1. Prof. Sirwan Jabbar Amin Zand, Kurdish Literature and Thought.
2. Prof.Dr . Dilshad Zamwa, The policy of changing the names of our cities, mountains and villages by  our invaders.
3. AP. Dr. Hashim Ahmadzadeh, Mind, Imagination and Identity.
 
The Third Panel: The Kurdish language in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Abdul Hadi Abbad Abdullah, panel moderator
1. Prof.Dr. Qais Kakel Tawfiq, Kurdish Language and (Virtual Society).
2. Prof.Dr.Hadi Ways. Chat GPT and its Implications for Languages.
3. Ast. Lect. Shamal Abdullah, the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Collecting Data in the Kurdish Language.
 
Meanwhile, SU President honoured a number of personalities who have served and preserved the Kurdish language.
The First day of the event was concluded by a Poetry recitation session by the renowned Kurdish poet  and writer Talat Tahir.
 
The International Mother Language Day
 
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared 21 February as International Mother Language Day. All countries around the world celebrate this day with different activities. There are 6000 languages in the world, but most of them are endangered, the most widespread languages are 100. Kurdish is the 59th most widely spoken language in the world.

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