Conference and Panel by TÜBA on “Turkish as Science and Education Language”

Conference and Panel by TÜBA on “Turkish as Science and Education Language”

The conference and panel titled “Turkish as Science and Education Language” organized by TÜBA and hosted by Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University was held on August 21, 2017 with the contributions and supports of Necmettin Erbakan University (NEU), Atatürk High Council of Culture, Language and History (AYK) and Turkish Language Institution (TDK).

Karaman Governor Fahri Meral, Higher Education Council (YÖK) Executive Committee Member Prof. Mehmet Şişman, TÜBA President Prof. Ahmet Cevat Acar, AYK President Prof. Derya Örs, TÜBA Principal Member and TDK President Prof. Mustafa S. Kaçalin, TÜBA Council Members NEÜ Rector Prof. Muzaffer Şeker and AKÜ Rector Prof. Mustafa Solak, KMÜ Rector Mehmet Akgül, Aksaray University Rector Prof. Yusuf Şahin, Çağ University Rector Prof. Ünal Ay, academicians and invited guests attended the program.

TÜBA President Prof. Ahmet Cevat Acar: “If Turkey has a civilization claim, education and science language must be turkish”.
Starting his speech with thanking to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and other stakeholders for their supports on declaring 2017 as Turkish Language Year and saying that “At this moment the Turkish nation and state with other countries at Islamic world are facing a war in which all methods of law and immorality are used.”, Prof. Acar stated that it must be acted with the awareness to all attacks in all areas for especially survival of the state. Prof. Acar said: “Turkish is the first factor in the formation of our national identity, and in the following years we will not even find a Turkish language in its present form. Unfortunately, one of the most important threats in Turkey in this regard is widespread of teaching at foreign language. This is an ineffective method. Studies have shown that teaching at outside the mother tongue is inefficient. If Turkey has a civilization claim, education and science language must be Turkish. If you are teaching in a foreign language to the most elective brains of country in the best schools, then you are not supporting this civilization claim. Especially in terms of rehabilitation of Turkish language, we have to produce urgently necessary remedies about teaching in foreign language. I, as a citizen of the Republic of Turkey, would like to express that Turkish language has more importance on the survival of Turkish nation than we have thought. I would like to say it again, If Turkey has a civilization claim, education and science language must be Turkish.”
 
AYK President Prof. Derya Örs: “Turkish is so important that it is not left to interest of anybody.”
Prof. Örs stated that language-losing societies could lose their identities. Voicing that Turkish is under the danger and threatened by foreign languages in the near future, Prof. Örs said that some of people are considered this issue small and insignificant. We, of course – Turkish lovers, and people who give value to Turkish, cannot abandon our Turkish to drift and disappearance.

TDK President Prof. Mustafa Kaçalin, Istanbul University (IU) Faculty Member Prof. Cengiz Çakmak, Sakarya University Faculty Member Prof. Firdevs Karahan and Karamanoglu Mehmetbey University Faculty Member Assoc. Prof. İdris Nebi Uysal took place in the first session that was managed by Higher Education Council (YÖK) Executive Board Member Prof. Mehmet Şişman.

Ege University Faculty Member Prof. Gürer Gülsevin, Anadolu University (AU) Faculty Member Prof. Mustafa Çakır and Pamukkale University Faculty Member Prof. Derya Yaylı took place in the second session with their presentations and AYK President Prof. Derya Örs managed this session.