Hacettepe University Turkish Studies Institute has started the preparations for the 4th International Turkish Studies Symposium. The organization committee has identified the subject of the symposium as “Turkic Communities whose Languages and Cultures are Endangered” and the motto of the symposium as ‘Before the Last Voices are Heard.’

The endangered languages are those which have scarce or no intergenerational transmission. Their speakers are diminishing increasingly and, within a predictable period, no speakers of those languages in question will be left.  During the process of extinction, cultures are also damaged severely; first they get blurred; that is to say, people try to keep their cultures alive without fully understanding what they mean.  After several generations, they completely become a part of the dominant culture. 

UNESCO states that half of the 6700 languages are in danger of becoming extinct before the end of the century and that this situation could partially be taken under control if governments and speakers of the languages in question take urgent measures. UNESCO aims at calling attention to this vital problem through ‘The Program of Languages in Danger’ and finding solutions by the help of authorities.  In this program, the languages fall under six categories, from safe to extinct:

Click for more...