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| Toğrul Atabay |
“The Persian Language Academy is part of Iran’s nation-state structure, built on the foundation of one language and one nation,” says Toğrul Atabay. In an interview with Voice of America, the Azerbaijani writer and Turkologist described the nature of the Persian Language and Literature Academy, emphasizing that its stance on the right to education in other languages is not an academic approach.
In a recent meeting, the Persian Language and Literature Academy addressed the issue of mother tongue education, describing it as part of a plan orchestrated by foreign states.
Calling the Academy's response a chauvinistic approach, Toğrul Atabay noted that Persian being established as Iran’s sole official language in the 20th century was initially an English policy.
“At the Persian Language Academy, some claimed that discussions about the right to education in one’s mother tongue stem from foreign influence, specifically English policies. In reality, the establishment of Persian as the common language for the entire population and the sole official language of the country in 1925 can be viewed as an English policy. Persian’s rise to this position was implemented without societal approval,” said the Southern Azerbaijani Turkologist.
The literature historian analyzed the position of Persian during various regimes. According to him, the ascension of the Pahlavi dynasty and the declaration of Persian as the sole official language marked a new era in Iran's history.
Toğrul Atabay believes that Persian’s unrivaled status has caused significant harm to the languages and cultures of non-Persian peoples:
“Persian’s dominance does not merely lead to the destruction of local languages; it also eradicates the culture, traditions, mythology, and worldview that these languages have carried throughout history.”
Several non-Persian members of the Persian Language and Literature Academy have also taken a firm stance against the issue of mother tongue education. The Southern Azerbaijani researcher analyzed the negative attitudes of Azerbaijani members of the Academy toward education in their native language:
“One reason for this is their alignment with the ideology of the Iranian nation-state. Another reason is their ignorance about their own mother tongue. This is because, under this ideology, the Turkish language has been demeaned and reduced to the level of the so-called Azari language,” added the Azerbaijani Turkologist, who works in Turkish language institutes in Turkey.
The author of the short story collection Mangurt also evaluated the works of some Southern Azerbaijani writers—such as Samad Behrangi, Gholam-Hossein Sa’edi, and Reza Baraheni—who, due to Persian's dominance, were unable to write in Turkish. He framed their works within the context of post-colonial literature.
“They expressed Turkish culture through the Persian language,” Atabay said, describing the works of these writers.
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Fars dili və İranda etnik azlıqlar