By Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, November 14, 2023
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| Sina Mirzaei |
Political analyst and Turkish language rights activist Sina Mirzaei, in an interview with Voice of America, assessed Iran's hierarchical system and assimilation policies based on language and identity. According to Mirzaei, combating this system requires writing and creating content in Turkish to expand the domain of belonging for the language.
In one of the videos, a person believed to be a doctor is seen teaching a child to pronounce the letter "Q" in the standard Persian accent accepted in Iran.
Sina Mirzaei
explained:
"When we put ourselves in the position of the family in that video, we realize that Persian has reached a status far beyond being just a communication mechanism. In such a situation, the family believes that for their child to have more opportunities and achieve success in Iran, they must live like Persians, detach from their own language and identity to succeed."
According to the political analyst, this incident also reveals the existence of a hierarchy between cultures and identities in Iran.
"This system portrays to families or doctors that their language or accent is a trauma, something bad. Language has transcended being merely a matter of communication and turned into a systematic hierarchy. At the top of this hierarchy is speaking Persian, which has gained a sense of belonging. If you don't speak, act, or behave like that specific group in Iran, all difficulties and traumas will find you. This system places Persian's sense of belonging at the top, and as it expands, it encroaches on the belonging of other languages and cultures. Essentially, one must detach from their own identity, language, and culture to adopt the belonging of the dominant Persian culture, fit into its hierarchy, and secure a position within it," Mirzaei stated.
He further argued that this hierarchical system erodes people's respect for their own language and culture.
"We even see that a Turkish artist performing on stage in Tehran might mock their cultural heritage, such as the ashiq tradition, or their language to appear acceptable in the eyes of the dominant group. This is because the system is designed this way," he explained.
Sina Mirzaei emphasized the importance of writing and creating content in Turkish as a means to resist the system.
He added:
"This assimilation policy and the hierarchy where Persian speakers start life with an advantage demand that we carve out a space of belonging for ourselves. As we expand this space, the opposing domain will shrink, just as ours shrinks as theirs expands. We must continue this struggle by serving our language, creating space for it, and using it as a means of resistance. Turkish Twitter is a great example. Many friends believe that if we stop writing in other languages and focus on Turkish, we will isolate ourselves. However, the experience on Turkish Twitter proves the opposite—that by turning Turkish into a language of resistance, by serving it, thinking in it, and creating ideas and content in it, we carve out a domain for ourselves."
He concluded:
"On Turkish Twitter, even apolitical individuals who have been writing in Persian for years express regret and return to Turkish with the hashtag #FindMe (#MəniTap), saying they want to join this space. We see that not only are we not isolated, but we are also growing stronger."
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Sina Mirzayi: Bu assimilyasiya sistemi ilə mübarizə üçün türk dilində daha çox yazıb və məzmun yaratmalıyıq