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| Toğrul Atabay, Turkologist |
Turkologist and writer Toğrul Atabay spoke to Voice of America about the language reforms carried out by the Azerbaijan National Government, centered in Tabriz, during the years 1945-46, and the characteristics of Turkish used in the government institutions, press, and education during that period.
Many Turkish language rights activists in Iranian Azerbaijan commemorate the anniversary of the establishment of the Azerbaijan National Government as the "Day Turkish Became Official." The government was overthrown in December 1946 when the Iranian army attacked Tabriz and other cities. During this period, Turkish-language books and magazines published were burned by the Iranian army in schools and city squares.
According to Atabay, “In 1945, after about 20 years of official prohibition, Turkish became for the first time, and in a modern sense, an official language in this region. It was the first time that it became an official language. It became the language of modern press and radio broadcasts. The party's publications, all official correspondence, bureaucratic texts, applications, and certificates were all written in Turkish."
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| The founder of the Azerbaijan National Government, Seyyid Jafar Pishevari, while reading the "Azerbaijan" newspaper. |
In the interview, Atabay provides a detailed explanation of the efforts by the founders of the Azerbaijan Democratic Party to turn Turkish, which had only been used as a spoken language for years, into an official language of the state. He also mentions that the party's efforts in this regard began a few years before the establishment of the government.
“They took the language of North Azerbaijan as a reference... It began in this way, and after the government was established, they naturally faced terminological difficulties. To address this problem, a Dictionary Commission was established under the leadership of Shabestari. This commission worked to solve the terminological difficulties... On the other hand, with the help of scholars from North Azerbaijan, many teachers, including women, were trained in the Ministry of Education,” Atabay says.
Atabay explains that the efforts to reform the language started to show results in a short time: "These efforts began to bear fruit at the beginning of 1946. Textbooks titled 'Mother Language' were published, books for the elite were released, and gradually academic works were produced, and materials were prepared for Azerbaijan University... We see a completely institutionalized and deliberate effort, not arbitrary policies."
Atabay elaborates on the characteristics of the Turkish used in government institutions, the press, and schools with examples: "When we look at the examples, morphologically, it is very similar to the standard Turkish we know. It is the Turkish that has gradually modernized over the last 700 years. However, the main vocabulary used is noteworthy. First of all, they avoid some terminology from the North. Russian borrowings are almost nonexistent. Instead, either Turkish elements are adopted or Arabic-Persian words are preferred, which are easier for the people to understand," the Turkologist notes.
Atabay emphasizes that the language policy of the Azerbaijan Democratic Party was based on a high sense of national consciousness, adding: "It is important to note that, in fact, during that period, the status of the Turkish language in South Azerbaijan was more advanced than in North Azerbaijan (Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic). This status was closer to that of an official state language, used in contrast to Russian. In the North, we encounter a similar situation only after the 1950s. In fact, Turkish in the South gained a higher status than in the North, and there was a greater sense of national consciousness. There is a sensitivity to protect the national identity and the identity of the people. There is also concern for the welfare of the people, ensuring that the language is accessible to them. These two concerns are evident in all the policies."
He compares the language reforms of the Democratic Party to Turkey's "language revolution" that followed the establishment of the Turkish Republic.
"A similar language revolution occurred here, starting from the mid-1930s in Turkey. The difference is that a very interesting sociolinguistic language revolution took place in the South, considering the years of disruption and prohibition. For example, there are hints that they will begin changing their surnames. If the reforms had been allowed to continue, Turkish would have advanced to a much higher level," Toğrul Atabay concludes.
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Toğrul Atabay: 1945-46 illərdə İran Azərbaycanında Türkiyədəki "dil inqilabı"nın bənzəri yaşandı