Click to read the article in Turkish
Socio-Political Field Research Center (Sosyo-Politik Saha Araştırmaları Merkezi) has released the report of a study entitled, "Study on the Usage of Mother Tongue in Provinces of Eastern and Southeastern Regions.
The study, aimed at measuring the relation between socio-economic and cultural situation and the usage of mother tongue, was conducted in 49 districts in 16 provinces. Researchers had face-to-face meetings with 5,600 people at their homes.
Among the participants, 26.9 percent were illiterate and 30.2 percent had only a primary school degree. 65.8 percent of them were unemployed and 53.5 percent had a monthly income of less than 2,000 Turkish lira (~333 US dollars).
In terms of ethnicity, 78.7 percent of the participants were Kurdish, 13.9 percent were Kurdish, 4.6 percent were Arab, and 2.9 percent didn't state an ethnic identity.
Here are some highlights from the report:
Yüksel Genç, the general coordinator of the center, told bianet that people mostly speak in Turkish at official agencies such as schools, hospitals and municipalities because of the difficulties they experience when speaking in Kurdish.
Participants of the study said they cannot get their things done at official agencies when they speak in their first language, Genç noted.
The places where people most commonly speak in Kurdish are municipalities held by the People's Democratic Party (HDP) and hospitals, he added. (EMK/VK)