Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality Co-Mayor Doğan Hatun attended the launch of a report and parent guide prepared on raising multilingual children.

With the support of the Foundation for Education and Social Research for Coexistence (BEYATEV), the report titled The Possibilities and Limitations of Raising Multilingual Children, prepared by academics Ronayi Önen and Cemil Güneş, together with a parent guide for multilingual families, was launched at the Çand Amed Culture and Congress Centre. Alongside Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality Co-Mayor Doğan Hatun, attendees included Tahir Baykuşak, Head of the Language Protection and Development Unit under the Department of Culture, Arts and Social Affairs, representatives of civil society organisations, and residents.

Speaking at the launch, Co-Mayor DoÄŸan Hatun said that a survey on language use which emerged from work carried out five to six years ago in Kaynartepe neighbourhood of BaÄŸlar district had demonstrated how important it is to preserve the mother tongue and ensure its transmission between generations. He stated that speaking the mother tongue within the family, and enabling children to learn and develop that language, carries great value for cultural continuity. Hatun also stressed that protecting and sustaining the mother tongue is an important responsibility in strengthening collective memory.

Importance of multilingualism highlighted

Researchers and authors speaking at the launch provided information on the preparation of the guide, the fieldwork carried out, and the content of the study. It was noted that the study addresses the experiences of multilingual families, children’s processes of learning their mother tongue, and the challenges encountered along the way. The researchers stated that multilingualism makes an important contribution to children’s development, and emphasised that preserving and sustaining languages is of great importance for social diversity.

It was also noted that the parent guide aims to provide families with practical guidance on raising their children in a multilingual environment.