Speaking at the introductory meeting of the project held at the Head Teacher Meeting Hall in the Ministry of National Education, Minister Tekin congratulated the 100th anniversary of the Republic and the new era that started with the slogan "The New Century of the Republic".

 

Referring to Israel's attacks on Palestine, Tekin once again invites the international community to recognize Israel as a war criminal in the light of the universal declarations of international human rights that they dictate to them and to end this war as soon as possible, before it is too late.

 

Explaining that they had already taken the initial steps of the Richness of Our Language Project and working on Turkish, Turkish culture and the values that hold the country together since the beginning of June, Tekin said that the project is a continuation of this process.

 

Referring to the importance of Turkish education, Tekin said that Turkish plays an important role in children's academic success. Attributing the reason why children cannot express themselves successfully in business, social and family life to their Turkish language skills which are not sufficiently developed, the Minister stressed that strengthening the use of Turkish in order to strengthen the Turkish national identity and the personality of every Turkish child is one of the basic duties of the Ministry.

 

Reminding the discourse that English is very rich, Tekin claimed that Turkish is one of the richest languages in the world.

 

Pointing out that the necessary attention should be paid to Turkish, Minister Tekin said that they should protect Turkish against the threat of technology confining the whole world to certain languages. Minister Tekin said that they have to force the use of the rich existence of Turkish in order to build the Century of Türkiye and raise children with the vision of the Century of Türkiye

 

Emphasizing that the ministry also has a share in the small vocabulary that children use in daily life, Tekin said that they are trying to take steps to fulfill this responsibility.

 

Stating that there are approximately 9 thousand words in Mahmud of Kasgar Dîvânu Lugâti't-Türk (Dictionary of the Turkish Language), Tekin emphasized that the number of Turkish vocabulary in the dictionary published by the Turkish Language Association for the 100th anniversary of the Republic reached 132 thousand 334, which shows the richness of Turkish language. 

 

Stating that efforts should be made to enrich Turkish according to current and technological developments and to reintroduce unused or less used words into use, Minister Tekin said that Turkish is experiencing one of the most vibrant periods of its vocabulary. Noting that the number of people speaking Turkish has now reached 100 million, Minister Tekin underlined that they will undoubtedly realize this richness as cooperation between Turkish-speaking countries develops. Minister Tekin said that the vocabulary will be much richer when the work of the Organization of Turkish States is completed.

 

Underlining that they have to transform Turkish into a language of civilization with its richness and vitality, Tekin said that the only thing Turkish needs is people and institutions that will appreciate it. Stressing that students should definitely apply to the value and richness of Turkish in social media and on television screens, Minister Tekin expressed that they should not allow a barrenness to occur in this sense.

 

Stating that the aim of the project is for students to get to know the richness of the language and to meet with words that carry culture through social and cultural activities, Minister Tekin said that in this way, students will get to know the distinguished and original works of Turkish more closely, and rediscover the cultural accumulation, world of thought and lifestyle of the nation. Emphasizing that they will implement the project through activities appropriate to the wishes and abilities of students at all educational levels, Minister Tekin informed that they will soon share the action plans they have prepared individually for each student with schools. Underlining that they put the dictionary reading activity at the center of the project, Minister Tekin said that family gatherings and interactive book readings will be held and the poems and couplets selected by the experts will be memorized by the children. Stating that the children will read Turkish classics, Minister Tekin said that the students will produce essays, stories and similar writings for their euphemistic language skills, prepare videos, and use Turkish on digital platforms and poster competitions. Announcing that original word writing competitions will be organized, the Minister said that they aim to improve students' vocabulary and concept knowledge with all these activities. Minister Tekin emphasized that they will protect Turkish with an understanding that embraces all the riches of Turkish.

 

Referring to Mahmud of Kasgar, who brought Dîvânu Lugâti't-Türk (Dictionary of the Turkish Language), one of the two oldest sources and Yusuf Has Hacib, who presented the unique treasure such as Kutadgu Bilig, and all the valuable names of science, literature and art served to enrich the Turkish language, Minister Tekin wish to raise generations who will produce works as valuable as the mentioned names and contribute to Turkish language as much as they did.

 

Underlining that they have designed the project theoretically, the Minister said that teachers will support these studies in practice in the field and invited all teachers to support the project.

 

Emphasizing that he wants everyone in the society to raise awareness to increase the number of words they use in daily life, Minister Tekin said that they are making efforts to ensure that children have a larger vocabulary and can express themselves better.

 

Stating that he wishes all members of the society to address their interlocutors with a language that makes better use of the riches of Turkish, Minister Tekin said that he wishes that the project will be instrumental in revealing the riches of Turkish and that children will grow up with an awareness that will protect this process.

 

Stating that they wanted to implement the project with the slogan "Dictionary is Freedom", Director General of Secondary Education Halil İbrahim Topçu emphasized that they aim to improve our students' vocabulary and concept knowledge, strengthen their language learning skills and contribute to their acquisition of book reading habits with vocabulary enrichment studies. He also noted that they aim to ensure that our students use the Turkish language effectively, develop their world of thought, and raise them as people who hear, think, understand and produce more.

 

Noting that they put dictionary reading studies at the center of the project, Topçu said that students will examine the classical texts of Turkish literature and become acquainted with the new words in these texts. Stating that students will do vocabulary studies with their teachers on the new words they have learned, Topçu underlined that dictionary reading contests and original dictionary production activities will be held. Stressing that in order to carry out the project, the Central Executive Board and country-wide provincial, district and school executive commissions will be established within the Ministry, Topçu added that the activities students participate in will be recorded in the e-school social activities module.