Languages of Turkey
| Languages of Turkey | |
|---|---|
| Official languages | Turkish |
| Minority languages | Kurmanji, Arabic, Zazaki, Pomak Bulgarian, Balkan Gagauz Turkish,Laz |
| Main immigrant languages | Adyghe, Albanian, Arabic, Bosnian, Crimean Tatar,Georgian, Kabardian (in alphabetical order) |
| Main foreign languages |
English (17%) German (4%) French (3%) |
| Sign languages |
Turkish Sign Language Mardin Sign Language |
| Common keyboard layouts | |
| a^ may be subsumed under the Turkish language. | |
The languages of Turkey, apart from the only official language Turkish, include the widespread Kurmanji, the moderately prevalent minority languages Arabic and Zazaki and a number of less common minority languages, some of which are guaranteed by the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne.
Article 3 of the Constitution of Turkey defines Turkish as the only official language of Turkey.
Article 42 of the Constitution explicitly prohibits educational institutions to teach any language other than Turkish as a mother tongue to Turkish citizens.
No language other than Turkish shall be taught as a mother tongue to Turkish citizens at any institutions of training or education. Foreign languages to be taught in institutions of training and education and the rules to be followed by schools conducting training and education in a foreign language shall be determined by law. The provisions of international treaties are reserved.
Due to Article 42 and its longtime restrictive interpretation, ethnic minorities have been facing severe restrictions in the use of their mother languages.
Concerning the incompatibility of this provision with the International Bill of Human Rights, Turkey signed the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights only with reservations constraining minority rights and the right to education. Furthermore, Turkey hasn't signed either of the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, or the anti-discrimination .
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