(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) Zarok TV started broadcasting in Kurdish on March 21st, Newroz day, becoming Turkey's first Kurdish-language TV channel for children.
The privately owned station Zarok (Kurdish for children) has launched Kurdish-language broadcasts from its headquarters in Diyarbakir.
The station will be broadcasting nationwide in three dialects of Kurdish, Kurmanji, the most commonly spoken Kurdish dialect in Turkey, Zazaki and Sorani. Well-known cartoons like the Smurfs, Sponge Bob, Gumball, and Adventure Time will be included in the programme schedule.
Kurds are the largest non-Turkish ethnic group in Turkey with a population of about 13.4 million, one-fifth of the nation's total population.
Turkey's first Kurdish-language channel, TRT Kurdi, began broadcasting in 2009.
Sara Ozturk, an 8-year-old from Mardin, said she was excited about the channel.
"I love watching cartoons in my free time. So far, I was only able to watch them in Turkish on Yumurcak TV," Ozturk told SES Türkiye. "But now, I can watch all my favourite cartoons in my mother tongue. It is such great news for children like me."
Experts agreed the move is a boost for children's language rights and personal development in their own culture.
Ilhan Kaya, head of the Istanbul-based International Cultural Research Centre (UKAM), welcomed Zarok TV.
"It is unfortunate that Kurdish children have not been able to listen to their mother tongue on TV for a long time," Kaya told SES Türkiye.
"According to studies conducted on learning and language teaching, children are much more inclined to learn something in their mother tongue. Therefore, children who are instructed in another language other than their mother tongue are more disadvantaged compared to children who learn in their mother tongue," he added.
According to Kaya, mass media tools in Turkey are mainly conducted in Turkish and there are very few opportunities to use minority languages in daily routines.
"And this creates important problems in terms of identity, belonging and reconciliation with his or her own culture. I believe that Zarok TV will close a significant gap in this regard," he added.
Kaya noted that the establishment of the new TV channel would also contribute to bilingualism since it will allow children who are instructed in schools in Turkish to learn Kurdish without making a significant effort.
"There is a very strict bond between culture, identity and language. In this sense, I think that Zarok TV will make a contribution to the standardisation of Kurdish language, the development of common identities and protection of cultural memory," he added.
Mehmet Serif Derince, an expert on linguistic rights from Koc University in Istanbul, said although a new channel for Kurdish children would not bring a widespread transformation for Turks and Kurds, it nevertheless carries a symbolic significance.
"It is a necessary development both in legal and symbolic terms for overcoming mono-linguistic policies that have produced so far a negative impact over the relations between the communities," Derince told SES Türkiye.
"On the other hand, nowadays, the time slot spent by children watching TV has a significant influence over their language development," Derince said. "Just because of that, children whose parents don't know Turkish have begun to speak in Turkish instead of their mother tongue from early ages."
Derince noted that learning one's mother tongue is of significant importance in terms of developing personality and improving social and cultural integration.
"Therefore, opening of similar TV channels will be very important for the normalisation of relations between all constituent communities in Turkey," he added.
Derince also emphasised that much social research conducted around the world has shown that a majority of children whose mother tongues are not approved by the greater society have difficulty establishing a healthy relationship with their own entourage or with the rest of the world. They also face a wide range of problems, like academic failure, lack of self-confidence and communication problems.
"With Zarok TV, pupils will watch Kurdish-speaking cartoon characters, they will be able to identify themselves with them, and they will further embrace their mother tongue. Their Kurdish vocabulary will be enriched. This will bring a positive contribution both for their self-confidence and personality development," he added.
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