Study shows improvement in income level resulting in reduction of Kurdish usage

Duvar English

A survey conducted in sixteen cities by the Sociopolitical Field Research Center revealed that while education and income levels rise among Kurdish speakers, their usage of Kurdish declines. 

The study took place in cities in the predominantly-Kurdish eastern and southeastern part of the country, and included cities such as Diyarbakır, Şanlıurfa, Batman, Adıyaman, Dersim, Kars and Iğdır, where 5,600 people were surveyed in 49 districts across 16 provinces regarding their socioeconomic conditions, education levels and mother tongue usage. 

Among those who said that they were unable to read or write, 76.2 pct said they spoke Kurdish at home while 19.8 pct spoke Turkish. On the other hand, 61.1 percent of university graduates said they spoke Kurdish at home while 36.2 pct reported speaking Turkish. 

69.4 pct of those contributing to the survey said they spoke Kurdish at home, while 26.6 pct answered that they spoke in Turkish and 4 percent said they spoke Arabic. On the street, 59.4 pct reported speaking Kurdish while 38.2 pct spoke Turkish and 2.4 pct spoke Arabic. 

Income level was also determined to be a major factor regarding what language was spoken at home. 78.3 pct of respondents who earned less than 1000 TL a month said they spoke Kurdish in their households, while only 54.3 percent of those earning more than 5000 TL a month indicated that they spoke Kurdish at home.