Azernews.Az

With the support of Azerbaijani scholars, the book “Grammar of the Iraqi-Turkmen Language” has been published for the first time in Iraq’s history.

Initiated and organized by the Eurasian International Development Association (EIDA), based in Azerbaijan, and co-authored by Ph.D on philosophy, associate professor Elnur Mustafayev, head of department at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS), and professor Mahmud Khalil Chayirli of Baghdad University, the book was developed through a comparative analysis with the Azerbaijani language. It was published with the partnership of ANAS’s Institute of Oriental Studies and the Baghdad Philosophy Academy.

Although numerous studies, books, and research articles have been written about the Iraqi-Turkmen language and literature in Iraq, Turkey, and Azerbaijan, until now no book had fully covered the grammar of the Iraqi-Turkmen language. Previous efforts only addressed parts of its grammar.

This current research-book analyzes the phonetic, morphological, and syntactic grammatical rules of the Iraqi-Turkmen language in comparison with Azerbaijani grammar, identifies full compatibility, and presents the foundational basis for an independent grammar of the Turkmen language.

According to Elchin Asgarov, the chairman of EIDA’s Board of Directors, “This publication is just the first and modest initiative in this direction. Its main goal is to contribute to the preservation of the Turkmen language in Iraqi society, where nearly 4 million Turkmen citizens live, and to support the formation of an academic grammatical foundation and a unified literary language for Iraqi-Turkmen. We hope this step will inspire new initiatives in Iraq’s Turkmen academic circles and lead to more comprehensive books and research. Especially considering that, the Iraqi government also supports local initiatives aimed at preserving the language and culture of the Turkmen people.”

The book has already been published in Azerbaijani and Arabic (including Turkmen language rules written in Arabic script), and presentations are planned in both countries in the near future.

It’s worth noting that for several years now, EIDA has successfully implemented various projects aimed at preserving the identity of Turkmens in Iraq.