1187 storefront signs in Erbil were converted into the Kurdish language
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Erbil Municipality released a statement about converting storefront signs from foreign languages into Kurdish.
As a result of Letter No. 4877 released by the Municipality on March 16, 2023, 1187 storefront signs in Erbil have been converted from foreign languages into Kurdish.
Shopkeepers, business owners, and companies have been warned to change their signs into Kurdish, per the statement.
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Feb. 12 issued two decisions regarding the Kurdish language.
First, PM Barzani instructed both the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the Ministry of Education to prepare a program that teaches foreign workers the Kurdish language. This is to be done in coordination with the Kurdish Academy, experts, and specialists in related linguistics fields.
Secondly, Barzani instructed all ministries to follow Law No. 6 (Official Languages Law in the Kurdistan Region/Iraq of 2014) to protect the Kurdish language as the official language in the Kurdistan Region. All ministries should implement the necessary steps to use the Kurdish language in all institutions, governmental and non-governmental departments, consulates of foreign countries, foreign organizations, companies, and private sector institutions. Furthermore, businesses should use the Kurdish language in restaurant menus, guides, and signage.
Despite its strict standards, Law No. 6 does allow businesses to freely adopt any additional languages such as Arabic, Turkish, and/or English.