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Hello, welcome.
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My name is Cemre Ömer, and now I want to
talk about my life in our language.
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I was born in 1999 in Diyarbakır.
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My father’s family is from the town of
Piran, but we have lived in the city.
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My mother is from Adana.
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We lived in Diyarbakır for 13 years, and
then I went to Istanbul for education.
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I finished high school there. When I was
in high school, my family moved to Alanya.
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Now I am in my house, in Alanya.
I am staying with my mother.
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But I am still studying at Koç University
in Istanbul.
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I am studying electronics engineering.
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I am a senior, and I hope I am going to
graduate this year. I mean we will see.
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I learned Zazaki from my grandpa.
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My grandmom is a Kurmanj, she understands
Zazaki but does not speak it.
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My father and my aunts too can’t speak
Zazaki at all.
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My mother is a Turk. Unfortunately, she
knows neither Kurmanji nor Zazaki.
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My grandpa really wished me to know this
language. For this reason, he taught me it.
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And he is speaking with me in our
language every time.
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I know Kurmanji too, and I know it well.
I can talk with my friends.
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I write and read it well.
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But the value of our language to me
is higher.
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Because I know that there are not many
people using this language.
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For this reason, I am working a lot for
our language.
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Sometimes I translate stories,
sometimes I give lessons to my friends,
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and now I am talking to you.
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And so.
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I want this language to not die.
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I don’t know if we can change something.
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We will see.
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Sometimes I go to Diyarbakır. There are
not many relatives and friends left there.
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That is right, not a lie, that city is
my home.
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Of course, I miss that place.
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My grandpa, my grandma, one of my aunts
still live in Diyarbakır.
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My mother’s sister is also working there.
She lives alone.
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Sometimes, in holidays and festivals, she
comes to Alanya and sees her family.
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My grandpa has a garden in Diyarbakır.
There are various plants there.
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My grandpa plants tomatoes, cucumbers,
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grapes, berries, eggplants, peppers,
melons, and watermelons.
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There are many fruits and vegetables.
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He has also animals, he has hens and
a sheep.
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I mean, the place they live in is
beautiful.
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My father does not stay with us.
He is a psychologist.
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He is a lecturer at Dicle University in Diyarbakır,
he also gives therapy in his place.
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My mother does not work. She is a housewife.
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She is in Alanya, as I said.
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She lives with my sister in Alanya.
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My sister is beginning high school this year.
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That is all about my family.
Now I will talk about myself.
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In my free time, I read books.
I really like philosophical writings.
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I learned Latin and German.
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Now I am reading Cicero’s book, its name
is Tusculanae Disputationes,
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in English, it is called Tusculan
Disputations.
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On Saturdays, I take erbane (daf)
lessons.
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Erbane is a musical instrument.
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It is a percussion instrument, you hit it
like a drum, like that.
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My speech is done, I mean it is enough.
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Thank you all for listening.
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I bid you all farewell.
Take care of yourself.