Musa Yagub, a poet, chairman of the Azerbaijan Free Speech Foundation opened the ceremony with introduction speech and gave detailed information on the reasons why the foundation staff launched projects in this direction. Putting problems of this sphere on the agenda, chairman of AFSF especially underlined that carelessness against our language spread also to toponyms and etymology. Use of foreign words as the names of wedding places and other properties became common.
Vugar Tofiqli, the executive director of Azerbaijan Free Speech Foundation gave information on the monitoring he held regarding the preserve state language. He stated that Azerbaijan Free Speech Foundation (AFSF) held monitoring in March and April of the current year on the preserve the Azerbaijan language in advertisements, service offices, and advertisements in online media. The major purpose was to identify how the requirements of the “About State Language” Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated September 30, 2002 is complied in above mentioned directions. The monitoring generally covered 576 service offices located in 15 central streets and avenues of Baku. It covered 442 central parts of these service spheres (10 streets and avenues covered, including Binaqadi, Nasimi and Sabail regions), also 134 advertisement boards in Nizami, Khatai, and Surakhani regions. As a result of investigations they found that Azerbaijani words were used in 62% of advertisement boards, English words in 27%, and words belonging to Turkish languages in 11% of them. Besides, grammatical mistakes were seen in the writings of 14% advertisements. In 15% of boards Russian words were written in Latin graphic. Azerbaijan language was used in 52% of the names of streets and avenues, English language in 37%, and Turkish language in 11% of them located in the central part of the capital. Also grammatical mistakes were found in 23% of the advertisement boards. Russian words were written in Latin graphic in 18% of boards.
We should mention that, while writing advertisements, requirements of the very important principal considered in article 7.1 of mentioned law as “In all service spheres, advertisements and announcements within the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan the state language is used. In necessary cases, other languages also may be used together with state language in advertisements and announcements (boards, panels, placards, etc.), but the place they hold should not be larger than the place of its equivalent in Azerbaijani and should come after the writing in Azerbaijan language” were not met in the plenty of parameters.
We can see names such as “Boçka”, “Başmaçok”, “Chudo Pechka”, “Bon Apetit”, “Skazka”. “Merkez Lahmajun”, “Inje Gol” etc. in the streets of the capital. Moreover, Azerbaijan language is not seriously protected in the writings of the names of banks. Also we often see names “Beauty salon” on most beauty salons and “Baby shop” on the baby shops.
The Azerbaijan language is not preserved appropriately in advertisements shown in electron media, for example, “Go sneakers”, “Father soiled himself with apple and cherry juice”, “Believe in your thirst”.
Then executive director stated that it is necessary to form working group containing NGOs in order to provide public control on the preserve our language and at the present moment, staff waits for the suggestions in this direction.
Nazirmammad Guliyev, Project Coordinator of AFSF spoke on the subject of “Preserve the Azerbaijan language in media and advertisement”. He said: “As a staff of Azerbaijan Free Speech Foundation we wanted to realize various projects in this direction, in the background of negative attitudes shown against our language in our motherland. We thought that firstly, the core of impoliteness against our language is the means which are seen and listened more than the others, in other words, they are some media outlets that are indifferent to their work and mother tongue and the advertisement boards.
The first measure taken by us was to conduct monitoring on advertisement boards in the streets and avenues of our capital. We found that requirements of “About State Language” Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated September 30, 2002 mostly are not met. Then discussions of our disclosures in media caused great reflection”.
N. Guliyev regretfully stated that there were some people who reproached the staff without any argument after the disclosure of results. “It is strange that executive secretary of Advertising and Information Department of Baku city and Azerbaijan Advertisers Union who is directly responsible to this matter was more active among those who reproached us. As a respond to investigations that media outlets held on the subject, representative of the Department said that he agrees only with “Beauty salon” phrase. But he deviated from the question how to write other words and said Art Board of Baku City Executive Power is engaged in this issue. Press Service of Baku City Executive Power can give you information about Art Board. But employees of Press service answered that they do not know anything about this Art Board.
Deputy Rafael Huseynov joined our discussions and presented an interesting fact that he saw phrase “Bebi shop” as the name of a little shop selling baby clothes in one of the remote villages.
Forming working group for the preserve our language can be considered a step towards solution of the problems on this issue.
Nadir Abdullayev, chairman of the Public Association for the protection of Rights of Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons in Azerbaijan, Shahbaz Khuduoglu, chief editor of the journal “Qanun” (Law), well-known journalist Gulu Maharramli, candidate of technical sciences Teymur Hajiyev, chairman of CASFEN Azer Hasrat, independent lawyer Adil Minbashi, Osman Gunduz, director of Multimedia Information and Technologies Center, Tarana Shukurova, associate of the Linguistics Institute of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Shakir Albaliyev, associate of the Folklore Institute of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, issue editor of AzerTAC Yashar Guluzade, associate of the Philosophy Institute of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences Mikail Akbarov and others who participated in round table made speech and suggestions in this direction and considered forming of the working group reasonable.