Erbil advances drive for Kurdish language signage in public and commercial spaces

ERBIL – Authorities in Erbil have advanced their initiative to prioritize the Kurdish language in public and commercial signage, with over 1,000 signs at tourist and commercial centers replaced within the past year, according to Dler Mohammed, Erbil’s director general of tourism.

“Our efforts to replace signage with Kurdish language signs at commercial and tourist locations are ongoing,” Mohammed stated. “In 2023 alone, we successfully converted more than 1,012 signs at 1,400 targeted locations to Kurdish.”

In many tourist locations across the Kurdistan Region, signage often features English and Arabic to serve both international and regional visitors. Some establishments, especially those that are part of global brands like hotels and restaurants, opt to maintain their original English-only signage.

The majority of tourists in the Kurdistan Region are from other parts of Iraq, where Arabic is predominantly spoken. To ensure that non-Kurdish-speaking visitors can easily access information, Arabic is commonly used on signage and menus in these areas.

The move aligns with actions taken by Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, who, on February 21—International Mother Language Day—issued two decrees to ‘promote and preserve’ the Kurdish language.

In the first decree, Prime Minister Barzani instructed the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the Ministry of Education to work alongside the Kurdish Academy and linguistic experts to create a program aimed at teaching Kurdish to foreign residents employed in the Kurdistan Region, emphasizing the importance of the mother tongue.

The second, directed at all government ministries, underscores the enforcement of official language laws in the Kurdistan Region, particularly Law No. (6) of 2014. This law requires that Kurdish be prominently used on all signage within governmental and non-governmental institutions, consulates, foreign organizations, companies, and private sector establishments, including hotels, tourist sites, and restaurants. This extends to the use of Kurdish on menus and informational guides.