Tajikistan celebrates the State Language Day yesterday.

It is to be noted that the State Language Day had been celebrated annually on July 22, the anniversary of the designation of Tajik as the state language in 1989, until 2010, when on July 21 President Emomali Rahmon amended the date to October 5.

The law determining the role and status of the Tajik language in society was adopted in Tajikistan on July 22, 1989.

In accordance with Tajikistan’s Constitution, the Tajik language had the status of the state language and the Russian language had the status of the language of the interethnic communication. 

All documents, including laws, were drawn up in Tajik and then translated into Russia.

President Emomali Rahmon proposed designating 2008 the Year of the Tajik Language and publishing a new two-volume Tajik dictionary, together with grammars for the classical and modern literary languages.

A new law on official language that went into effect in Tajikistan in October 2009 removed Russian as the “language for interethnic communication.”

It is to be noted that the new date (October 5) of celebration of the State Language Day in Tajikistan coincides with birthday of President Emomali Rahmon.   

---

President Emomali Rahmon today congratulated Tajikistanis on the State language Day and called on all citizens of the country to known Tajik literary language, its norms and use it everywhere.    

The head of state noted the importance of language learning from childhood, starting with family and preschool institutions.

Emomali Rahmon emphasized that “knowledge of the native language is a sign of respect for the nation, mother, homeland, national pride and patriotism.”