Turkish Language Society Head: "The future of Turkish is strong"

People who predicted Turkish would disappear in the 21st century have already been proven completely wrong, Professor Sukru Haluk Akalin, the head of the Turkish Language Society, said yesterday. Stating that according to a 2005 study, the world has nearly 7,000 languages, Akalin said that Turkish is among its strongest. "Today there are 87 countries where at least one secondary school teaches Turkish," he said. "In 46 countries, Turkish is taught in courses.. In nine countries, there are universities whose language of instruction is Turkish." He added, "A new great Turkish dictionary is almost ready to be published. It has 5,000 pages and weighs 8 kilograms."