How many people know about the Kyrgyz language? Is it only that it is the state language of Kyrgyzstan. And the fact that it sounds very incomprehensible to a Russian-speaking person. But you can tell a lot more about the Kyrgyz language.
A bit of history
Kyrgyz is one of the languages of a large Turkic language family, which is spoken in Kyrgyzstan. According to the latest census data, it is native to almost 4 million people, and this is a pretty impressive figure.
The Kyrgyz language originated in the early Middle Ages, and one of the dialects of the Chagatai language, spoken by the Central Asian Mongol rulers, is considered its ancestor. By the way, Chagatai language is also called Old Uzbek.
Closer to the 18th century, the Kyrgyz people finally realized themselves as a separate people, while the Kyrgyz came under the strong influence of the West Mongolian languages. In the 19th century, the Kyrgyz became part of the Russian Empire, and then borrowings from the Russian language began to actively penetrate into their language. Thus, to date, the language of the Kyrgyz has a lot of foreign impregnations. However, active work is underway to cleanse the Kyrgyz from the effects of external influence.
About writing
An interesting fact is the writing of this language, which has changed three times:
- Until 1928, the Kyrgyz of the USSR used the Arabic alphabet;
- from 1928 to 1940, the language passed to the Latin alphabet;
- From 1940 to the present, the official written language of the Kyrgyz language is Cyrillic.
By the way, it is possible that after some time the Cyrillic alphabet will be replaced again by the Latin alphabet, more and more often the residents of Kyrgyzstan use it.
In the early Middle Ages, the Kyrgyz used the Orkho-Yenisei script, which was very much like runic.
About vocabulary
Since from the earliest times, the basis of all Kyrgyz economic activity was cattle breeding and horse breeding, according to a 1984 study, the Kyrgyz language dictionary contains more than ten names of age groups of horses. The vocabulary of their language includes a lot of words related to the main business of their life.
Also in the Kyrgyz language there is a certain system of kinship terms. For example, relatives on the mother’s side and relatives on the father’s side are called differently, for example:
- paternal grandfather - jong ata;
- maternal grandfather - tai ata.
About Grammar
The grammar of the Kyrgyz language is built on the same principle with other Turkic languages. Anyone familiar with at least one of them can easily figure out, for example, where is the singular and where is the plural. The plural here is formed by joining a specific ending:
- -lar, -ler, -lor, -lөr;
- -dar, -der, - dor, -dөr;
- -tar, -ter, -tor, -tөr.
The choice of this or that ending will be based on the principle of the law of vowel harmony, and the choice will also depend on the final sound of the word’s foundation:
- kitep (book) - kitepter (books);
- dos (friend) - dostor (friends);
- shaar (city) - shaarlar (city).
If the noun has a quantitative numeral next to it, then it does not need to end the plural.
In addition to the peculiar plural education in the Kyrgyz language, as in any other Turkic language, there is a possessive affix that answers the question "whose?" and joins the subject. The possessive pronoun can be omitted: dos (friend) - dosum (my friend).
Kyrgyz language training
The first Russian-Kyrgyz dictionary was published in 1969. And the day of the Kyrgyz language is considered September 23.
Every citizen of Kyrgyzstan begins to learn the language of his republic from birth, while the rest, “non-citizens,” must learn the language in special courses.
Teaching the Kyrgyz language, however, like any other, can not do without live communication. The best teacher is the language environment. Therefore, many who often have to go to Bishkek for personal or business purposes know the necessary minimum of words and phrases without special training. Online dictionaries, self-study guides, as well as watching Kyrgyz television channels, films and listening to music can become additional materials to supplement your knowledge.
Particular attention can be paid to children's programs and cartoons in the Kyrgyz language. For adults who have never encountered Turkic languages before, such seemingly frivolous things can actually be very useful sources for replenishing the vocabulary. In such programs, the material is explained in great detail and intelligibly, and this is supported by visual images. But the most important thing is that all this will help to perceive the language by ear and will teach you how to pronounce words correctly.