KZBlog

Tag archive for ‘Kazakh language’

• 100% Kazakh-Speaking Generation

  Nursultan Nazarbayev, speaking Monday at the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, expressed the hope that the new generation of schoolchildren will be 100% Kazakh speaking: We would like 100% of those who will start learning Kazakh language in the first class to be able to speak Kazakh. I am sure this will happen,” Nazarbayev […]

  4/18/11 • (1)

• What Are They Testing?

  Interesting article about the required Kazakh language exam for candidates to the Presidency from RFE/RL: Kazakh Language Exams Test Grammar, Loyalty. I thought this bit was particularly problematic: The examiners say the test is strictly about language, not politics. But even the first person to pass this year’s test — Musaghali Duambekov, who frequently expresses […]

  2/22/11 • (6)

• Fishy Language Policy

  Apologies for the pun in the title. Couldn’t resist. Apparently a shop in Aktobe is being sued by a customer for being unable to explain a tin of fish in Kazakh. The language law says that all consumer information must be available in Kazakh. For those who don’t live here, all products made in Kazakhstan […]

  8/21/10 • (Comments Off on Fishy Language Policy)

• Government Should Control Use of Kazakh

  Stop insulting Kenyans says Irak Yelekeyev, a member of the lower house of Kazakhstan’s Parliament. He noticed that his tea from Kenya said, in Russian, “Black Tea from Kenya” but in Kazakh it said Kara Kenya Chayi or Tea from Black Kenya! According to sources who were there, Yelekeyev went on to say that this […]

  5/04/10 • (2)

• Who Needs Kazakh?

  The Internet news site Oasis has an interesting opinion piece up called
  Linguistic Illusion. The author, who would appear not to be Kazakh, claims that 1) she speaks Kazakh well and 2) she has never had any need for the language at all. So why is the government pushing people so hard to learn the official language of Kazakhstan?

  3/11/10 • (12)

• Doctrine of National Unity

  Astana Calling, the newsletter from the Kazakhstan Embassy in the US is out with its latest issue. (To subscribe to this newsletter, write to pressa@mid.kz). There are a couple of articles that caught my attention and I’ll be writing about them in upcoming posts. But the first one I wanted to discuss was Public Debates […]

  11/27/09 • (6)

• Learning Kazakh: Resources

  As someone who does want to learn Kazakh partially for fun, partially because I do run into situations where it would make life easier, and partially because it would give me great standing with my wife’s family and with colleagues, I have been searching for a decent textbook for a long time. I started with […]

  10/10/07 • (2)