| The Kazakh language comes from the Turkic languages.
People write Kazakh in the Cyrillic alphabet, which has 33 letters. Nine
special symbols have been added to express sounds in Kazakh. Kazakhs have
used three different alphabets over the last century: Arabic, Roman (also
used for English and French) and Cyrillic.
The Soviet regime insisted that Kazakhstanis all
speak and learn Russian. Today Kazakh is the national language. Many Kazakhs
speak Russian well, though most people of Russian descent do not speak
Kazakh. One goal of the new country is for everyone to learn Kazakh. Because
it is difficult to change a country's language, Kazakhstanis are making
the switch gradually. Russian is still the main language of business, government
and schools. It is officially called the "language of inter-ethnic communication"
in this multicultural country.
News programs and dramas are broadcast on state
television in Kazakh and Russian. There are also German and Korean radio
programs. Newspaper readers can choose among independent papers in several
languages. |
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Did you know? |
| Many
Kazakh people consider naming a child after a relative bad luck. It implies
that the child is replacing that person. |
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