Akhmet Dusenbayev,
Scientific Fellow-curator of
The Museum of History of Kazakhstan Science
The RSE «Gylym Ordasy» of the MES of the RK
Status and proportion of international scientific terminology in modern Kazakh language has been provoking a lot of criticism and discussions for more than 20 years. It is known that more than a hundred years ago Akhmet Baytursinov developed a framework of Kazakh linguistics and scientific terminology. His colleagues, students and followers attached importance to international terminology; and introduced a huge number of terms into Kazakh language vocabulary.
The President N. Nazarbayev repeatedly expressed the opinion in his favour. But there were without any effects.
I remember that in January 1987 (at the period of Kolbin) Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Kazakh SSR «On Languages» was adopted. Indirectly on the back of December events of 1986 in Almaty provoked a «purge» of the Kazakh language from foreign words. Unfortunately, at that time international scientific terms began to disappear from the language. In other words, you have to break the eggs to make an omelette. After 27 years modern Kazakh language face lack of international terminology in some fields of science.
Therefore, when translating any material from European languages into Kazakh text often becomes a household, simplistic and even comical. Sometimes it could be even obscure and empty.
Today it does not make any sense to translate scientific material from European languages into Kazakh, for example, on natural science because of lack of international scientific terms. We have lost many valuable terms, which were obtained with difficulty in complicated XX century.
In XXI century instead of café, casino, chemistry, policlinic, laboratory, museum, theatre, circus we have such «innovations» as zertkhana, dertkhana, yemkhana, aurukhana, darikhana, perzentkhana, zhardemkhana, toykhana, oiynkhana, syrakhana, askhana, sauykkhana, shaikhana, kymyzkhana, shubatkhana, lagmankhana, donerkhana and stuff like that. The backtracking is obvious.
Why could we not take back more useful and necessary international terminology to develop education and science in Kazakh language? Whether there is a science and enlightenment without terminology?
At the present moment our scientists have no opportunity to write a serious article in fundamental science in Kazakh language which could be essential far abroad. Today it does not make sense to translate scientific material on natural sciences from Kazakh language into European languages as we lost many valuable terms, which were obtained with difficulty in complicated XX century.
Nowadays, despite the paradox linguistic step back to the Middle Ages is obvious. Russian language has been actively integrating into the informational space of the West European countries for exactly 300 years, while Kazakh language was partially integrated in it by the Russian language in the Soviet period. Today we observe a passive reintegration with it on the most vulnerable point for us which is the field of terminology.
In general, Russian language was and still stays the language of solid science and advanced education, while Kazakh language is increasingly becoming the mean of communication of television, radio, newspaper and magazine journalists, and theatrical messengers, as well as for oracles and wittypates. Under the illusory flag of the so-called originality we are separating from the civilized countries in quality of scientific and educational materials. In our conditions, such exclusivity leads to isolation from the enlightened nations. This is impasse.
Why could we not take back more useful and necessary international terminology to develop education and science in Kazakh language? Whether there is a science and enlightenment without terminology? In addition. Is it possible to make an industrial and innovative break and come into the top 30 highly developed countries without terminology?
The article was published in newspapers «Industrial Karaganda», «Info-Ces».
