Speaking in Tongues

August 27, 2006

Um… Why did I pick Kazak? That question went through my head repeatedly today during my six hours of language lessons today. As far as I can tell the main use I will find for it is as a novelty act or possibly a secret code language. Despite the fact that the Kazaks are the ethnic majority, and the country itself is named Kazakhstan, hardly anyone speaks Kazak. On the other hand, everyone speaks Russian. I should be fine once I get to my remote Kazak village in the south in three months, but heaven help me if I want to go anywhere else. I talked to former volunteer, and current cross cultural trainer Ashley today, and she said that while the government claims that Kazak is the official language of the nation, in reality only 40 % of the population can read or speak it, and in the north part of the country, the Kazaks cannot even speak Kazak. That said, Kazak is a beautiful language that lend itself well to poetry and song, so I am not that disappointed and knowing three languages is always better than just learning two. Still, it is kind of interesting that a majority of the nation does not speak the “official” language, even if it has only been the official language for the last ten years.