The native language is the soul of the nation

On February 21, 2024, interns from groups 633-634, under the supervision of Assistant Professor Liza Sovetovna Aralbaeva from the Department of Internal Medicine No. 2, organized and conducted an event titled “The Native Language is the Soul of the Nation,” in honor of International Mother Language Day.

This celebration was declared by the UNESCO General Conference on November 17, 1999, and has been observed since 2000. The date was chosen to commemorate the day in 1951 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, when students took to the streets to demand recognition of their mother tongue, Bengali, as one of the state languages, leading to a tragic confrontation with police forces. Furthermore, statistics show that about half of the world’s approximately 6,000 languages might soon lose their last native speakers, a trend we are currently witnessing globally.

“Language is the most powerful, distinctive sign of human civilization, a unique weapon,” said Akhmet Baitursynuly, a prominent Kazakh public and political figure. The Kazakh language is a means of communication not only among the residents of our country but also among people in neighboring countries such as Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and within the Russian Federation.

The event commenced with the national anthem of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Following this, interns Moldir Smagulova and Dinara Tugelbaeva recited poems dedicated to the native language, while intern from group 633, Nagym Zhiger, performed the küy “Erke sylkym.” Participants were introduced to interesting facts about the Kazakh language, and video clips about polyglot scientists and other intriguing language facts in human history were shown. A proverb and saying contest was also part of the event. The evening concluded with a joint choir of groups 633-634 performing the song “Jasa qazaǵym.”