LingoflyLooking at an old photograph in Kazakh
A grandson questions his grandmother about an old photograph in Kazakh. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Әже (Äzhe), мына (Myna) суретте кім (Kim) тұр (tūr)?» — Grandma, who is in this photograph?; «Ол (Ol) — менің (meniñ) әкем (Äkem). Сол жылдары бәрі ауылда тұратын (Sol zhyldary bäri auylda tūratyn).» — That's my father. In those years everyone lived in the village. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a grandson questions his grandmother about an old photograph. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Ol — meniñ äkem. Sol zhyldary bäri auylda tūratyn.That's my father. In those years everyone lived in the village.
- Ol kezde bäri osyndai edi. Bügingi tañda mūndai üi qalmady.Everyone's houses were like that back then. These days no such houses are left.
- Bar. Ezhelden beri aitylyp keledi, biraq zhartysy oidan shyğaru.There is. It's been told since time immemorial, but half of it is made up.
- Zharaidy. Oqiğa bylai boldy, bir zholy ol qalağa attanğan eken.All right. This is how it happened: once he set off for the city.
Lines one by one
| Kazakh | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Әже (Äzhe), мына (Myna) суретте кім (Kim) тұр (tūr)? | Äzhe, myna surette kim tūr? | Grandma, who is in this photograph? |
| Ол (Ol) — менің (meniñ) әкем (Äkem). Сол жылдары бәрі ауылда тұратын (Sol zhyldary bäri auylda tūratyn). | Ol — meniñ äkem. Sol zhyldary bäri auylda tūratyn. | That's my father. In those years everyone lived in the village. |
| Үй (Üi) қандай (Qandai) ескі (Eski)! Ежелгі (Ezhelgi) қирандыға ұқсайды. | Üi qandai eski! Ezhelgi qirandyğa ūqsaidy. | What an old house! It looks like ancient ruins. |
| Ол (Ol) кезде (kezde) бәрі (Bäri) осындай еді (edi). Бүгінгі таңда (Bügingi tañda) мұндай (mūndai) үй (Üi) қалмады (qalmady). | Ol kezde bäri osyndai edi. Bügingi tañda mūndai üi qalmady. | Everyone's houses were like that back then. These days no such houses are left. |
| Ата (Ata) туралы (turaly) аңыз (Añyz) бар (Bar) деп (dep) естігенмін. | Ata turaly añyz bar dep estigenmin. | I've heard there's a legend about grandfather. |
| Бар (Bar). Ежелден бері (Ezhelden beri) айтылып келеді (keledi), бірақ (Biraq) жартысы ойдан шығару (Oidan shyğaru). | Bar. Ezhelden beri aitylyp keledi, biraq zhartysy oidan shyğaru. | There is. It's been told since time immemorial, but half of it is made up. |
| Соны маған (Mağan) ретімен (Retimen) айтып (aityp) берші (bershi). | Sony mağan retimen aityp bershi. | Tell me about it in order. |
| Жарайды (Zharaidy). Оқиға былай болды (Oqiğa bylai boldy), бір жолы (Bir zholy) ол (Ol) қалаға (qalağa) аттанған екен (eken). | Zharaidy. Oqiğa bylai boldy, bir zholy ol qalağa attanğan eken. | All right. This is how it happened: once he set off for the city. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and noticeably so. The link turns up study after study, and together those studies cover almost twenty thousand people.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Kazakh in this situation?
“Әже (Äzhe), мына (Myna) суретте кім (Kim) тұр (tūr)?” (Äzhe, myna surette kim tūr?) — Grandma, who is in this photograph? The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.