LingoflyAn argument about the new road in Kazakh
Neighbors disagree about the city construction site in Kazakh. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Жаңа (Zhaña) жол (zhol) салынады (salynady) екен (eken). Меніңше (Meniñshe), бұл (būl) дұрыс (dūrys).» — It turns out a new road will be built. I think that's right; «Дегенмен (Degenmen), ағаштарды кесуге тура (Tura) келеді (keledi).» — Nevertheless, the trees will have to be cut down. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: neighbors disagree about the city construction site. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Бұл даулы мәселе. Дереккөзің қандай?Būl dauly mäsele. Derekköziñ qandai?That's a debatable issue. What is your source?
- Ресми есеп. Қаласаң, әлеуметтік желіден жіберемін.Resmi esep. Qalasañ, äleumettik zheliden zhiberemin.An official report. If you want, I'll send it on social media.
- Жіберші. Оқыған соң пікірімді айтамын.Zhibershi. Oqyğan soñ pikirimdi aitamyn.Send it. Once I've read it, I'll give my opinion.
Lines one by one
| Kazakh | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Жаңа (Zhaña) жол (zhol) салынады (salynady) екен (eken). Меніңше (Meniñshe), бұл (būl) дұрыс (dūrys). | Zhaña zhol salynady eken. Meniñshe, būl dūrys. | It turns out a new road will be built. I think that's right. |
| Дегенмен (Degenmen), ағаштарды кесуге тура (Tura) келеді (keledi). | Degenmen, ağashtardy kesuge tura keledi. | Nevertheless, the trees will have to be cut down. |
| Қымбат (Qymbat) болса да (Bolsa da), кептеліс (keptelis) азаяды ғой (ğoi). | Qymbat bolsa da, keptelis azayady ğoi. | Expensive, yes, but there will be fewer traffic jams. |
| Керісінше (Kerisinshe), көлік (Kölik) көбейеді (köbeiedi) деп (dep) қорқамын (qorqamyn). | Kerisinshe, kölik köbeiedi dep qorqamyn. | On the contrary, I'm afraid there will be more cars. |
| Мұндай (mūndai) жағдай (Zhağdai) басқа (Basqa) қалада (qalada) да (da) болған (bolğan). | Mūndai zhağdai basqa qalada da bolğan. | Such a case happened in another city too. |
| Бұл даулы мәселе (Būl dauly mäsele). Дереккөзің қандай (Qandai)? | Būl dauly mäsele. Derekköziñ qandai? | That's a debatable issue. What is your source? |
| Ресми (resmi) есеп (Esep). Қаласаң, әлеуметтік (Äleumettik) желіден жіберемін (zhiberemin). | Resmi esep. Qalasañ, äleumettik zheliden zhiberemin. | An official report. If you want, I'll send it on social media. |
| Жіберші (zhibershi). Оқыған соң (soñ) пікірімді айтамын (aitamyn). | Zhibershi. Oqyğan soñ pikirimdi aitamyn. | Send it. Once I've read it, I'll give my opinion. |
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?
“Жаңа (Zhaña) жол (zhol) салынады (salynady) екен (eken). Меніңше (Meniñshe), бұл (būl) дұрыс (dūrys).” (Zhaña zhol salynady eken. Meniñshe, būl dūrys.) — It turns out a new road will be built. I think that's right. 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.