Kyrgyzstan 1

Listen to Kyrgyzstan 1, a 22-year-old man from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Click or tap the triangle-shaped play button to hear the subject.

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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

AGE: 22

DATE OF BIRTH (DD/MM/YYYY): 07/06/2002

PLACE OF BIRTH: Jordan (but raised in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan)

GENDER: male

ETHNICITY: Kyrgyz

OCCUPATION: restaurant manager

EDUCATION: high school

AREAS OF RESIDENCE OUTSIDE REPRESENTATIVE REGION FOR LONGER THAN SIX MONTHS:

From birth until the age of 6, the subject lived in Amman City, Jordan. From 6 to 18, he lived in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. And from 19 to the time of this recording, at age 22, he resided in Toronto, Canada.

OTHER INFLUENCES ON SPEECH:

His parents spoke to him in Arabic until he was 6 years old. Then they moved back to Kyrgyzstan, where they all switched to their native Kyrgyz and Russian. He has lived in Canada and spoken mainly English for the last three years.

The text used in our recordings of scripted speech can be found by clicking here.

RECORDED BY: Mark Dallas

DATE OF RECORDING (DD/MM/YYYY): 28/11/2024

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF SCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

ORTHOGRAPHIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH:

My dad: Uh, he went to Jordan to study there, um, at university. And his, his, uh, education was, uh, designed to learn specifically Arabic language. So he was trying to speak Arabic everywhere he goes, even if in his life, my mom was also there with him. So she would tell me that he was trying to speak Arabic everywhere, even at home. So when I was born, my first language was Arabic. But when they finished, uh, their education, we had to come back to my country, Kyrgyzstan, so, it was the age of 5 or 6.

So coming here, I still speak Arabic, but, uh, when I was speaking Arabic, uh, at kindergarten, where, where I had to go, uh, many people wouldn’t understand because they don’t speak Arabic. They speak Kyrgyz language and Russian mixed. So, I had to learn Ar-, uh, Russian and Kyrgyz language in order to understand them. And this, is this is where, without practice, I forgot my Arabic language because my parents also, um, like, stopped speaking Arabic with me and went instead speaking Russian and Kyrgyz so I could learn it faster, that way.

It’s like, I, I find it very easy to learn a language when I try to do it. And I think it goes from my — well, if I say it goes from DNA or genes somehow, then I would say, it’s, it’s true because my mother speaks five languages, my father speaks, uh, eight languages, and I have a keen on speaking and learning a new language.

[The subject speaks Kyrgyz]: Фольклордо бул элдин аталышынын пайда болуусунун бир нече вариантын көрүүгө болот. Алардын арысында мисалы: “кыргыз” аталышынын төмөндөгүдөй түшүндүрмөсү бар: кыргыз” “кырк” жана “кыз” деген сөздөрдөн куралган, м.а. кыргыздар – 40 кыздан пайда болгон эл. Байыркы кыргыздарда арстан, бугу, багыш, бөрү, барс, аюу ж.б. ыйык жаныбар деп саналган. Мындан сырткары, Теңирге, Күнгө жана Айга, ошондой эле отко сыйынган.

[English translation: In folklore, one can see several versions of the origin of the name of these people. For example, the name Kyrgyz has the following explanation: Kyrgyz is formed from the words “kyrk” and “kyz,” that is the Kyrgyz are a people formed from 40 girls. In ancient Kyrgyz, lion, deer, elk, wolf, leopard, bear, etc., were considered sacred animals. In addition, they worshipped the Lord, the Sun, and the Moon, as well as fire.]

TRANSCRIBED BY: Mark Dallas

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): 02/12/2024

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

SCHOLARLY COMMENTARY: N/A

COMMENTARY BY: N/A

DATE OF COMMENTARY (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

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