Postcard from Bishkek

When it mes to learning Kyrgyz, I have an interesting little problem.  Because I don’t take proper lessons and only dip n and out of exercises every now and again, my knowledge of Kyrgyz vocabulary and grammar is very haphazard.

As a result, I am not really surprised when I come across a word that I am sure I have met before … but simply cannot remember what it means … or when I want to say something and start fishing around in my memory banks to see if can fish it out.  In fact there are a lot of words which I ought to know because I do use them from time to time, but I still find myself having to dredge through the depths of my memory …

I know, for example … that Jok means No, but I always seem to have trouble recalling the opposite … that is, the word for Yes … for the record,  it’s Ova.

I have n trouble with some of the numbers: ece for two (as in Ece Naryn – a village just outside the city and called “Naryn 2″ to avoid confusion); besh for five, (as in Beshbarmack,  five fingers – the archetypal dish of Kyrgyz cuisine … and Beshkempir, five grandmothers – a sort of informal village council which traditionally decides certain social questions such as the adoption and care of orphans); djety for seven, (as in Djety Oguz – SevenBulls),  on for ten (as in On Archa – Ten Junipers, or On Korgon – Ten Guards) … and so on.

I know how to say Thank You, (rakmat and that chon rakhmat means “Thank you very much” or “Thanks a lot” … without the sarcasm), and that eshti kemiz is the equivalent of “You’re welcome”, or “It’s nothing”, or “Don’t mention it”.  I try to make a point of using these words when and where ever it seems appropriate; for example, when shopping.

The other day I was out shopping and when I went to ask the shop assistant for something, I realized that I couldn’t recall the word for Please.  As it happened she was fluent in both Russian and English and so I was able to rephrase my question without exposing my ignorance.

It seemed such a basic word … not just a “nicety” but an important word that I should be using several times every day …  so, when I got back home I started going through the phrase books … and, to my amazement, couldn’t find an entry for “please”.  So, I started asking around.

It was really interesting. Virtually everyone had to stop and think … one girl, (a Kyrgyz girl, a friend of Andrei’s), after a ten second gap, reached for her mobile phone and rang her mother … and there ensued something like a ten minute conversation as she explained the question.

Eventually, however, everyone seemed to come up with the same answer: “There isn’t one.  We don’t really say that.” (!)

It’s not a sign that the Kyrgyz are rude in any way.  On the contrary, etiquette is very important in Kyrgyz society.  As one of my interlocutors explained it to me … “There is no word for please because it is dealt with in the grammar – the word endings.  You don’t just say, Berseng (“Give me that”), you say Beresizbi , ( “Give me that, please”).

 

To be fair, I have since come across two words which one Kyrgyz language manual translate as “please”: Suranych, (Сураныч), and Otunuch, (Отунуч) … but I am told that they translate as “request” as in I have a request … and as one of my friends, Calvin says … “I have never heard it used.”

 

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For some reason – Comments are closed … but I received the following information via Twitter:

“true! but actually instead of a separate word, we use suffix “-chi”, e.g. “berchi” – “give please”.”

and via Facebook:

“”no problem” may best be rendered as “ech nerse emes” or “echteke emes”"

 

Tags: Cultural_Differences, Expat, Language