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THE
KHAKAS LANGUAGE
The Khakas language belongs to Sary-Uighurian subgroup of
the Northern-Eastern branch of Turkic dialects that constitute as well as
other relative tongues like Mongolian, Korean, Tunguzian, and etc. Altaian group
of Ural-Altai linguistic family. Together with that the Khakas language bears in
form of borrowed and transformed words a many traces of Finno-Ugric, Persian,
Mongolian and even Arabic languages. The Khakas nation in history has had a high level of
culture the obvious evidence of which is ancient Kyrghyz writing system of V-XIII
centuries based on Turkic alphabet. This Kyrghyz alphabet and writing system had
been widespread among the population of the ancient Kyrghyz Khanate. Information
about that may be met and seen on a lot of steles with Kyrghyz inscriptions
throughout the Khakas steppes. In spite of many historical handicaps and
difficulties this writing system of the ancestors of Khakas nation had kept and
continued even in narrow and limited dimensions as far as XVII century when
Russians have come from the West to Khakas (Hongoria) land in order to invade
and occupy it and even until the beginning of XVIII century when Khakas state of
Khongoria has been destroyed and occupied by the alien invaders. After Mongolian and then Russian assaults in Kyrghyz state
there have decreased both a population and level of ancient Kyrghyz culture. Due
to (in result of) these negative historic processes as above-mentioned invasion
and occupation the ancient Kyrghyz Turkic alphabet and writing have forever
disappeared from cultural life of our nation. A
distinctive honorable place within the rehabilitation process of ancient Kyrghyz
alphabet in particular and ancient Turkic one in general has belonged to D.G.
Messerschmidt, who in 1721 for the first time discovered the steles of Yenisei
Turkic inscriptions (Ancient Kyrghyz inscription steles which in following times
has been named as Yenisei and Orkhon [located in Orkhon River basin in
northern Mongolia] inscriptions, and to W. Thomsen and W. Radloff who in the
late of XIX century for the first time could decode and decipher these ancient
Turkic inscriptions. A lot of
linguists and ethnographers have hardly and self-denying made researches in and
worked on general (common) Turkic language and its dialects and henceforth the
Khakas one. Among these scientists there are W. Radloff, W. Thomsen, I.
Gasprinsky, N.F. Katanoff, and many others. Prof.
Dr. N.F. Katanoff whom origin was a Khakas Turk (or Abakan Turk, a name under
which the Khakas people was well-known then) is the most prominent man in the
Khakas national science who thanks to his own talent, extraordinary intelligence
and hardly exertions has reached to scientific Olympus peak of
Turkology where there are other gigantic stars of this science. A
professor of Kazan Imperial University Nikolai Fedorovich Katanov who in Khakas
was known as Khyzyl olgy Pora Katan has had a full, honorable and correspondent
membership in many Russian and European scientific associations. His
private library consisted of rich collection of approximately 9 thousand books
written in 22 language (these languages are Persian, Arabic, German, Russian,
Khakas, Turkish, Greek, and many others) is in a building of Turkologic
Researches Institute of Istanbul University.
This book collection was brought to Istanbul by an Ottoman Sadrazam (a
Prime Minister of Turkish state in Ottoman period) Hilmi Pasha from Kazan (Tatarstan)
in 1912. Unfortunately,
a fate of this really giant of science was to extremely extent full of hardships
and handicaps most of which was derived from his poverty and non-Russian ethnic
origin. During Czarist Russian
Empire there was widespread such hard to understanding and the most evident
simple of nationalities policy on state level tradition transformed into state-backed
practice as stamp known as ‘Inorodtsy‘ [‘people of alien race‘]. Men
belonged to southern Siberian non-Russian
peoples in particular, who has been stamped as Inorodets and forced to bear this
shameful Russian label which during Czarist regime has been given to some non-Russian
peoples who have generally been looked at as if they (i.e., these men belonged
to non-Russian nationalities) have been culturally undeveloped and mentally
retarded. In addition to that all scientific works of this noble and proud son
of the Khakas nation had not been published since the early years of XX century
until the late years of Soviet totalitarian regime and there had untill the
1960‘s been efforts for slandering and dishonor his innocent name. Khakas-origined
ethnographer, turkologist and orientalist of XIXth and XXth centuries, a
follower of a well-known scientist W. Radloff, and an explorer of new epoch in
Turkology for own followers, a doctor of comparative philology whose scientific
heritage has kept actuality till present days,
a professor of Kazan Imperial
University Nikolai F. Katanoff‘s selected scientific writings and
ethnographic, culturologic patterns of Turkic tribles lived in south Siberia was
published in Ankara (Turkey) in 2000. This is very important step within a
process of rehabilitation of his name and continuation of revitalizing his
scientific heritage through publishing and popularizing. A thousand items of
this book published by International Organozation of TURKSOY (The Joint
Administration of Turkic Culture and Arts) in three language (Khakas, Turkish
and Russian) have been sent to the Motherland of this famous man of science
Khakas Republic from Turkey where N.F.Katanoff had when he was alive a strong
desire to come to. In the 1920‘s in
Khakas Republic there was the Khakas people has been formed more than 80 percent
of population of republic, but in the end of 1990‘s there is the Khakas
constitute of only 10 percent within total population. Moreover since 1940‘s
Khakas language has been excluded from official correspondence and since
1960‘s its instruction function in the basic, secondary and higher school
education also has been finished and transformed to ordinary optional lesson of
so-named Native language. Thus, our language like in Czarist Russian period has
been punished to edge of total disappearance and been deprived of basic right to
develop and to be developed. While during a period between the first years of 1930‘s
and the last years of 1940‘s to Khakas language had been used Roman letters.
Interesting fact that Ataturk who is a prominent son of Turkish nation and all
Turkic world and who is the founder and the first president of Turkish state
also has within the same period made revolution in alphabet by changing Arabic
script into Roman (Latin) one. In 1939 then leader of Soviet Union Stalin and
totalitarian state represented by him forced many of non-Russian peoples to
revert to Russian letters based on Cyrillic script. In our days Khakas alphabet
consists of Russian (33 litters) and Khakas (6 litters ) letters; although the
latter, i.e. Khakas letters are distinguished from Russian ones Khakas letters
as well as Russian ones are based on Cyrillic graphic. At present time Khakas language has again acquired
official status of state language and in present days Khakas language‘s status
equals to status of Russian within Khakas Republic. In spite of this positive
progress our language has no equal possibilities and advantages (political,
demographic, and etc.) as Russian and more vulnerable to handicaps arrived from
economical problems. Khakas language due to reflection of problematic situation
observed in a field related to linguistic existence has been added to Red Book
of Endangered Languages of Russia prepared abroad. Every Khakas have to
contribute something to process of revitalizing of Khakas language because of if
our native Khakas language disappear we as Khakas nation
would came to finish and become merely a mass or population without own
language, i.e. then our people would be totally assimilated.
I believe that every language of 6701 languages existed
all around the world and spoken in approximately 227 countries has a right to be
spoken and developed, i.e., to be alive. ***And I think that because of all tongues are treasures
of cultural diversity our world has really been the Heaven for existence of all
cultures and peoples. Of course, on the Earth there has always appeared negative
and even dangerous trends directed and conducted against
culturally heterogeneous heritage of humankind which is source of
cultural wealth. From this point of view I applaud to every movement like your
one which is a real milestone toward
the understanding of inevitability of hegemony through such principle as ‘E
Pluribus Unum’ [‘Unity within diversity’] on the world where we live all
together. Timur Bulat DAVLET [30
Kichker 2001]
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