valerie

learn kyrgyz

lesson 001 / Consonants in Kyrgyz
The consonants in Kyrgyz are б в г д ж з й к л м н ң п р с т ф х ц ч ш щ. All of these consonants are also present in Russian except ң. These consonants also in Russian are pronounced the same way in Kyrgyz with one exception: ж. In Russian, ж is pronounced like ‘zh’, but in Kyrgyz, ж is pronounced like ‘j’ in English. However, in Russian words, ж will still be pronounced like ‘zh’ (Kyrgyz sometimes relies on Russian loanwords as people have forgotten or don’t know the Kyrgyz word for things). Some consonants are rare or never seen in Kyrgyz words and only show up in Russian loanwords (like ф and щ)

Pronunciation
б like English ‘b’
в like English ‘v’
г like English ‘g’
д like English ’d’
ж like English ‘j’ (in Kyrgyz, not in Russian)
з like English ‘z’
й like English ‘iy’ ?
к like English ‘k’
л like English ‘L’
м like English ’M’
н like English ‘n’
ң like English ‘ng’
п like English ‘p’
р like English ‘r’
с like English ’s’
т like English ’t’
ф like English ‘f’
х like English ‘h’
ц like English ‘ts’
ч like English ‘ch’
ш like English ‘sh’
щ like English ‘shhuh’ ?


Practice
Use the information above to choose the correct English pronunciation of the Kyrgyz word. All words will use the vowel а (like ‘ah’), so you can focus on the consonant sounds.
1. ат (horse)

  1. ab
  2. ad
  3. al
  4. at

2. чач (hair)

3. анар (pomegranate)

4. такта (board)

5. арпа (barley)

6. тамга (letter)

7. жаса (to make - verb stem)

8. балдар (children)

9. ашкабак (pumpkin)

10. салтанат (celebration; also a female name)




lesson 002 / Vowels in Kyrgyz
The vowels in Kyrgyz are а о э/е ө ы у и ү. All vowels except ө and ү are present in Russian.

Pronunciation
а like English ‘ah’
о like English ‘o’?
э and е are pronounced the same as ‘eh’ in Kyrgyz (as opposed to Russian where э is pronounced like ‘eh’ but е is pronounced like ‘yeh’).
ө sounds like the German ö, according to some. It sounds a bit like ‘uh’ but with the sound coming from deeper in your throat.
ы like the short i sound in English, but not drawn out
у like English ‘ooh’
и like English ‘ee’
ү: start with ‘ooh’ and bring your lips forward more so that they a protruding a bit (kind of like as if you are going to kiss something). It’s the same sound as the ü from Pinyin for Mandarin Chinese

Note - the Russian vowels я (ya) and ю (you) also appear rarely, usually in loanwords
Practice
Use the information above to choose the correct English pronunciation of the Kyrgyz word.
1. оң (right, as in direction)


2. эже (older sister; aunt; general address for any woman older than you)

3. боз үй (yurt; literally ‘gray house’)

4. тепкич (stairs)

5. дүкөн (shop)

6. жайлоо (summer pasture)

7. адабият (literature)

8. бактылуу (happy)

9. калем сап (pen)

10. Саламатсызбы? (Hello for someone older than you)




lesson 003 / Vowel Harmony and Vowel Shifts
Most Kyrgyz words contain vowel harmony. Vowel harmony is the concept that words only contain vowels which ‘go together’.

Ата (father) is an example of a word with vowel harmony. There are two vowels in this word, and they are the same (а).

However, the word балык (fish) also displays vowel harmony, even though the vowels are not the same (а and ы).

So other than vowels which are exactly the same, how do we know which vowels ‘go together’? Let’s look at the chart below.


Vowels can be divided into Left Vowels (а о э/е ө ) and Right Vowels (ы у и ү ). We can shift a Left Vowel to become a Right Vowel in a Right Shift. Right Shifts are depicted by the arrows pointing to the right. Thus:

In the same way, we can shift a Right Vowel to become a Left Vowel in a Left Shift. Left Shifts are depicted by the arrows pointing to the left. Thus:

So when do we shift vowels? One use is for conjugating verbs, which we’ll look at in the next lesson.

Note: Kyrgyz people do not learn about this system of Left and Right Vowels and Vowel Shifting when learning their own language. Vowel harmony comes naturally for them, so there is no need :) As I’m aware, this concept was created by a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kyrgyzstan for English speakers learning Kyrgyz.
Practice
Decide which words follow the vowel harmony rules above. All of these words are commonly used in Kyrgyz, though they may not be Kyrgyz in origin
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.




lesson 004 / Kyrgyz Pronouns


Notes




lesson 005 / Kyrgyz Verb Conjugation - Present Simple/Future Simple Tense
Let’s look at five frequently used verbs in Kyrgyz. How a verb is conjugated depends on the final letter of the verb’s stem.

Let’s start with verbs which have stems that end in a consonant.
бар (pronounced ‘bar’) - to go