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Moscow conference warns against change of alphabet in Tatarstan
Today (18 September) delegates taking part in the "Language and Culture" conference in Moscow made an appeal to the State Council of Tatarstan in connection with the Tatar language's changeover to the Latin alphabet. Academics have described the change as pointless. Kseniya Kriseli reports:
In an open letter the conference delegates asked the State Council of Tatarstan not to hurry in changing Tatar over from the Cyrillic alphabet to the Latin one. The academics are advocating a balanced approach to the problematic relationship between language and literature. They feel it is essential to call on past experience. In Tatarstan the Cyrillic alphabet has been in use for more than 60 years. The written and classical languages have been completely synchronized. There is also a certain historical factor - the long-standing coexistence of the Tatar and Russian peoples has enriched both cultures, and aided the development of Tatar science and secondary and higher education. If the republic does indeed start using the Latin alphabet, the literacy rate in Tatarstan will quite simply fall. This can only cause harm, according to the rector of the Institute of Foreign Languages, Emma Volodarskaya.
(Emma Volodarskaya) - This will lead to a rift between generations, the loss of immense cultural wealth accumulated over almost 70 years. Each language and each literature forms a part of the world's knowledge, and if one part of that whole dies out, then all of human language suffers as a result.
The changeover from Cyrillic to Latin in Tatarstan may lead to ethnic and religious conflicts, according to academics. A rift will grow between Tatars living in the republic and those resident elsewhere in Russia.
Today (18 September) delegates taking part in the "Language and Culture" conference in Moscow made an appeal to the State Council of Tatarstan in connection with the Tatar language's changeover to the Latin alphabet. Academics have described the change as pointless. Kseniya Kriseli reports:
In an open letter the conference delegates asked the State Council of Tatarstan not to hurry in changing Tatar over from the Cyrillic alphabet to the Latin one. The academics are advocating a balanced approach to the problematic relationship between language and literature. They feel it is essential to call on past experience. In Tatarstan the Cyrillic alphabet has been in use for more than 60 years. The written and classical languages have been completely synchronized. There is also a certain historical factor - the long-standing coexistence of the Tatar and Russian peoples has enriched both cultures, and aided the development of Tatar science and secondary and higher education. If the republic does indeed start using the Latin alphabet, the literacy rate in Tatarstan will quite simply fall. This can only cause harm, according to the rector of the Institute of Foreign Languages, Emma Volodarskaya.
(Emma Volodarskaya) - This will lead to a rift between generations, the loss of immense cultural wealth accumulated over almost 70 years. Each language and each literature forms a part of the world's knowledge, and if one part of that whole dies out, then all of human language suffers as a result.
The changeover from Cyrillic to Latin in Tatarstan may lead to ethnic and religious conflicts, according to academics. A rift will grow between Tatars living in the republic and those resident elsewhere in Russia.
WORLD NEWS CONNECTION, Sept 18, 2001