Ukrainian man teaches Kazakh, recites Abai

Every citizen must respect the language and traditions of the country in which he lives. This is what Dmitry Romaschenko says, quoting Abai’s Words of Edification, which he knows by heart. Being Ukrainian by nationality, he loves the works of Kazakh poets. Moreover, he teaches the Kazakh language and literature in one of the Kostanai schools.

Romaschenko is a native of the Fedorovsky district, which is located on the border with Russia. He grew up in a Russian-speaking environment. However, this did not prevent him from mastering his Kazakh language skills to an advanced level.

“I go to a Russian school, but I am fluent in Kazakh. This is largely due to the lessons of Dmitry Sergeevich that I attend. I like them a lot,” said Altynai Donenbayeva, a school student.

Memorizing new words is the main method in language learning, says Romaschenko. It should be a daily job. Reading literature, primarily Abai's works, helped him in learning the foreign language. Although the first book he read in Kazakh is the novel by Shyngys Aitmatov ‘Zhan Pida’.

“If I'm not mistaken, his Word Sixteen says the following. The Kazakh does not worry whether his prayers please God or not. He does what other people do, he gets up and falls face to the ground in supplication. He treats God as though he was a merchant who has come to collect a debt: "That’s all I have, take it if you will, but if you will not, don’t ask me to get livestock out of nowhere!" said Dmitry Romashchenko, Kazakh Language and Literature Teacher.

 

Translation and editing by Assem Zhanmukhanova