Some time ago – in fact a few years after I was born – I started to speak and write in my native Uzbek. I am happy that I have this language as my mother tongue because it is beautiful, rich, colourful and highly contextual. Following that I learnt Russian – another great language, a very powerful one. Russian is like an ocean, great and immense. I am happy that I created most my literary and scholarly work in this wonderful language. My third language was English. I see enormous potential in English: it is eloquent, functional, operational, businesslike and very pragmatic. It has the largest number of words, expressions, idioms, etc. It is widely spoken everywhere, and it allows you to express almost every thought and emotion. I knew a little French and was very passionate about it but unfortunately I am not good enough to express myself in this beautiful and lovely language.
Yesterday I suddenly realised that now I need to write more in English. I do not know why, but I would like to try. I think I am quite good in expressing myself in Uzbek and Russian and now I feel like meeting a challenge to write more in English. I started to learn English seriously only when I was 32 (Karl Marx started to learn Arabic when he was 50). I still have many problems, especially in using definite and indefinite articles (Uzbek language has no articles so I don’t really feel the English articles). I speak this language quite freely, and I have no problems with public speaking and lecturing in this language (of course with some accent). I also wrote and published a few articles in English and regularly read English books. Nevertheless, I am not good enough in English grammar – that is undeniable. I have some way to go to reach a good style in English. But I would like to master the English grammar and style. To do so, to achieve it, I need to work hard, to practice everyday, if possible.
So I decided to continue my blog in English. Let’s see what happens. Maybe I will enjoy it, or perhaps I will come back to Russian or even Uzbek once again. I am sorry if somebody who read this blog will feel some discomfort from this language change. But who knows maybe he or she will also progress in English with me. So let’s try, i don’t see why not.
Alisher Faizullaev 
Peace be with You Mr. Faiz,
Today I’ve accidentally stumbled upon your online workshop, closely examined this publication of yours and have to admit that I was thrilled by your distinct linguistic ability. Kudos!
Let me make couple comments on your courageous and highly intellectual initiative here:
1. It is anthropologically obvious that from the very beginning of his life due to impending necessity the human being is compelled to apply certain physical and emotional means to express his thoughts starting from primordial form up to sophisticated one. For instance, when a newly born infant gets hungry, he eagerly signals his mother in the form of verbal complaint, which is the simplest way of getting your wishes granted by filling up the air with only one vowel sound, that is a baby-cry. Further when he is given what he asked, he pulls his arms forward stretching them towards the “prey”, snatches it and boldly takes on devouring it. In much the way I have just depicted the elementary process of getting fed in terms of food provisions is similar to the process feeding yourself intellectually. Therefore, one has to strive for knowledge in any language it is available in its most quantity. Yet, every single language impregnated by a huge cultural and geograpihical factors and phenomenons can only offer you a shortlisted number of ways to contemplate the matter and perhaps or maybe that’s why on occasions it becomes a tiresome job to understand the expressions/opinions uttered in other languages. (I will bring a light into this matter furtherdown). So, my message for those, who sceptically and perhaps intentionally put one language over another is this: if you are really hungry and starving for knowledge, why don’t you obtain it the same way the babies do. That is to say, by any means and as much as you can so as to quench your intellectual thirst from the fountain of everlasting and ever inspiring knowledge. Moral: if you haven’t mastered any other foreign language yet, it implies that you haven’t wanted/wished/desires it that much.
2. Originally, any spoken language conveys an idea through specific to its nature sentences, idioms, phrases and etc. I repeat, specific to its nature, which means that if Zulu language, for instance, reflects all the ethnic and cultural values and thereby is fundementally limited to certain number of words in its scanty vocabulary, the same expression can not be diplicated exactly same way in any other language to the virtue of incoherence of the different linguistic factors of the various nations per se. Similarly, one can not master a foreign language unless he starts thinking and perceiving the matters and events like the native speaker does disregarding the fact whether he has a rudimentary grasp or proudly possesses an advanced level. Long story short, our thoughts are reflected in words and by reading them we can track back to an original author and thus more or less reveal what nation/culture he belongs to.
And I do admire your endeavor to challange yourself in this stage of your life. Please carry on and preserve this upbeat attitude towards life while surprising us with your all new undiscovered unique capabilities.
PS. Even impossible is possible when it’s matter of will.
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Dear Sukhrob,
Thank you very much for your thoughts. I am impressed by your English, by the way. As far as my English, unfortunately, I’ve started quite late, and, of course, we did not have many opportunities to learn foreign languages at the time. However, I believe, its never late, and I am doing my best in writing, teaching, reading and thinking in three languages. And the nice thing is that one language helps to feel, experience the beauty of the other one.
All the best,
AF
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Bir paytlar ekran orqali janob Jirinovskiy bir muhim gapni aytgan edilar. O’shanda yuragim nimagadir ozgina jiz etdi va gaplaridan juda ta’sirlanib ketgan edim ( bu gaplari meni juda o’ylantirib qoldi). Gaplarning mazmuni shunday edi: Kambag’al va qashoq halqlar yoki iqtisod past bo’lgan davlatlar bizni (Rus tilini) o’rgansin, kambag’alar boylarning tilini o’rgansin lekin biz (Ruslar) emas. Bu boshqa chet el tilarga ham kiradi.
Bunga nima deb oy’laysiz?
Oldindan rahmat.
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Узр, яхши тушунмадим.
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Alisher aka,
I have not visited your blog for almost half a year. Today, while surfing the web, I found myself reading your thoughts again. I don’t know do you feel it or not (probably, you have the statistics of it), but the traffic at your page has significantly increased. It is pleasant to evidence the emergence of a blog, which means more to literature than what Paul Krugman’s or Thomas Friedman’s blogs mean for economics&politics.
So far as the language issue is concerned, let me join your debate. I remember that I was in the presentations of your newly published book some years ago. Then, I kept a nervous silence; for you wrote your book in Russian, not Uzbek. I wondered why we all converse in Uzbek, and switch to Russian for more complicated conversations. Why only people who don’t know Russian or who don’t know how the world outside of the state borders looks like use Uzbek? Why we don’t try to train our language by making it lift more heavy barbels? But it seemed off topic question then and I had no courage to break the joyful atmosphere there. Because there were “heavy-weight” critics with white hair and beard, who behaved as if they were the most famous representatives of the literature (I didn’t know any them then, I never heard of them since then, maybe I’m far from literature).
Paradoxically, now I categorically disagree with those readers, who want you to write in Uzbek and Russian. I would like to read your posts and even books in English. Because, vocabulary, grammar and style do mean a lot for literary expressing, so do the number and quality of the readers. I doubt that Chingiz Aytmatov’s works would be so famous, has he written in Kyrgyz language. It is not to say that Kyrgyz or Uzbek languages are poor. On the contrary, you can write a poem in Uzbek, the meaning and arts in which are usually untranslatable (if we can say so) into English or Russian. But we should acknowledge that we are far from the ability to use the vocabulary and twists of Alisher Navoiy in anything we write. Besides, the mass in Uzbek-speaking and Russian-speaking regions seems far from enjoying (accepting, or maybe, understanding) the genre to which Alisher Faiz’s writings belong. Majority of your current followers here are probably your current students… I wish your works could have a chance to reach the nations, where they “swallow” books. I wish one day we could read a review to your book at New York Times pages. So, where do all roads lead? Not to Moscow, and certainly not to Tashkent. Maybe I’m wrong, but it seems that in order to have the literary works anyone from non-western (or developing country) attracted the attention of any decision-making committee of literary prizes and awards, one should write about something that praises the West (i.e., complicated socio-economic situation in the country, feminism, the possibilities and trends for a change towards “westernization”, etc.). Otherwise, it is not easy to be heard. It is something like imposing the “colonial rules” to the literature. And if to judge from what you write, you are not following those “rules”. You seem to have chosen hard and long way. I hope that by using English here and in your books in the future, you will reach true critics and readers.
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Thank you very much for your interesting comments (and for your time, of course). I agree with most of your thoughts and arguments. We often think and speak about political or economic power of nations, distinguish more and less powerful countries. Unfortunately we could say almost the same thing about the power of languages. Of course everybody loves and admires his or her native language, and any language has a great cultural, social and spiritual values. However look at the language of the most prestigious scientific journals or the most powerful media/Internet sources. Yes, they use primarily English. I am absolutely sure that there are plenty of very talented and even genius writers who write in their “small” or local languages. But who knows about them worldwide? Yes, nobody, because they have not been translated into “big” languages. Unfair? Yes, very much so. But it is our reality.
I think here in Uzbekistan we should promote three-language policy. I am sure it would be nice if majority of our people will be able to speak Uzbek, Russian and English. I do not see any other good alternatives. In the past our people always spoke several languages so we have some capacity to learn languages and to cope with them.
We could put this language discussion into wider context. Language and language policy plays a huge role in personal, organizational, social and country development. In fact it is one of the key elements of any social development strategy. So it is important to discuss this issue and thank you for your contribution.
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На мой взгляд с переменой языка блог потерял, будет терять и дальше (в своей привлекательности что-ли). Я просто не понял логики, зачем??? Автор должен понимать, что тем самым он напрямую отсеевает своих почитателей, поклонников и просто людей желающих отвлечься чтением его заметок на знающих и незнающих английский язык. От чего бы не попробовать французкий, в нем тоже есть к чему стремиться…
Мое личное мнение – имеет право на жизнь 🙂
Спасибо !
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Возможно, Вы правы. Я сам сейчас размышлял на эту тему. Но думаю, что эксперимент, так же как и личное мнение, имеет право на жизнь. Так что поэкспериментирую, а там видно будет (я и в первом своем постинге на английском не исключал возможности возврата на русский). В любом случае спасибо Вам за то, что нашли время и возможность высказать свое мнение.
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Я уж раз 17 выучивал 1-й сонет. И раз 18 забыл.
PS После тяжелой продолжительной болезни, не приходя в сознание, читаю наконец твою книгу, и с большим удовольствием.
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Увы, и у меня такой опыт: чем больше учу сонеты, тем больше их забываю. Прямая корреляция.
PS. Выздоравливай! Для меня твое мнение по книге (и вообще, по литературе) – второе самое значимое, после мнения Всевышнего. Но поскольку мнения Всевышнего, скорее всего, трудно будет услышать, то твое мнение – фактически самое главное для меня. Спасибо.
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Да, но знание английского, думаю, не сильно помогало. Это как нам старославянский в слепом виде изучать.
Пишут, что староанглийский ближе к нынешнему исландскому.
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Что ж, надо и нам подумать о староанглийском, думаю, будет весело и отрадно. А вот в Англии я замечал, что в школе все изучают (читают) Шекспира, но мало кто понимает его (оригинальный) язык. Я тоже неоднократно пытался читать Шекспира в оригинале, но особого успеха увы, не имел.
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Blind Borges began his study of Old English when he was 70+.
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Yeah, that is a good and encouraging point, than you. However, Borges knew English quit well since his childhood.
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Great news, go global Mentor!
I’m sure your writings will be as bright and insightful as they are in Russian or Uzbek.
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Merci beaucoup!
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Fantastic that I can follow your wisdom and understand it! (not being an Uzbek or Russian speaker, but on at heart)…
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Thank you so much dear Malcolm. It is my great pleasure and honour to see you in my blog. I will be pleased if you from time to time can give me some advice on how to write in English. And will be happy to see you soon in Tashkent.
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Alisher aka,
I would really prefer if you blogged in Uzbek only, to be honest. There are tons of quality blogs in English and Russian out there, but none, literally none, in Uzbek. And that is what we need most right now. That is my humble opinion :).
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That is an interesting argument, I have to think about it. Maybe I need to open a special Uzbek section on om blog. Any way, thank you for your opinion. One thing is quite clear for me: the language gives the structure for the thoughts. That means that the things which can be written in one language cannot be written in other language. So one of the ways is to write the Uzbek things in Uzbek, the Russian ones in Russian and the English ones in English. So I’ll wee.
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Good decision!!! To continue blog in English. I will support your decision. First of all, main your gentle readers can read your publication in this Language and advanced internet users are readers from English speaking world. But sometimes we, your followers can write comments in our native-Uzbek, as you noted, beautiful, reach, colorful and high contextual language.
P.S.: Alisher aka, omonmisiz, tuzalib ketdizmi? Bolgda yozganlarizzi oqib turibmiz.
Ijodiy ishlarizga muvaffaqiyatlar, doimo sog salomat buling!
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Рахмат, Бобоёр, тузалиб кетдим, эртага ишга чикаман, киладиган ишларимиз куп, тренингларга анча талаб йигилиб колибди.
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Lovely, yet unexpectable.
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Thanks, let’s see.
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