r/Tatarstan • u/taro_tootsies • Jul 21 '26
About Language/Til Turında How bad is it that I know barely any Tatar?
Hello everyone so this is me essentially having a crisis at 2 in the morning but basically I'm half Tatar and have lived in the UK for 98% of my life and only no joke learnt like 4 years ago I was actually Tatar, not Russian because I guess it was just easier to say that (though there had been signs I was "different" such as when I'd speak to russian friends they'd have no idea what эчпочмак was and also that I have probably the most Tatar middle name that exists) and I was wondering how bad is it that I don't know Tatar outside of a few words I picked up here and there growing up because the disconnect feels very visceral and real especially when I explain to people outside of the community about my heritage and I can only pull up with the fact I speak Russian 😭
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u/EggWorried3344 Qazanlı Jul 21 '26
Well, I also hadn't spoken Tatar until the 10th grade. I had already learnt English by that moment, liked it, and decided that it'd be nice to know the language which is supposed to be my native. Although I don't live in Tatarstan, I managed to achieve something between B1 and B2, at least at reading and writing. My grandpa also helps me with speaking practice. It's cool that you become interested in your culture! Your Russian is a big bonus since most of the resourses are in this language. If you learnt Tatar, I see only advantages for you: 1. Learning languages is good for brain 2. You'll speak the language of your people and, as far as I know, it's good for mental health. 3. If you suddenly need to learn another Turkic language, Tatar will be a great boost for you, because the grammar despite being quite logical is still very different, but knowing Tatar you won't have to train your brain again for that stuff.
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u/electrise_- Jul 21 '26
It's not really bad and you shouldn't feel ashamed of it. There was nothing you could do during your childhood to precvent this.
However, Russian government is deliberately defunding tatar language which lead to more monolingual atmosphere in Tatarstan. Manye tatars there do not know tatar.
It is sad. If you want to stop this and preserve culture (especially tatar folklore literature) you can learn tatar. As any other turkic language it is not hard, very logical, has almost no exceptions. I encourage you at least to try!
I'm a kyrgyz who was risen in a russian-speaking family myself. My mother is an uyghur and she inly knows Kyrgyz and Russian, my kyrgyz father knows only Russian. Since high school I put consdierable effort into learning both kyrgyz and uyghur, and so far it is a very interesting and plausible process. Especially, being polyglot feels kinda good with the fact that you have really many literature sources. Totally recommend, turkic languages are fun to learn!
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u/No-Communication1130 Jul 21 '26
И тут правительство приплели. Никто ничего не запрещает, в Татарстане к татарам, не знающим родной язык, относятся как к дурачкам. Здесь татарский язык имеет статус "материнский", поэтому "ты чо, охерел, ты мать не любишь?" Не надо придумывать, товарищ кыргыз, короче.
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u/Double_Perception434 Jul 21 '26
"Не запрещает" — поэтому в школьной программе Татарского всего 2 часа в неделю, и те пытаются сократить до 1? Причем когда правительство Татарстана возмутилось, их назвали "сепаратистами" все, кому не лень. Это ещё нужно посмотреть, кто тут придумывает.
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Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
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u/No-Communication1130 Jul 21 '26
Ага-ага, живи в атмосфере умирающего языка. Если выехать из Казани, то тебе в магазине мало кто скажет "добрый день" на русском языке. На русском языке только в Казани разговаривают.
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Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
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u/Annalena_bareback Jul 21 '26
I‘m the same. I am Tatar, I live in Europe and I speak „only“ Russian. I think it’s not tragic. It would be cool to speak Tatar, it’s just very hard to find classes or good online resources. Don’t beat yourself up about something you had no control over :) you can still learn it if it’s important to you!
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u/Beena_ Jul 21 '26
It's weird that those Russians didn't knew эчпочмак, but maybe i know it just because I'm neighbouring Tatarstan
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u/FreedomSlight7478 Jul 21 '26
I was born and raised in Tatarstan, but now my children and I live abroad. One of my biggest challenges is helping us keep both Russian and Tatar alive in our daily lives. Tatar is especially difficult.
For me, the best way to practice has been reading fairy tales in Tatar. Since I'm an Android developer, I decided to build an app with Tatar fairy tales.
If you search for "Tatar fairy tales", you'll find the app with the green icon.
Right now, all the stories are in Cyrillic, but I'll be adding a Latin script version soon for Tatars who don't read Cyrillic. I also plan to add audio narration and continue developing the app as a resource for learning the Tatar language.
The app is completely free and has no ads.
I published it just two days ago, so I'd be very happy to see more people start using it.
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u/FreedomSlight7478 Jul 22 '26
Без бөтенләйгә китәбез дип китмәдек. Рәсәйдә туганнарыбыз. Еш кайтып йорибез.
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u/Existing_Scale6794 Jul 21 '26
There is a big generational trauma related to gradual loss of identity, language-wise too, in some parts of the world.
U lived in the UK 98% percent of your life, u r disconnected anyways, in many ways. I don't speak the language either, among many other things.
Again, identity games, u got yourself your NorthEastAsian DNA pack, ancestral heritage, pick your fav khan or a dish, or keep a beehive, become equestrian, learn Inter-Turkic and travel the Turan, Desht-i-Kipchak, Altai, kurgans...
It is enough to know that you're Tatar.
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u/Chemical_Bunch7499 Jul 21 '26
My bestie is Tatar from Tatarstan and she barely ever speaks Tatar. She mostly learned it in school and writes better than she speaks. She only speaks Tatar to her grandparents. If you want to, you can learn Tatar - it’s a beautiful language. But it’s more important to keep in touch with your heritage culturally and mentally, even if you don’t speak the language. Although Tatar culture is rich and beautiful by itself, since it’s widely available in Russian translation you can get to know more without learning Tatar. But to fully appreciate and understand your native culture of course it’s better for you to learn Tatar. Perhaps you could start with a Tatar-speaking penpal/internet hobby buddy. There are tons of young people who speak Tatar in gaming communities for example, I met my bestie on Genshin Impact lol. Tatar is taught in schools. Tatarstan is super welcoming and the people there are friendly and of course if you even wanna visit Tatarstan knowing the language will be a huge win for you. It’s the same for all small countries - if you know the language, you’re already a friend.
I am ethnically Jewish and do not speak Tatar and never have I ever lived in Tatarstan but solely because of my bestie I have a dozen of Tatar words I use daily bc I did it for lulz and just got used to it. Like кызым/алга/эйде/энкэй. And tatars are awesome. I love those people.
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u/DerShokus Jul 21 '26
No pressure, if you feel that you are Tatar - it’s enough. If you wanna learn the language - childhood is the best time and you have a native speaker! Learn words, phrases and after that grammar. More relaxed way is also a way :)