Sarsen Amanzholuly Amanzholov ( kk, Сәрсен Аманжолұлы Аманжолов; russian: Сарсен Аманжолович Аманжолов; on December 27, 1903 – January 28, 1958), was a noted

Turkologist Turkology (or Turcology or Turkic studies) is a complex of humanities sciences studying languages, history, literature, folklore, culture, and ethnology of people speaking Turkic languages and Turkic peoples in chronological and comparative conte ...

, and one of the pioneers of Kazakh

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

. He developed the foundations of Kazakh

grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structure, structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clause (linguistics), clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraint ...

, and helped create the current form of the

Cyrillic , bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця , fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs , fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic , fam3 = Phoenician , fam4 = G ...

Kazakh alphabet Kazakh, Qazaq or Kazakhstani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Kazakhstan *Kazakhs, an ethnic group *Kazakh language *The Kazakh Khanate *Kazakh cuisine *Qazakh Rayon, Azerbaijan *Qazax, Azerbaijan *Kazakh Uyezd, administrative distr ...

. Amanzholov also helped to create Russian-Kazakh

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

and

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

dictionaries A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologies, p ...

Early life and career

Amanzholov was born in the village (aul) of Eginsu in

East Kazakhstan Province East Kazakhstan Region ( kk, Шығыс Қазақстан облысы, translit=Şyğys Qazaqstan oblysy; russian: Восточно-Казахстанская область, Vostochno-Kazakhstanskaya oblast) is a region of Kazakhstan. It occupi ...

. In 1916 he graduated from the Kanton-Karagae Russian-Kazakh school and enrolled in a real school in

Ust-Kamenogorsk Oskemen ( kk, Өскемен, translit=Öskemen ), or Ust-Kamenogorsk (russian: Усть-Каменого́рск), is the administrative center of East Kazakhstan Region of Kazakhstan. Population: Name The city has two official names. In the ...

, but was forced to drop out due to financial difficulties. He later enrolled in a three-month course of study in

Semipalatinsk Semey ( kk, Семей, Semei, سەمەي; cyrl, Семей ), until 2007 known as Semipalatinsk (russian: Семипала́тинск) and in 1917–1920 as Alash-kala ( kk, Алаш-қала, ''Alaş-qala''), is a city in eastern Kazakhst ...

, after which he returned to his home village to work as a teacher. In 1924 he was offered a job as a high-ranking secretary in the executive committee of East Kazakhstan province. In 1926 he moved to

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

to work at the Central Asian State University in the department of Kazakh language and literature. In the fall of 1931 Amanzholov began to teach at the Abay Kazakh Pedagogical Institute. The next year he became an associate professor. He would continue to work at this institution until his death nearly 30 years later.

Grammar and alphabet

In the early 1930s he began a program for creating Kazakh textbooks. In 1932 Amanzholov published the grade school textbook ''Kazakh Grammar'' (russian: Грамматика казахского языка). That year he also edited a Kazakh language textbook for younger children. From 1934-1940 he wrote a grammar textbook for middle school students. On November 10, 1940, at the 5th session of the

Supreme Soviet The Supreme Soviet (russian: Верховный Совет, Verkhovny Sovet, Supreme Council) was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) ...

of the

Kazakh SSR ; kk, Қазақ Советтік Социалистік Республикасы) *1991: Republic of Kazakhstan (russian: Республика Казахстан; kk, Қазақстан Республикасы) , linking_name = the ...

, Amanzholov was presented with the project of creating a new Cyrillic alphabet for the Kazakh language. This alphabet would replace the

Uniform Turkic Alphabet A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, ...

which was currently being used throughout the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

Military service

From February 1942 to June 1946 Amanzholov was placed on active war service in the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

. During that time he directed

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

activities among soldiers of non-Russian origin, and published ''Notebook of a Red Army Propagandist'' (Блокнот агитатора Красной Армии) as well as leaflets about

Heroes of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

. In 1948 he defended his dissertation on the

ethnogenesis Ethnogenesis (; ) is "the formation and development of an ethnic group". This can originate by group self-identification or by outside identification. The term ''ethnogenesis'' was originally a mid-19th century neologism that was later introdu ...

of the

Kazakhs The Kazakhs (also spelled Qazaqs; Kazakh: , , , , , ; the English name is transliterated from Russian; russian: казахи) are a Turkic-speaking ethnic group native to northern parts of Central Asia, chiefly Kazakhstan, but also parts o ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. East Kazakhstan State University is named in his honor.

External links

Аманжолов Сарсен Аманжолович
Turklog (Russian) 1903 births 1958 deaths People from Ulan District People from Semipalatinsk Oblast Kazakhstani academics Kazakhstani scientists Kazakhstani philologists 20th-century philologists National University of Uzbekistan faculty {{Kazakhstan-bio-stub