“Min Tatarcha Soylashem!”: How Activists Fight to Preserve Their Native Language

April 26, 2018 at 16:00 in Kazan there will be a concert and summing up the results of the action "Min Tatarcha soylasham!" (“I speak Tatar!”).

The action is a unique civic initiative created by by enthusiasts from among the Tatar youth. This year it consists of several events: the quest game "Tatar-Dozor - 2018", the presentation of the anti-award "It's hard with Tatar", the rating of the implementation of the law on bilingualism Bez.tatar, a competition in schools of Tatarstan and a concert on Bauman Street with the famous hip -hop duet of the Chelny poetess Aigel Gaysina and musician Ilya Baramia - "AIGEL".

Anti-award "It's hard with Tatar"

For several years now, the organizers of the action "Min Tatarcha soylasham!" a rating of state organizations providing services to the population and providing or not providing information in two state languages ​​of the Republic of Tajikistan is compiled.

During the year, the organizers write letters to various organizations asking them to use the Tatar language in their work. A team of 15 people checked municipal units for the ability to provide information in two state languages ​​of the Republic of Tajikistan.

It should be noted that the anti-premium had a positive impact on the activities of organizations. In past years, the anti-prize motivated the CEC of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Opera and Ballet Theater named after. Musya Jalil, Tatar State Symphony Orchestra, Puppet Theater "Akiyat" to duplicate information on their websites in the Tatar language. In 2017, Russian Railways received the anti-award "It's hard with Tatar".

The name of the next anti-winner of the anti-premium will become known only at the gala concert.

The headliner of "Min Tatarcha soylasham" is the hip-hop duet "AIGEL"!

The action concert will traditionally take place on April 26 (Thursday), the birthday of Gabdulla Tukay. On this day, at 16:00 on Bauman Street, in addition to the concert, there will be competitions, distribution of badges, stickers with the action logo and much more.

The concert program is traditionally dedicated to live Tatar music and young independent performers. Juna, Gauga, Radif Kashapov, Albert Nurminsky, VLTVN, Malsi Music, K-Ru, Ilgiz Shaykhraziev will perform on the same stage that day. For the first time in Kazan, the Bashkir rock group "Burelar" will perform. Also, as part of the action, a live music competition was held, as a result of which the winners of the popular vote - Tatar__Boy, Adelya Akhmetova and the group Abadeli and Ramilya Up will perform on the same stage with famous musicians. The gala concert will be hosted by the cult Tatar poetess Yoldyz Minnullina and dancer, choreographer, winner of the Golden Mask theater award Nurbek Batulla.

The headliner of the Concert of the action is the hip-hop duet of the poet from Chelny Aigel Gaysina and the musician from St. Petersburg Ilya Baramia - AIGEL. The duet has become one of the brightest musical projects of 2017. The video for the song "Tatarin" from the album "1190", also aired on the air of "Evening Urgant", has already been watched more than 2.7 million times.

The organizers of the action "Min Tatarcha soylasham!" (“I speak Tatar!”) - World Forum of Tatar Youth with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Executive Committee of the World Congress of Tatars.

The general sponsor: Tatar halal fast food chain« skullcaps»

On April 26, the action “Min Tatarcha soylasham!” will be held at Bauman. - an event that annually gathers thousands of people on the main pedestrian street of the city. In 2018, residents of the Tatarstan indie label and the Aigel duet will perform at the event. Enter studied the program of the event and tells who entered the lineup and why the action will be of interest to Russian-speaking citizens as well.

An excerpt from the video "Aigel" for the song "Tatarin"

What it is?

“Min tatarcha soilashim!”, which is translated from the Tatar language as “I speak Tatar”, is an annual action dedicated to the birthday of Gabdulla Tukay and first organized by Tatar activists back in 2006. During its existence, the festival has turned into a series of events, which traditionally ends with a big concert - this year the headliner will be the duet "Aigel", known not only in Tatarstan, but also far beyond its borders.

The concert will be complemented by competitions, distribution of badges with an appeal to speak Tatar and stickers with the campaign logos. Also on this day, the winners of the anti-award "It's hard with Tatar" will be announced from the stage: during the year, the organizers sent letters to various organizations to check how they speak the Tatar language in government agencies. Last year, Russian Railways won the unhonorable first place.

Now “Min Tatarcha soylәshәm!” supports the World Forum of Tatar Youth together with the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Education of the Republic and the Executive Committee of the World Congress of Tatars.

Tabris Yarullin

event organizer

“Min Tatarcha soylәshәm!” It is a way of expressing citizenship. We live in a bilingual environment, this is our natural state. Therefore, the event also includes a rating of bilingualism: since 2012, we have been presenting the anti-award "It's hard with Tatar", and we also encourage those organizations that use the Tatar language in their activities with letters of thanks. It seems to me that the action copes with its tasks: about two hundred schools sent applications for the contest “Min Tatarcha soylashem!”, And last year about seven thousand people took part in it. The same can be said about volunteers. In the early years there were 20-30 of them, now - a little less than a hundred.

On April 26, the birthday of Tukay, the final event will take place, in which we have invested our vision of how the Tatar event for young people should look like. A concert on Bauman Street was chosen as the format, because this is a multicultural street, and not at all the place that is primarily associated with Tatar events. We move away from stereotypical thinking and provide a stage for local independent music. When people hear "Tatar", they imagine Sabantuy, an accordion or stage costumes, and our principle is to make everything national modern.

Who to listen to

June

Thanks to the group Juna, indie folk sounded in the Tatar language in 2014. And two years ago, Metronomy frontman Joseph Mount called their cover of The Upsetter "very cool." The team combines banjo, ukulele, flute and djembe with poems by famous Tatar poets.

Gauga (Oscar & c7c5)

If Salavat is the idol of everyone over fifty, then Oscar, with his boy band and a languid look from under his bangs, has been winning girls' hearts for five years. In 2013, Gauga recorded her first album - since then, stylish indie rock in Tatar has managed to sound at major music venues in the city.

Radif Kashapov

Radif's musical career spans almost two decades: during this time he tried himself in different genres, played in several bands and released two solo albums. The songs of the versatile performer have both lyrics, and social overtones, and anxiety for the future of the Tatar people.

Malsi Music

Islam Valeev, aka Malsi Music, is one of the few who makes original Tatar parodies of the modern stage, recording covers of hits with the help of a groove box. On “Min Tatarcha soylәshәm!” the musician will present a performance in the company of the owner of the "Golden Mask" Nurbek Batulla.

K-Ru

Tatarstan schoolchildren, in addition to the generally recognized Scryptonite, Husky and Face, have a local idol -. However, his texts may also appeal to those who have long gone out of puberty. The rapper is a resident of the first Tatar indie label and actively collaborates with members of the Yummy Music Band.

Ilgiz Shaikhraziev

If Usher were born a Tatar, his work would certainly be in tune with what Ilgiz Shaykhraziev does. However, behind the melodic songs of the performer one can guess the passion for really serious music - rock and roll and folk, using the best traditions of rhythm and blues.

Zarina Vildanova

Almost Tatar Pelageya and Yummy Music resident Zarina Vildanova performs folk songs in a modern interpretation. She managed to perform in front of the public in Moscow, Riga and Paris, and her deep timbre and reverent attitude to the Tatar classics brought her more than one victory in music competitions.

"Aigel"

After the release of the debut album "Aigel", almost the entire female half of the country dreamed of a daring Tatar guy. The duo united the Kazan poetess Aigel Gaisina and the musician Ilya Baramia, a member of the Christmas Tree Toys and SBPC groups. Biting lyrics about prison and the cruelty of the state machine almost immediately became hits.

According to Tabriz Yarullin, one of the main organizers, the action is gaining momentum every year:

The event dedicated to the birthday of the great Tatar poet Gabdulla Tukay has been held for the eighth year in a row,” he says. - Our goal is to expand the boundaries of the use of the language, as well as the creation of an urban Tatar subculture. Gradually we succeed. If earlier two dozen activists came to Bauman Street, now the movement has expanded significantly.

The audience of the concert, which was staged by the activists on April 26 near the clock on Bauman Street, was about two hundred students.

In between concert performances, student activists loudly shouted out their motto: “Min Tatarcha Soileshem!”, “Min Tatarcha Yaratam!”, “Min Tatarcha Yashim!” (“I speak Tatar!”, “I love Tatar!”, “I live Tatar!”).

Young people and girls in T-shirts with the logo "Min Tatarcha Soylashem!" they asked passers-by to read poetry and sing songs in the Tatar language and gave everyone badges with the campaign emblem - a smiley face. Passers-by were also handed out the books “Your first 150 words in the Tatar language”, offered to translate words popular among modern youth, such as “avatar”, “Skype”, “Twitter”.

We will save the language, if only each of us makes some contribution to the common cause, - the participant of the action believes, student of the Russian Islamic University Ilnur Nuriev. - Young people should listen to Tatar concerts, communicate with friends and relatives in their native language.

I really love, respect and appreciate my language, - admits student of KNRTU im. Tupolev Batyr Kharisov. - The Tatar language has survived, despite the difficulties, and now it must be protected. This action is only a small part of what we can do. In my opinion, the republic should also do this, for example, to make sure that, for example, documents are translated into the Tatar language.

In addition to the concert this year under the auspices of the Min Tatarcha Soylashem! several events took place: competitions and weeks of the Tatar language in the schools of the republic, on April 21, activists organized a quest game "Tatar-watch".

Six teams of seven people each walked along a predetermined route and checked retail outlets, cafes and restaurants for the use of the Tatar language, - says Tabriz Yarullin. - The participants took photos of signboards, advertising banners, road signs and other identification marks in the Tatar language, made with errors. So we are trying to control the implementation of the law on bilingualism in the republic.

According to Tabriz Yarullin, they check various organizations for the use of the language all year round. If an enterprise “ignores” the Tatar language, then volunteers write letters of complaint to various authorities.

We also communicate with various sites and ask them to translate the interface into the Tatar language, he explains.

The organizers compiled a rating and anti-rating of organizations using or not using the Tatar language. According to its results, for example, in 2012, the Directorate of the Universiade-2013 was awarded the anti-prize "It's hard with Tatar", and in 2013 - the mayor's office of Kazan.

From April 26 to May 31, the action "Min Tatarcha Soylashem!" continues on the internet. The fighters for the language will encourage Tatars around the world to communicate online in their native language.

Chairman of the Society of Russian Culture of Kazan Mikhail Shcheglov believes that actions like "Min Tatarcha Soylashem!" worthy of encouragement and respect.

“Moreover, she refutes the negative contritions of the adult generation of Tatars that the Tatar language is alien to modern youth. The fact that Tatar is still functioning, despite the difficulties in history, is the merit of such native speakers of the language and culture as these guys and girls. The language cannot be preserved by imposition and violence, for example by obliging Russians to learn Tatar. The Tatar language can only be preserved among the Tatars - in their families and souls.