EAST KAZAKHSTAN REGION – Timur Serikbayev, a student in the eighth grade of the Nazarbayev Intellectual School in Ust-Kamenogorsk, received two awards at the seventh International Conference of School and University Students in Protvino in the Moscow region. The gifted teenager presented reports on linguistics and biology at the conference.
Extensive practical material is attached to his paper, “Joy or Kuanysh: Similarities and differences in Kazakh and English names,” which he wrote under the guidance of Associate Professor of East Kazakhstan Serikbayev State Technical University Tolkyn Abdrakhmanova.
“I’m glad that Kazakhs are still giving motivating names with a logical meaning to their children. The name Kuanysh means ‘joy’ and the newborn child’s parents want to tell people what a joy in their life the birth of a son is. Unlike Kazakhs, the British and Americans, to name a few, mostly care for giving a name with a nice ring to it,” said Serikbayev, who was the only student representing Kazakhstan in Protvino and among the only six honorees in the field of linguistics. Serikbayev was also the youngest winner.
The Kazakh student’s second work was on the treatment of bronchial asthma with houseplants. The highly motivated Serikbayev is interested in chemistry as well and spends a lot of time in the university lab. His short-term plan is to learn another foreign language.
