A ceremony was held at the Library of Congress in Washington on October 22 where the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the United States, Yerzhan Ashikbayev, presented a collection of books dedicated to the culture, history, and literary heritage of Kazakhstan as a gift, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry reported.
The event was attended by President of the Qazaq Tili International Society Rauan Kenzhekhanuly, former U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan Richard Hoagland, and President of the Oxus Society Edward Lemon.
Ambassador Ashikbayev emphasized that books serve as bridges connecting cultures across distances.
“These works represent the richness of Kazakh culture, history, and literature. We hope they will inspire researchers and readers seeking to learn more about Kazakhstan and its traditions,” he noted.
The donated collection includes works by renowned Kazakh writers, as well as books reflecting the customs and cultural heritage of the country. The Library of Congress, being the largest library in the world, will preserve these unique materials, making them accessible to Central Asian researchers.
A key part of the ceremony was the presentation of the first Qazaq-English Oxford dictionary published with the support of the Qazaq Tili International Society. Rauan Kenzhekhanuly, President of the organization, highlighted that the dictionary will not only assist those studying the Kazakh language but also ensure its inclusion in the global linguistic community.
A presentation of the first Kazakh-English and English-Kazakh Oxford Qazaq Dictionary was held in December 2023. The inaugural edition of the Oxford Qazaq Dictionary contains over 60,000 words on 1,300 pages, with a print run of 10,000 copies.
Photo: gov.kz
