Examples of thinkers in language learning

We should be proud of the indying legacy of such great figures as Muhammad Musa Khwarizmi, Abu Nasr Forabi, Abu Rayhan Beruni, Ibn Sina, Yusuf Khosa Hajib, Mahmud Kashgari. They enriched philosophy, geography, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, psychology, literature, history and other sciences with their great discoveries, endowed the world spirituality with irrepressible works. If we study the life and work of these great thinkers, we will witness that they were attentive to languages as well.

The great scholar Muhammad al-Khwarizmi has mastered Turkish, Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, and Hebrew along with his native language. He believed that knowledge of the language of a particular people is of great importance in the study of the science of a particular people. He has also contributed to the translation of scientific literature. For example, the book Risola fi istihroj ta rix al-yahud va a yodihim, the book Surati-l-arz (Book surati-l-ard), "Geography of Khorezmi" were translated by the author. From the scientist's "Book of Wills" and commentaries on the Book of Arithmetic, we can read the following: "The first information that the Hindus set forth a new system of calculations is given in the manuscript of the Syrian priest Sever Sebakht, who lived in Dayr Qinnasrin on the banks of the Euphrates. In this work, written in 622, Sebastian objects to scholars who do not use Greek, and mentions the Indian system of calculus as an example of the great scientific achievements of such scientists: "I do not want to speak of the science of the Indians, which differ from the Suryanians, of their brilliant inventions in astronomy, which are deeper than those of the Greeks and Babylonians, and of their systems of calculation, which surpass all description. Maybe I'm just talking about how they do the count using nine characters. If only those who think that they have reached the end of science by the very fact of speaking Greek would know about it, they would know that there are others who know something." 

From these ideas it is apparent that new discoveries, modern innovations, can be created by humans in any part of the world. Therefore, when a person invents some scientific novelty or discovery, he must mobilize himself to study the science of the world. At this time, we will witness once again the incomparable value of language learning. In his arithmetic work, Khwarizmi was the first in Arabic to describe the decimal position system and operations based on it. After detailing how numbers should be written in the decimal position system with Indian numerals and the use of "a small circle similar to O", Khwarizmi teaches how to pronounce large numbers, in which he uses only the names of ones, tens, hundreds and thousands.           

When Khwarizmi finishes operations on whole numbers, he moves on to operations on fractional numbers. Fractional numbers are called fractcones in the Latin translation of the treatise, which is a translation of the Arabic word "fraction" – piece ("kasara" – to break, grind). Later, the words meaning "fraction" in all European languages spread from this Latin name. The Latin translation of the Khwarizmi treatise on arithmetic also preserves a feature peculiar to the Arabic language in the naming of fractions. It seems that the interdependence of languages leads to a further improvement of science, which is reflected in Khwarizmi's creativity. In conclusion, we can say that Khorezmi, in whatever area he moved his pen, recognized that that this area is necessarily related to the language, and paid attention to it.

Abu Nasr Forabi, the famous thinker of the Middle East, who had the title of second teacher after the famous ancient Greek philosopher Arashu, enriched his views on almost all aspects of the world of science like Arastu, enriched the fields of mythology, philosophy, medicine, alchemy, Arabic grammar and logic with his unique knowledge and became the leading scientist of his time. Since the study and mastery of different fields of science required knowledge of several languages, Forobi was also engaged in the study of different languages. His study of the Greek language allowed him to understand the essence of the rich science and philosophy of the Greeks. He is the first scholar in the Muslim world to translate philosophical works in Greek into Arabic. He also advanced ideas related to the study of the human psyche and showing the features that distinguish it from other creatures of nature. His psychological views on this subject are of particular importance. Forobie is recognized as one of the founders of the development of psychology, logic, and the theory of cognition. 

Another great scientist Beruni was immersed in science from a young age, studied natural and social sciences, and it is known from scientific sources that he attached great importance to the study of the language. Beruni described this situation as follows: "From childhood I was thirsty to learn as much as possible, depending on my age and circumstances. Suffice it to cite the following as proof of this: a Greek had immigrated to the place where we were staying. I'd take all sorts of grains, seeds, fruits, etc., and show them to him, and ask him what these things were called in his language, and write down his name."

A major Indian figure Jawaharlal Nehru read Beruni's works and wrote, "Beruni studied Greek philosophy and began to study Sanskrit (ancient Hindi) in order to interpret Indian philosophy. He compared Indian and Greek philosophy with each other and was struck by the commonality they had. While Beruni's book covers the evidentiary material, it showed that despite the wars, looting, and massacres, the people of science continued their work. At a time when the mood of hatred and selfishness of the two countries was disturbing, Beruni was a stranger and tried to explain the plight of the people of these regions." 

In the matter of language, as in the work of Eastern thinkers, Beruni gave a lot of information. While creating his third major work, India, he looked up to the Indian people with respect and reverence. Chatterjee believes that Beruni originally studied the language of Western Punjab and Afghan Hindus. Beruni continued to learn Hindi first from Indians living in Ghazal and then when he traveled to Indian lands. He also studied Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language, and the scientific and historical monuments written in it began to pass through the eyes of the thinker. As a result, he achieves achievements that no other scientist of his time has been able to achieve. While Beruni has learned Sanskrit to know India, he learns the Greek sources he needs in order to gain an even deeper understanding of the closeness of views between the two peoples. According to experts, Beruni was fluent in Greek. Academician I. Krachkovsky, reviewing the great scientist's work "India", pointed out that his knowledge of the Greek language was undoubted, and the investigations in subsequent years gave grounds for confirming it. Krachkovsky, referring to M. Meyerhof, noted that Beruni "could read Sanskrit, Greek, Hebrew, Syriac and write what he needed in Arabic letters."

Alloma revealed the peculiarities of the Hindi language in the first chapter of his work "India". It says that Hindi, like other peoples, has a vocabulary variety. No one can easily overcome this change. For their language is rich and broad [of the word]; Something special, such as Arabic, is borrowed from a particular entity and called by a number of names that are specific to it. These ideas are very close to the idea that the meaning of an entire word (or sentence) changes as a result of incorrect pronunciation of a sound in a foreign language, for example, in English. From this it is clear that the importance of correct pronunciation was emphasized by Beruni ten centuries ago.

In chapter 16 of his work, Beruni expresses his thoughts on language: "A language is an interpreter who conveys the desire of the speaker to the hearer. Language is therefore limited to any fixed part of the tense. If the power of speech in man were not spread everywhere like the wind, and if it did not give rise to the art of letter-writing, which passes from time to time like breaths, how could the message of past times be transferred to the languages of the present, especially when long ago had passed?".  Based on the above considerations, it is worth noting that our world-recognized ancestors left an invaluable legacy in many disciplines, both linguistics and the theory of language learning, which have not lost their value even today. 

Vasila maadaupova,

Department of Foreign Languages 

Senior Lecturer