Talking the lingo in Rio: Chatting with your new Kazakh speaking friends about wheelchair tennis

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This article is a series of language learning posts by ParaSport News.  The goal is to provide sport fans some very basic sport and Paralympic vocabulary so you can talk with the world about disability sport at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio.

The Kazakh language is spoken by 11 million people, most living in Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Russia, and Iran.  It is a Turkic language that uses the Cyrillic in Kazakhstan and Mongolia, but used an Arabic-derived alphabet in China. Kazakhstan, which the language is native to, sent a seven strong athlete delegation to London that competed in three sports: Athletics, powerlifting and swimming.  The country did not win any medals.  Since the country started competing under their own flag in 1996, they have not won a medal.  The chances of seeing them on the podium is thus limited, but with their bright blue flag, you should be easily able to spot people from the country.

General disability words:

• Атаксия – Ataxia
• Соқырлық – Blindness
• Бұлшық ет дистрофиясы – Muscular dystrophy

Sport specific words:

• Паралимпиада ойындары – Paralympic Games

Wheelchair tennis specific words:

• Доп – Ball
• Теннис – Tennis
• Үлкен шлем турнирлері – Grand Slam