Reading What is Written and writing what is Read

On April 22, 2024, the Vision Talks team from SDU organized a meeting with Arǵynbek Qunanbaiuly, a linguist and professor at the Faculty of Philology of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University. The event focused on the connection between language and cognition, the impact of reading and writing on the brain, stylistics, and the culture of writing.

During the lecture, Arǵynbek Qunanbaiuly highlighted the remarkable contributions of the Alash movement’s intellectuals in publishing, textbook creation, and book production. He also spoke about the generosity of Kazakh steppe philanthropists who supported educators and intellectuals.

The meeting attracted young people passionate about reading and writing. The discussion was enriched with research on the neurobiology of reading, exploring the differences between extensive reading and in-depth reading, as well as the impact of reading on empathy and attention.

The audience was introduced to examples of Abai’s literary craftsmanship, along with the stylistic techniques used by Berdibek Sokpakbaev and Rakhymzhan Otarbai to bring their characters to life through original stylistic approaches and national artistic traditions.

At the end of the lecture, works by Mortimer Adler, Maryanne Wolf, and Barbara Oakley were recommended for further reading. Arǵynbek Qunanbaiuly provided thoughtful answers and valuable advice to students’ additional questions.
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