Language in Almaty

[Crazydre]

Hello, I'm considering a trip to Almaty and would like to know: Is Kazakh or Russian the native language of most locals there?

Thanks for any help

[steven]

It's quite mixed nowadays. The people born in Almaty and the older generation mostly speaks Russian as a mother tongue, as do all the Slavs. The people who immigrated from the countryside speak Kazakh as a mother tongue. In general, everyone speaks Russian, but not everyone speaks Kazakh. You do get a lot of brownie points if you manage to speak a few words of Kazakh to a local, whereas everyone thinks it is completely normal for a foreigner to speak Russian!

[IndianGuy]

Forum looks much better! Great job.

I think in the main cities, that old people speak both Kazakh and Russian but younger generation speaks Russian much much better than Kazakh. However, when it comes to very young people (who are either in School or have just joined University), I see a consciousness in them to speak Kazakh. Actually, they are good in both. Do not be surprised if you find some Kazakhs (born in 80s) whose Kazakh is worse than my Russian ! (and I am just a beginner in Russian)

[SilkRoadExplore]

I think both languages are actively used especially in Almaty, and it mostly depends on generation.
However in remote area Kazakh language should be prevailing. It is interesting to know the situation with foreign languages, for example English My friends from Germany during their travel to Kazakhstan didn't meet many people speaking English. Is this also true for capital city?

[IndianGuy]

Not many people speak English in Kazakhstan. Neither in main cities (Astana, Almaty) obviously, nor in other cities. Russian and Kazakh are the state languages here.