VO THI NHU MAI – A QUIET FLAME AMONG FELLOW ARTISTS
At the recent literary gathering, Vo Thi Nhu Mai made her debut appearance, not with loud declarations, but with a quiet presence that left a warm impression. As a first-time participant, she spent much of the time observing and absorbing the atmosphere around her. Though she spoke little, her attentiveness and gentle smile spoke volumes.
During the program, while others were caught in the bustle of performances and interactions, Võ Thị Như Mai moved gracefully between people, offering small yet thoughtful gestures. One such act stood out: she personally handed each participant a small card with their name written on it, a simple but touching effort to acknowledge and welcome everyone. It was a beautiful moment of connection, reminding us that care and presence can sometimes be more powerful than words.
Her demeanour was soft-spoken, but her actions carried sincerity. Many noted her warm energy, quietly friendly, respectful, and keen to understand the nuances of the gathering. In a space often vibrant with creative voices, Vo Thi Nhu Mai’s quiet kindness was like a calm note in a symphony, and her presence undoubtedly enriched the experience for all who were there.
The literary festival itself was a rich and colourful celebration of poetic voices from around the world. Held in a welcoming space filled with music, laughter, and multilingual readings, it brought together poets, translators, musicians, and friends of literature to share work, ideas, and cross-cultural conversations. Each segment of the program was crafted with care, blending each cultural literature with international voices, allowing a beautiful dialogue of language and soul.
Vo Thi Nhu Mai, though initially quiet, contributed meaningfully to this shared space. She took to the microphone and read her original poem “The Song of Life” in both Vietnamese and English, offering the audience a sincere glimpse into her poetic world. Her delivery was gentle yet confident, her words soaring with listeners across language boundaries. It was a moment of quiet power, her voice steady, her poem luminous.
In another generous act of cultural exchange, Võ Thị Như Mai also read a poem titled “Enjoy” by Greek poet Eva Lianou Petropoulou, further knitting the threads of international friendship. Her choice to present not only her own work but also honour another poet reflected the very spirit of the gathering: connection through words, across cultures, in mutual respect. For a first-time participant, Võ Thị Như Mai left a lasting impression, not just with her poems, but with her grace.
On a winter’s day, Mubina gazed out the window, lost in thought. She dreamt beautiful dreams, pondering how to achieve her aspirations. A sudden creak broke her reverie. The door opened, and her mother entered. Her mother switched off the lights, preparing for rest, and settled into bed. In the darkness, Mubina still tried to visualize the Kaaba.
It was the night between Thursday and Friday. Listlessly, she went to her place, picked up a picture of the Kaaba, and wept as she gazed at it. She yearned with all her heart to visit Allah’s house on Earth. Careful not to let her mother hear her sobs, Mubina wiped away her tears and quietly slipped into bed, closing her eyes. Sleep evaded her at first. After a while, her eyelids began to droop.
Suddenly, a light fell upon Mubina’s face. She opened her eyes to find herself in a vast expanse. The surroundings were breathtakingly beautiful. The natural phenomena were captivating. Mubina’s wonder grew, for on one side, a radiant light dazzled the eye, while on the other, rain gently fell. Curious to know where she was, she noticed something in the distance.
Mubina slowly walked towards the object visible amidst the dark clouds. As she looked, she could hardly believe her eyes. There, before her, stood the Kaaba. The immense, jet-black Kaaba, adorned with gold embroidery, was the object of her deepest desires. She circumambulated the Kaaba, and as she prayed, she suddenly awoke.
She found herself in her own bed, in her own home. Mubina realized she had been dreaming. Overcome with joy, she wept. Even in a dream, her cherished wish had come true.
Murodullayeva Makharram Rustam qizi was born on March 31,2003, in the Narpay district of the Samarkand region.
The cries of mothers whose “fingernails” were torn,
Countless children grew up fatherless and worn.
A single crust of black bread was their prize,
So many perished with hunger in their eyes.
For our peace, the brave warriors fought,
In hearts you live on, never to be forgot.
You are the hero etched in our nation’s lore,
Your final breath echoes forevermore.
Today we are silent for you, just a while,
Your memory — eternal, your worth — ever vital.
Azizbek Shaymurzayev was born on February 1, 2010, in Zafarobod district, Jizzakh region. From the moment he began his early education, he developed a deep interest in literature and poetry. Today, many of his poems, essays, and articles have been published in various newspapers, journals, and books. His biggest dream for the future is to become a diplomat.
J.J. Campbell (1976 – ?) is old enough to know better. He’s been widely published over the years, most recently at Mad Swirl, The Beatnik Cowboy, Yellow Mama, Horror Sleaze Trash and The Dope Fiend Daily. You can find him most days on his mildly entertaining blog, evil delights. (https://evildelights.blogspot.com)
if our bodies had souls, they would spit, chew, break bread, beckon sheep in for the night, swim, sleep, rest, do everything the body would do if we were not trespassing it too.
Brooks Lindberg lives in the Pacific Northwest. His poems appear frequently in The Beatnik Cowboy, Horror Sleaze Trash, and elsewhere.
Differences in Sentence Structure between Uzbek and French
XurramovaFarangiz Xoshimjon qizi
1 st- year student of the Faculty of Roman-German Philology, Samarkand
State Institute of Foreign Languages
Abstract: French and Uzbek belong to different language families, and their sentence structures differ significantly. Uzbek is an agglutinative language (words are formed through affixes ), whereas French is a fusional language (word forms change depending on grammatical function). This article provides a comparative analysis of sentence structures in these two languages, focusing on word order , the role of the verb, syntactic structure and methods of sentence connection. In Uzbek, the standard word order follows the SOV (Subject – Object- Verb ) structure, whereas in French, it follows the SVO (Subject – Verb- Object) structure. Additionally, verb tenses and subject agreement in Uzbek are indicated through affixes, while in French , verb conjugation plays are crucial role. This article also examines sentence formation in both languages and their influence on the learning process of Uzbek and French.
Keywords: Language family, group, connection, methods, affixes, sentence components, French, Uzbek, subject, predicate, main parts, verb.
Language are classified into families based on their origin, structure and certain lexical and grammatical features. Each languages family consists of multiple languages, which are further divided into branches or subgroups based on their similarity. The degree of similarity among languages varies within these subgroups. For example, the Turkic language family includes Uzbek, Uighur, Kyrgyz, Kazakh, Tuvan, Tatar, Bashkir, Turkmen, Azerbaijani, Turkish, Gagauz and Chuvash, among others, making up over 20 languages. French, on the other hand, belongs to the Romance subgroup of the Indo-European language family.
Word Formation in Uzbek and French:
In Uzbek, words are formed using two primary methods:
1.Affixation (Morphological method) – new words are created using derivational affixes.
Examples:
kitob + xon > kitobxon ( reader)
yosh + lar > yoshlar ( youth)
2.Composition (Compounding method)- new words are formed by combining two or more words.
Examples:
mehnat + sevar > mehnatsevar (hardworking )
tosh + baqa > toshbaqa (turtle)
French employs four main word – formation methods:
1.Derivation (Affixation method)- new words are formed by adding prefixes, suffixes or infixes.
Examples:
heure (hour)> horaire (schedule)
content( happy)> mécontent (unhappy)
2.Composition (Compounding method)- new words are created by combining two or more words.
Examples:
porte ( door)+ feuille ( leaf)>portefeuille ( wallet, document folder)
The number of sentence components in Uzbek and French is the same. Subject, predicate, object, modifier and complement exist in both languages. However, their syntactic positions withing a sentence vary. Uzbek word order is relatively flexible, while French follows a more rigid structure. In Uzbek, sentence components do not all hold equal significance withing sentence construction. Some components play a central role, while others serve a supplementary function. The presence of main components is essential for understanding a sentence, while secondary components provide additional details.
Uzbek sentence components are classified into two groups:
Main components ( Subject and predicate )
Secondary components ( Modifiers, complements and objects)
In Uzbek predicate is considered the most important component and can sometimes function independently. Additional components may provide extra meaning, but the core sentence remains understandable without them.
French sentence, on the other hand, rely on a fixed word order for meaning. The subject- predicate structure is crucial and most sentence require a verb to express a complete thought. Unlike Uzbek, where certain elements may be omitted in speech or writing, French grammar necessitates explicit usage of essential components.In both spoken and written forms, Uzbek allows for more variation in sentence structure, which can be used stylistically in literature to reflect a character’s speech or emotions.
Examples:
Uzbek; Do’stim pirog tayyorladi.( My friend made a cake )
French;Mon ami a préparé un gàteau. (My friend prepared a cake )
In Uzbek, the subject can sometimes be omitted if it is clear from the context. However, in French, a subject is almost always required for grammatical correctness.
Verbs in Uzbek and French
Verbs in both languages play a central role in sentence construction. Verbs express action, state or relation and are classified into grammatical categories.
French and Uzbek verbs fall into two primary categories:
1.Action verbs
2.State verbs
Despite belonging to different language families, Uzbek and French share similarities in how verbs function. Both languages distinguish between finite and non- finite verb forms and use auxiliary verbs to indicate tense and aspect.
However, there are significant syntactic differences;
Uzbek has free word order, through SOV(Subject – Object – Verb )is preferred.
French has a fixed word order, typically SVO (Subject – Verb – Object )
Examples:
Uzbek: Men kitob o’qiyapman. (I am reading a book )
French: Je lis un livre. ( I am reading a book )
French verbs are highly inflected, with different conjugations for tense, personand mood. In contrast, Uzbek verbs use suffixes and auxiliary elements to express similar grammatical distinctions.
Sentence Structure and Word connection in Uzbek and French
In Uzbek, words are often connected through suffixes.
Examples:
Uzbek: Men maktabga bordim.( I went to school )
French: Je vais à l’école. (I go to school)
In French, words are connected through prepositions and stress- based structures rather than suffixes.
Verb Conjugation in Uzbek and French
In French, verb tenses and forms change based on the subject and tense.
Example:
Lire ( to read ) > Il lit ( He reads ), Ila lu ( He has read)
In Uzbek, tense and subject agreement are formed though suffixes.
Examples:
O’qimoq > o’qidi( He read), o’qiyapman (I am reading ), o’qigan ( Has read )
Interrogative Sentence Formation
French questions are formed using inversion or Est- ce que?
Examples:
French: Tu lis un livre. ( You are reading a book )
Est – ce que tu lis un livre? ( Are you reading a book? )
In Uzbek, questions are formed by word order changes or question markers.
Examples:
Kitob o’qiyapsanmi? ( Are you reading a book? )
Complex and Compound Sentences
French complex sentences are formed using connectors.
Examples:
Il est venu parce qu’il voulait te voir.
(He came because he wanted to see you).
In Uzbek, compound sentences are mainly formed using conjunctions or verb forms.
Examples:
U keldi, chunki u seni ko’rmoqchi edi.
(He came because he wanted to see you )
Word Order in Uzbek and French
In Uzbek, word order is flexible and words are mostly connected through suffixes.
In French, word order is strict, with words connected using prepositions and articles.
Possessive Structures
Uzbek: Talabaning kitobi > talaba + ning+ kitob +i ( The student’s book )
French : Le livre de l’étudiant ( The book of the student )
Adjective placement
Uzbek: Adjectives come before the noun (e.g.,yangi kitob _new book )
French: Adjectives usually come after the noun ( e.g.,un livre difficile _a difficult book)
Some adjectives, however, come before the noun (e.g., un bel homme_a handsome man)
Prepositions and Object Placement
In Uzbek, objects come after the verb.
Example: Men kitobni o’qiyapman.( I am reading a book)
In French, objects come before the verb.
Examples: Je lis un livre. ( I am reading a book)
Verb and Infinitive Structures
Uzbek: Verbs are conjugated with auxiliaries or suffixes.
Example: Men kitob o’qimoqchiman.( I want to read a book)
French: Infinitives are used after conjugated verbs.
Example: Je veux lire un livre .( I want to read a book )
Question Formation and Negation
In Uzbek, suffixes and word order are the main tools for forming questions and negations.
In French, prepositions, word order and auxiliary words are used.
Negation in Uzbek and French
In Uzbek, negation is formed using auxiliary words such as ,, emas’’ , ,, yo’q’’ or the negative form of the verb.
Examples:
,,emas’’ ( not) > This book is not new. ( Bu kitob yangi emas.)
,, yo’q’’( no) > I am not going.( Men bormayman.)
Negative verb form > He does not read the book. ( U kitob o’qimaydi.)
In French, negation is formed using ,, ne… pas’’ around the verb.
Examples:
Je ne mange pas.( I don’t eat.)
Il n’est pas étudiant. ( He isn’t a student.)
In linguistic analysis, ’’ne… pas’’ are two elements that surround the verb. In informal speech, ’’ne’’ is sometimes dropped.
Example: Mais je sais pas. ( But I don’t know.)
Formation of Interrogative Sentences in Uzbek and French
In Uzbek, questions can be formed using the following methods:
Questions word: Whose book is this? (Bu kitob kimniki?)
Questions particle: ( -mi?, -chi? ) Did you come? ( Sen keldingmi?)
Intonation- based question: Do you know French? ( Siz fransuz tilini bilasiz?)
In French, questionsare formed using:
,,Est – ce que “: Est- ce que tu parles français?
Inversion: Parles -tu français?
Linguistically, “ Est – ce que “ is widely used in spoken French, while inversion is more common in formal speech.
Types of Complex Sentences Uzbek in French
In Uzbek, complex sentences are categorized as follows:
1.Compound sentences ( connected by conjunctions) >
I came and saw you. ( Men keldim va seni ko’rdim.)
