The publication and wide availability of the Makul English–Turkmen Dictionary is a notable event in the history of Turkmen language resources. Containing more than 16,500 English entries and a vast number of Turkmen translations, this dictionary is impressive in both scope and detail. The Makul Dictionary incorporates vocabulary not only from everyday life but also from law, medicine, business, sports, and rapidly evolving fields such as artificial intelligence. A living language must adapt to new realities, and this dictionary shows that Turkmen is doing exactly that.
As a native Turkmen speaker who has lived in the United States for more than two decades, I approach this work from a deeply personal angle. Having completed a doctoral dissertation in English, I have experienced firsthand the difficulty of translating specialized academic concepts into Turkmen. Explaining my research to Turkmen colleagues—or imagining how to present it entirely in Turkmen—was often challenging because the necessary vocabulary was unavailable or imprecise. The Makul Dictionary is therefore more than a reference tool: it is a bridge that brings Turkmen closer to the richness of expression found in English, offering ways to communicate complex ideas in science, law, technology, and the humanities.
As an example of its translations, a closer look at the entries shows its range. On the technological front, it includes terms such as user experience (ulanyjynyň tejribesi, UX), artificial intelligence (emeli aň), and decacorn (ululygy 10 milliard amerikan dollaryndan geçýän kompaniýa), aligning Turkmen within the language of modern business and technology. In the sciences, statistical foundations are represented through entries like standard deviation (standart çykgyt), distribution (ýaýradyş), and variable (üýtgeýän ululyk). At the same time, the dictionary captures the richness of idiomatic expression: odds and ends rendered as galan-gaçak conveys the sense of miscellaneous items, preserving the figurative nuance of everyday English.
Equally important is the combination of print and digital formats. The hardcopy edition carries its own importance: to hold a physical volume is to feel the language’s weight and presence, to see it as something that belongs on desks, in classrooms, and in libraries. The digital version—complete with audio pronunciations, illustrated and children’s game dictionaries, bilingual proverbs, and dialogue samples—adds accessibility and interactivity that meet the needs of today’s learners. By including youth-oriented materials in these formats, the Makul Dictionary encourages early engagement and creates a pathway for younger generations to connect with Turkmen identity in ways that are both interactive and age-appropriate.
The impact of this dictionary extends far beyond Turkmenistan. With Turkmen communities dispersed across many countries, it serves as a unifying reference point for Turkmens worldwide. For those abroad, it strengthens ties to their heritage; for English speakers seeking to learn Turkmen, it offers a reliable entry point. Its contribution is especially timely in the digital era. Social media platforms, while fostering communication, often encourage abbreviated and informal usage that can erode linguistic standards. A widely available work of this kind provides an essential counterbalance: it preserves accuracy, models correct usage, and showcases the richness of the language in full.
Looking ahead, the next steps could include not only a Turkmen–English edition but also the expansion of Turkmen’s presence in specialized fields. The Makul Dictionary can be seen as an invitation to this work: to create dedicated resources in areas such as medicine, law, economics, and statistics that will further strengthen the language’s ability to support complex scholarly and professional exchange.
I extend my sincere congratulations to the author, Dr. Dovran Orazgylyjov, on this historic achievement. His work will be remembered not only as a scholarly and practical contribution but also as a lasting service to the Turkmen people and to all who seek to engage with our language and culture. The Makul Dictionary preserves Turkmen as a rich resource while sharing it with the world, ensuring that the language remains vibrant in both scholarship and daily life.
Dr. Perman Gochyyev is a statistical project leader in the biotechnology field and an adjunct lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley. He holds a Ph.D. in Quantitative Methods and Evaluation with a specialization in latent variable modeling and biostatistics from the University of California, Berkeley.
Previously, Dr. Gochyyev served as a Biostatistician at the Laboratory for Translational Neurorecovery at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School and as an Assistant Professor of Quantitative Methods at the MGH Institute of Health Professions (2021–2025). He has led several federally funded projects and taught graduate-level courses in health measurement and applied statistics at both MGH and UC Berkeley, advising doctoral students, postdoctoral fellows, and health researchers.
His research expertise spans multilevel and longitudinal modeling, structural equation modeling, hidden Markov and latent class models, multidimensional measurement, and survival analysis. He has published in leading national and international journals, including Neurology, Stroke, Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, Genetics in Medicine, Measurement, Psychological Methods, Psychological Assessment, Criminal Justice and Behavior, and Thinking Skills and Creativity.