On 14 September, 89 years had passed since the birth of Gavril Arkadievich Gaidarji (1937–1998), Doctor of Philology, writer, educator and one of the founders of modern Gagauz linguistics. On this day, faculty members and students of the Department of Gagauz Philology and History and the Department of Turkology at Comrat State University honoured the scholar’s memory and laid flowers at the scholar’s bust on the Alley of Glory.
Key contributions to scholarship and culture:
- Language standardisation: He developed the concept of a Latin-based Gagauz alphabet (1993) and authored the “Rules of Gagauz Orthography and Punctuation” (1995).
- Scholarly legacy: He produced fundamental monographs on syntax, co-authored the “Gagauz-Russian-Moldovan Dictionary” and, in 1998, secured the establishment of a doctoral programme in Turkic languages at the Academy of Sciences of Moldova.
- International recognition: He participated in the “Linguistic Atlas of Europe” project and in the work of the Turkish Language Association on the comparative grammar of Turkic languages.
- Literary work: He authored the poetry collection “Ana tarafım” (“My Native Land”) and compiled folklore publications for children.
For his service to the people, G. A. Gaidarji was awarded the titles “Honoured Scientist of the Republic of Moldova” and “Honorary Citizen of Gagauzia”. Today, the Comrat Theoretical Lyceum and a street in his native village of Carbolia bear his name. A two-volume collection of his works, published in 2018 by the M. Marunevich Gagauzia Research Centre in the series “Gagauz Studies of the 19th–21st Centuries”, remains one of the most important treasures of Gagauz scholarship.
