Kazakh alphabet in Latin script. The final version of the Latin alphabet has been approved in Kazakhstan

The new Kazakh alphabet, based on the Latin script, was approved by decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev.

“I decide to approve the attached alphabet of the Kazakh language, based on the Latin script,” says the decree published on the website of the head of state on October 27.

The Cabinet of Ministers of the republic must form a national commission, as well as ensure the transition of the Kazakh language from the Cyrillic alphabet to the Latin script. The government has been given until 2025 to implement the project.

Let us recall that earlier Nazarbayev ordered the government to create a detailed schedule for the translation of the state language into Latin. Already in 2018, the country will begin training specialists and teaching aids to teach the new alphabet.

It should be noted that the translation of the national language from Cyrillic to the Latin alphabet was previously carried out by Moldova, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. According to experts, the experience of Azerbaijan can be considered the most successful - having quite quickly overcome the difficulties of the transition period, the country switched to a new script. But in Uzbekistan, the translation into the Latin alphabet took place only partially - the population continues to actively use the familiar Cyrillic alphabet.

In Kyrgyzstan they are also talking about the need to switch to the Latin alphabet. For example, such an initiative was previously made by a deputy from the Ata Meken faction, Kanybek Imanaliev. However, this idea has encountered criticism from the head of state - according to the President of the Kyrgyz Republic Almazbek Atambayev (whose powers expire on November 30), the arguments of supporters of the Latin alphabet sound unconvincing.

“Each time the desire to change the alphabet is given a new explanation. For example, here is the reason: the Latin alphabet is the alphabet of all developed countries, the transition to the Latin alphabet will help the development of the country's economy. But did the fact that they use hieroglyphs hinder Japan and Korea?” - the politician noted, speaking at the international forum “Altai civilization and related peoples of the Altai language family.” At the same time, the use of the Latin alphabet in a number of African countries did not help them escape poverty, the politician added.

According to Atambayev, another popular argument, according to which this measure will help unite the Turkic peoples, is also untenable. “For hundreds of centuries, the Turkish language, already in the 19th century, bore little resemblance to the language of the Turkic Khagans,” Atambaev said.

The spirit of the times

For their part, the Kazakh authorities explain the abandonment of the Cyrillic alphabet by the requirements of the era.

“The transition to the Latin alphabet is not a whim, it is the spirit of the times. When I talk about a working state, I am talking about working citizens. You need to know the international language - English, because everything advanced is based on it,” says Nursultan Nazarbayev.

In addition, Astana believes that this measure will help unite the Kazakh community, including those Kazakhs who live abroad.

Let us recall that until the 10th century, the population of the territories of modern Kazakhstan used ancient Turkic writing; from the 10th to the 20th century - almost a thousand years - Arabic script was used. The spread of Arabic writing and language began against the backdrop of the Islamization of the region.

In 1929, by decree of the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, the Latinized Unified Turkic alphabet was introduced in the Kazakh territories.

Note that in the 1920s, the young Turkish Republic switched to the Latin alphabet - this decision was made by Kemal Atatürk as part of a campaign to combat clericalism.

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• Ilya Naymushin

In the 1930s, Soviet-Turkish relations deteriorated noticeably. According to a number of historians, this cooling was one of the factors that pushed Moscow to abandon the use of the Latin alphabet in the national republics. In 1940, the USSR adopted the law “On the translation of Kazakh writing from Latinized to a new alphabet based on Russian graphics.”

It should be noted that the idea of ​​turning to “common Turkic roots” is most actively promoted by Ankara, which over the past decades has been trying to attract the former Soviet republics into its orbit of influence. The ideas of pan-Turkism, actively propagated by the Turkish side, serve as a tool for the implementation of Ankara’s ambitious plans. Let us recall that the concept of pan-Turkism was first formulated in the newspaper “Perevodchik-Terdzhiman”, published in Bakhchisarai by publicist Ismail Gasprinsky at the end of the 19th century.

The creation of a unified Turkic alphabet is a long-standing dream of the ideologists of Turkic unity; such attempts have been made more than once. One of the most successful dates back to 1991 - following the results of an international scientific symposium held in Istanbul, a unified alphabet for the Turkic peoples was created. The basis for it was the Latin graphics of the Turkish alphabet. The new alphabet was adopted in Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. True, Baku subsequently made a number of changes to the Turkic alphabet, and Tashkent and Ashgabat abandoned it altogether.

Although Kazakhstan takes an active part in Turkic integration projects (for example, it is a member of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States. - RT) and cooperates in a number of areas with Ankara, there is no point in exaggerating Turkish influence in Central Asia, experts say.

“The translation of the Kazakh language into the Latin alphabet is welcomed by Ankara, the Turkish side has long been promoting the idea of ​​a common Turkic alphabet in the Latin alphabet, but Turkish influence has many limitations that cannot be overcome with the help of linguistic measures alone,” the head of the department of Central Asia and Kazakhstan at the Institute of CIS Countries said in an interview with RT Andrey Grozin. — Of course, Ankara is interested in creating additional incentives for the consolidation of the Turkic world, in which it plays a leading role. However, in this case, Turkey’s role should not be overestimated.”

"The Fate of Ukraine"

Let us recall that according to the Constitution of Kazakhstan, the state language of the republic is Kazakh, and the Russian language is officially used “on an equal basis with Kazakh” in government bodies.

“The state takes care of creating conditions for the study and development of the languages ​​of the people of Kazakhstan,” says the fundamental law of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The alphabet reform will affect only the Kazakh language, the republican authorities emphasize.

“I especially want to emphasize once again that the transition of the Kazakh language to the Latin alphabet in no way affects the rights of Russian speakers, the Russian language and other languages. The status of the use of the Russian language remains unchanged, it will function in the same way as it functioned before,” the press service of the head of the Republic of Kazakhstan quotes Nursultan Nazarbayev as saying.

• Nursultan Nazarbaev
• globallookpress.com
• Kremlin Pool/Global Look Press

It should be noted that the republic’s leadership considers any initiatives to ban or limit the use of the Russian language in the country as harmful and dangerous.

“Suppose we legally ban all languages ​​except Kazakh. What awaits us then? The fate of Ukraine,” Nazarbayev told the Khabar TV channel in 2014. According to the politician, the role of the Kazakh language is growing naturally along with the growth in the number of Kazakhs.

“Is it necessary to force everyone to learn the Kazakh language, but at the same time lose their independence in bloodshed, or should it be prudent to solve problems?” - added the head of the republic.

According to Andrei Grozin, the innovations will partly affect the Russian-speaking population - after all, now all schoolchildren will have to learn the state language in a new transcription.

“True, the level of teaching the Kazakh language in the country was previously low, and ethnic Russians do not speak it particularly well. Therefore, for Russian-speaking residents of Kazakhstan, in fact, the changes will not be very noticeable,” the expert noted.

According to Grozin, the fact that no public opinion polls have been conducted in Kazakhstan on such an important topic as changing the alphabet raises certain doubts.

“Evaluations were made only by individual representatives of the creative intelligentsia and public figures,” Grozin explained. — But there is no data on what opinion about the new alphabet prevails among the population. This may indicate that the country’s authorities understand that the level of approval of the reform among the population is very low.”

Astana values ​​​​its relations with Moscow, the Kazakh leadership emphasizes that Russia “remains the number one partner for Kazakhstan both in politics and in the economy.” Today, Kazakhstan and Russia are working together within the framework of a number of integration projects - SCO, CSTO, Customs and Eurasian Economic Union. There is a visa-free regime between the countries; according to the 2010 census, 647 thousand ethnic Kazakhs live in Russia, about 20% of the population of Kazakhstan are Russians.

However, when it comes to their shared past, Astana changes the tone of her statements. For example, Nazarbayev’s speech, delivered in 2012 at the Kazakh-Turkish business forum held in Istanbul, had a great resonance.

“We live in the homeland of the entire Turkic people. After the last Kazakh khan was killed in 1861, we were a colony of the Russian Empire, then the Soviet Union. For 150 years, the Kazakhs almost lost their national traditions, customs, language, religion,” said the head of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Nazarbayev repeated these theses in a softer form in his policy article published in April 2017. According to the Kazakh leader, the 20th century taught the Kazakhs “largely tragic lessons,” in particular, “the natural path of national development was broken” and “the Kazakh language and culture were almost lost.” Today, Kazakhstan must abandon those elements of the past that hinder the development of the nation, the article says.

Translating the alphabet into Latin will allow Astana to implement this plan, experts say. True, the practical result of introducing such measures may not be development, but a split in the nation.

“The discussion about switching to the Latin alphabet began in Kazakhstan back in the mid-2000s, so there is no surprise in this decision,” Dmitry Alexandrov, an expert on Central and Central Asian countries, explained in an interview with RT. “But for Kazakh society this step could result in very ambiguous consequences. This will lead to the creation of a serious barrier between generations.”

According to the expert, the body of literature published in Soviet and post-Soviet times will not be republished - this is simply impossible. Therefore, the result of the reform will be the restriction of access of Kazakhstanis to their own cultural heritage.

• Graduates of one of the Almaty schools during the “Last Bell” celebration
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• Anatoly Ustinenko

“The experience of other countries has shown that not only very old people, but even people 40-50 years old cannot relearn the new transcription,” noted Andrei Grozin. “As a result, the knowledge they have accumulated will remain with them, regardless of their ideological orientation.”

Younger generations will no longer know the past: it is simply impossible to translate the entire volume of literature written over more than 70 years into new graphics.

“In Uzbekistan, too, many intellectuals are already turning to the authorities with a request to return the old alphabet - over the years since the reform, a cultural and ideological chasm has formed between generations. In such cases, we are talking about a split in society no longer along ethnic lines. Dividing lines are growing within the titular ethnic group - and this is a very dangerous trend. The Kazakh authorities declare the goal of the reform to be “modernization of consciousness,” but if it happens, it will only happen among the younger generation. It is also about abandoning the Soviet past. It is no secret that the entire bulk of the literature of all Central Asian republics is associated with the Cyrillic period, and only a very small number of texts were created in the “Arab” period,” the expert concluded.

In the second half of February, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a decree on a new version of the Kazakh language alphabet based on the Latin alphabet. The first version of the alphabet, which Nazarbayev approved last October, was replete with numerous apostrophes that seriously impeded comprehension. After work on the errors, which was carried out by three ministries at once - information and communications, culture, education and science, instead of apostrophes, strokes above letters (acutes), as well as digraphs (sh, ch), were added to the alphabet.

It is likely that this example will be taken as a basis: it is from this that the republican authorities will build as a starting point when carrying out the reform. Already in 2021-2023, documents in the Latin alphabet will begin to be issued in Kazakhstan. And in 2024-2025, office work and the media will gradually transfer to the Latin script.

Thus, Nazarbayev’s February decree on a new version of the alphabet became a significant step that the country took in resolving a sensitive and important humanitarian issue.

Despite the fact that this topic, in general, is an internal matter of Kazakhstan and does not directly affect Russia, it caused a wide public response in the Russian information space. The question of the position of the Russian language, the problem of preserving Russian cultural influence in the post-Soviet space worries many Russian citizens.

The majority reacted to the Kazakh reform with understanding, with the understanding that such decisions are the prerogative of the Kazakh authorities. This is precisely the position, in general, taken by the official authorities of Russia.

Be that as it may, alphabet reform in Kazakhstan is by no means a technical issue. It is closely related to the need of the country’s authorities to complete the current stage of nation-state building.

Not long ago, Kazakhstan celebrated the 25th anniversary of its national independence. Over a quarter of a century, the republic has achieved significant socio-economic success. The republic has gained weight in a variety of international organizations - political and economic, Western, Eurasian, Asian and Islamic.

However, without cultural self-identification, nation-state building will be half-hearted. The alphabet reform, according to the authorities, is designed to fill precisely this gap.

Translating the Kazakh language into Latin also satisfies several ideological objectives. Firstly, it fits into the global modernization context, making the country part of the modern digital world, which today mainly writes in Latin.

As a matter of fact, the Latin alphabet is not something completely new for the Kazakh language. During the Soviet period of its history, in the late 1920s - early 1940s, the Kazakh language already used an alphabet based on the Latin alphabet. However, already in the early 1940s, romanization was curtailed: the reverse process began - the return of the languages ​​of the peoples of the USSR to the Cyrillic alphabet. Meanwhile, according to a widespread opinion among linguists in post-Soviet states, for Turkic languages, due to the specifics of their phonetics, the Latin alphabet is more organic than the Cyrillic alphabet.

Despite the fact that the transition to a new alphabet has its reasons and is strategically justified, carrying out the reform is fraught with great difficulties. As the practice of transitions from the Arabic script to the Latin alphabet, and from the Latin alphabet to the Cyrillic alphabet, which took place in the Soviet Union in the 1920-1940s, has shown, culture suffered the greatest damage from such transformations. Such transitions, willingly or unwillingly, led to the “withdrawal” from everyday circulation of large cultural and historical layers of literature and information accumulated in the previous writing system.

In these conditions, the main task of the authorities of Kazakhstan is consistency and thoroughness in carrying out reforms. The task is not simple, requiring not only financial resources and impeccable performance, but also competent management.

As for whether Kazakhstan’s transition to the Latin alphabet is beneficial or unprofitable for Russia, such a formulation of the question is incorrect in itself. The era of the USSR has sunk into oblivion, and the logic of the development of independent states implies their political, economic and cultural self-sufficiency.

It is unlikely that the transition to the Latin alphabet will in any way affect relations between Russia and Kazakhstan. Other issues are of much greater importance for Moscow and Astana: political and economic cooperation, scientific cooperation, training of students from Kazakhstan in Russian universities, preservation and development of millions of personal, business, and family connections.

Sincere and friendly attention to the problems and needs of the development of the Russian language, respect for the rights of the Russian-speaking population in Kazakhstan and other Central Asian states will always remain one of the most significant manifestations of the policy of partnership and good neighborliness for the Russian authorities and society.

President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev instructed the government of the country to draw up a schedule for the transition of the Kazakh alphabet to the Latin alphabet. Why was this needed and what are the possible consequences?

Kazakhstan choosing between Russia and Turkey?

Nazarbayev’s opinion piece in “Egemen Kazakhstan” (“Independent Kazakhstan”) states that “by the end of 2017, after consultations with scientists and members of the public, a unified standard for the new Kazakh alphabet and graphics in the Latin alphabet should be developed.”

“Starting from 2018, it is necessary to train specialists to teach the new alphabet and publish textbooks for secondary schools. In the next two years, organizational and methodological work must be carried out,” the head of state added. At the same time, Nazarbayev assured that at first, along with the Latin alphabet, the Cyrillic alphabet would also be used.

Professor, Doctor of Philology, Head of the Laboratory of Linguistic Conflictology at the National Research University Higher School of Economics Maxim Krongauz explained why Kazakhstan is switching to the Latin alphabet. According to the expert, there are political reasons for translating the alphabet: in this way, Kazakhstan seeks to get closer to Turkey. “This is a matter of the country’s political choice and rapprochement with one or another civilization. In this case, the choice of the Latin alphabet means rapprochement with other Turkic languages. First of all, Turkish,” the scientist told the National News Service.

Previously, experts talked about other aspects of the problem that are typical for many post-Soviet states, including Kazakhstan.

Eg, Head of the Department of Diaspora and Migration of the Institute of CIS Countries Alexandra Dokuchaeva believes that all post-Soviet states build their independence as independence from Russia. “We, adults, remember that no external prerequisites, no national liberation struggle of the peoples of the Soviet Union existed. This means that there were no real reasons for the collapse of the country. But independence must be justified. And the justification of independence is everywhere built on an anti-Russian platform,” - she told Pravda.Ru.

Speaking, Alexandra Dokuchaeva noted that “the departure of Russians continues, and it is quite obvious that the reason for the departure is the Russians’ concern about their position in connection with the attack on the Russian language.” Let us remind you that Russian speakers live in the majority in the northern regions of Kazakhstan, bordering Russia.

“Parents of Russian-speaking children note, for example, that Russian schools are much more dense than Kazakh ones, that is, the conditions for learning are more complex. But nevertheless, unlike, for example, Ukraine, where there was clearly displacement, in Kazakhstan it is still at the average level education, the need for Russian schools is closing,” she said.

“Throughout the entire post-Soviet space, there are processes of consolidation of ultra-liberal and nationalist forces. These are ultra-liberal forces that adhere to Westernist views, and nationalists who adhere not only to an anti-Russian position, but also to the general exaltation of their titular nationality. The leadership of Kazakhstan is trying to achieve some kind of balance, although the nationalists “, especially in intellectual circles, liberals try to very successfully promote their ideas,” noted in an interview with Pravda.Ru expert of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies Dmitry Alexandrov.

. “The period when Kazakhstan was part of first the Russian Empire and then the Soviet Union is assessed in the new textbooks of sovereign Kazakhstan as a period of colonial oppression,” Alexandra Dokuchaeva noted earlier in an interview with Pravda.Ru.

However, it is worth noting that attempts to switch to the Latin alphabet were made in Russia itself, and more precisely, in Tatarstan. In 1999, the republic adopted a law on the transition to the Latin alphabet. The transition was supposed to begin in 2001 and last ten years.

However, the Committee of the State Duma of the Russian Federation on Nationalities Affairs in December 2000 came to the following conclusion: “The study of the problem shows that there are no linguistic or pedagogical grounds for this graphic reform. The modern Tatar literary language is successfully developing using the Cyrillic-based alphabet. As for entry into the Latin-written Turkic world, such an orientation could lead to the isolation of the Republic of Tatarstan from the multinational Turkic-speaking population living in various regions of Russia, including ethnic Tatars who use the Cyrillic script, and ultimately to possible interethnic conflicts."

As a result, the verdict was delivered in November 2004 by the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, which rejected the attempts of the Tatarstan authorities to transfer the alphabet from Cyrillic to Latin. On December 28, 2004, the decision of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Tatarstan satisfied the application of the prosecutor of the Republic of Tatarstan to declare Law No. 2352 “On the restoration of the Tatar alphabet based on the Latin script” invalid.

But the story didn't end there. In December 2012, the State Council of the Republic of Tatarstan adopted Law 1-ZRT "On the use of the Tatar language as the state language of the Republic of Tatarstan." According to the law, the official alphabet is the alphabet based on the Cyrillic alphabet, but the use of the Latin or Arabic script is allowed when citizens contact government agencies. Official responses from government agencies use Cyrillic, but it is also possible to duplicate Cyrillic text in Latin or Arabic. So it cannot be said that Tatarstan has abandoned attempts to “legitimize” the Latin alphabet.

"These days the issue was actively discussed in society

regarding the new alphabet of the Kazakh language.

Many took part in this.

The idea of ​​switching to Latin graphics was born

since we gained independence.

Transition of Kazakh writing to Latin

always remained under my special control"

Nursultan Nazarbaev

The President of Kazakhstan signed a decree on the transfer of the Kazakh language alphabet from Cyrillic to Latin script. Latin Kazakhstan The new Kazakh alphabet, based on the Latin script, has been approved in Kazakhstan. The corresponding decree was signed on October 27 by the head of state Nursultan Nazarbayev.

“In order to ensure the translation of the Kazakh language alphabet from Cyrillic to Latin script, I decree:

1. Approve the attached alphabet of the Kazakh language, based on the Latin script. 2. To the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan: to form a national commission for the translation of the Kazakh language alphabet into the Latin script; ensure a phased translation of the Kazakh language alphabet into the Latin script until 2025; take other measures to implement this decree, including organizational and legislative measures.

3. Control over the implementation of this decree shall be assigned to the administration of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

4. This decree comes into force from the date of its publication,” says the decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan7

A day earlier, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan noted the active nature of the discussion of the latest version of the draft Kazakh alphabet in the Latin script and emphasized the presence of public support for the proposed option. “It is necessary to issue a decree approving the proposed draft alphabet of the Kazakh language in the Latin script. The commission has completed its work. The latest version has been published. There is a consensus between scientists, linguists, politicians, youth, representatives of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan. In general, society is supportive,” said the President of Kazakhstan. Let us remind you that the project of the Latin alphabet of the Kazakh language was presented on September 25 in the Mazhilis of Parliament. On this occasion, parliamentary hearings were organized in which all interested parties participated. Opening the meeting, the speaker of the lower house, Nurlan Nigmatulin, then noted that the transition to the Latin alphabet “cannot be rushed,” but will be carried out “dynamically.” According to him, the new alphabet of the Kazakh language based on the Latin alphabet was developed over several years. And now it is necessary to deeply analyze every letter, every sign and every designation in order to prevent mistakes. “Every citizen of our country should know that the transition to the Latin alphabet is the main way to achieve world civilization. Because Latin is one of the most powerful languages ​​of human development. This is the language of science and technology, the Internet and IT technologies in the 21st century, so we can say that we approached this important period with great readiness, as a lot of work has been done,” said Nurlan Nigmatulin. “Only in this way will we be able to ensure high-quality implementation of the instructions of the head of state and make Kazakhstan a model of successful language modernization,” the speaker added. The new Kazakh alphabet contains 25 characters in Latin letters instead of 42 characters in Cyrillic. “The creation of this alphabet project primarily took into account the sound system of the Kazakh language. As a result, the proposed alphabet consists of 25 characters. The following principle was taken as a basis: one letter - one sound, one letter - two sounds and one sound of the digraph system. To fully ensure the sound system of the Kazakh language, eight digraphs were included in the alphabet, indicating eight specific sounds,” said Erbol Tleshov, director of the Republican Coordination and Methodological Center for Language Development named after Shayakhmetov. The Doctor of Philology emphasized that the new graphics included only the original characters of the Latin alphabet. “So, mobile phones, smartphones and other writing tools are a means of writing and are supplied to us from various countries where they use only 26 Latin sounds. If we introduce diacritics into the new Latin alphabet, then due to their rare use we may lose the original sounds, the specific sounds of the Kazakh language,” noted Erbol Tleshov. The transition to the Latin alphabet in Kazakhstan will take place gradually. As Deputy Prime Minister Erbolat Dosayev assured, “the replacement of documents will occur consistently. Those documents that are now in hand will be valid until their expiration date.” He also emphasized that all processes will begin only after the approval of the plan for the transition to the Latin alphabet. “All processes will be carried out in accordance with international requirements. As part of our action plan, a number of organizational changes are envisaged,” added the Deputy Prime Minister. As for the financial costs of switching to the Latin alphabet, as Minister of Finance Bakhyt Sultanov reported, all calculations will be made after the alphabet is approved. According to him, the budget included only 250 million tenge for studying the issue and developing a draft alphabet.

The President especially emphasized that the reform should not harm the development of other languages ​​and violate the rights of citizens. "The transition of the Kazakh language to the Latin alphabet in no way affects the rights of Russian speakers, the Russian language and other languages. The use of the Russian language in Cyrillic remains unchanged. It will continue to function as well. The transition to a new alphabet will make it easier to study the Kazakh language,” he noted.

Nursultan Nazarbayev believes that the transition to the Latin alphabet is a very complex process, the purpose of which is to create conditions for the further development of the Kazakh language and its inclusion in the global information space. Nursultan Nazarbayev pointed out the need for teacher training and a methodological base for introducing the new alphabet into the education system and instructed the Government to develop a plan for its phased introduction. He thanked all Kazakhstanis, scientists and linguists for their support and active participation in the implementation of the reform of the Kazakh alphabet.

In general, I support the main directions of the work being done. During the implementation of the project, global experience was taken into account. It is very important. Outreach work should be continued regarding the process of transition of the Kazakh alphabet to the Latin script,"

Temirtau kalas akimdіgі Temirtau kalasynin bіlіm take more pain

“No. 13 “Ship” balabakshasy” MKҚК

Report on the topic:

« ABOUTtranslating the Kazakh language alphabet from Cyrillic to Latin script» .

Prepared by: Kazakh language teacher

Kabdymananova R.T.

Temirtau 2017

The reform is fraught with many pitfalls, which, according to observers, can result in many social problems - even a split in society. According to linguists, the abandonment of the Cyrillic alphabet does not mean the displacement of the Russian language, although it will most likely lead to this in the long term. About the intricacies of language policy in the post-Soviet space - in the material of RT.

Kazakhstan must switch from Cyrillic to Latin by 2025. The President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, addressed the government of the republic with such a proposal. To this end, he instructed the Cabinet of Ministers to develop a corresponding plan by the end of 2018. The head of Kazakhstan announced this in an article published on the country’s government portal.

Kazakhstan switched to the Cyrillic alphabet in 1940. According to Nazarbayev, at that time such a step was of a political nature. Now, the President of Kazakhstan continues, in accordance with modern technologies, environment and communications, the country needs the Latin alphabet.

From the late 1920s until 1940, the Latin alphabet was used in Kazakhstan - this writing is known as Yanalif or the New Turkic alphabet. However, in the forties, Soviet philologists developed a new type of alphabet, which is used in Kazakhstan to this day.

The Latin version of the Kazakh alphabet is still used today, albeit by a small number of groups. For example, it is in use among the Kazakh diasporas in Turkey and a number of Western countries.

Now Kazakh philologists will have to develop a unified standard for the new Kazakh alphabet and graphics in a short time.

In addition, starting next year, the President of Kazakhstan proposed to begin training specialists in the Latin alphabet and begin developing school textbooks.

“Cyrillic is our intellectual heritage and, naturally, we will use it. But we will still have to switch to the Latin alphabet by 2030-2040, this is a requirement of the time and the development of technology,” said deputy Imanaliev.

Political subtext

The transition to the Latin alphabet in Kazakhstan does not mean oppression of the Russian-speaking population, says political scientist Leonid Krutakov.

“This is not persecution of Russians, Kazakhs are defending themselves as a state. But Russians in Kazakhstan will not be discriminated against. And Russia will never be a threat to Kazakhstan. This is simply an attempt to draw a watershed and eliminate the threat to the state structure of Kazakhstan, the scenario of collapse or the possible arrival of the “Russian spring,” the expert explained.

Nazarbayev's proposal is not only an attempt to strengthen linguistic self-identification. According to the political scientist, Astana makes it clear that it would like rapprochement with Ankara.

“Therefore, for Nazarbayev, this transition is, on the one hand, a way of rapprochement with Turkey, with the Turkic people, a direction of movement towards that branch of civilization, and on the other, building a kind of cultural barrier or distance between Russian and Kazakh culture,” continues Krutakov.

You absolutely should not perceive this step as an act of aggression towards Russia and its culture, since this is not at all beneficial for Astana. She would like to maintain these contacts, Krutakov is sure.

“Kazakhstan is not going to start a conflict with Russia. After all, this is a transit country. The only route for Kazakh oil to Europe is the Russian CPC (Caspian Pipeline Consortium - RT) and the second route to Asia through Turkmenistan, Tajikistan. To go against Russia, you need to have a common border either with Turkey or with Europe, but they don’t have it,” the political scientist concluded.

"Linguistically not justified"

According to Andrei Kibrik, a leading researcher at the Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Astana’s decision has no practical meaning, since the language functions quite effectively within the Cyrillic alphabet.

In addition, according to the specialist, there is no need to draw direct parallels between the rejection of the Cyrillic alphabet for the graphic execution of the national Kazakh language and the rejection of the Russian language in general.

“We must understand that language and the writing that serves it are two different things. If people are accustomed to using oral Russian in everyday life, then the transition of the Kazakh language to the Latin alphabet does not directly affect the use of Russian, but there may be a delayed impact in the future, when a generation grows up that is unfamiliar with the Cyrillic alphabet. For them, ignorance of the Cyrillic alphabet blocks access to written Russian text, even if they speak spoken Russian,” explained a representative of the Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Moreover, according to Andrey Kibrik, the ordinary population of Kazakhstan will be placed in very uncomfortable conditions, many will only lose from such a transition.

“As for the everyday use of language, such a transition simultaneously makes the population illiterate. People cannot read the signs at the bus stop in their native language. Countries that have little to lose can afford this kind of experimentation, but I don’t think Kazakhstan is among them. Many graphics, such as French and Chinese, have a large number of shortcomings, but so many texts are written on them that no one encroaches on these systems,” the expert said.

Experience of post-Soviet countries

“Azerbaijan or Uzbekistan have already gone through this transition, you can look at their experience. Azerbaijan somehow adapted gradually; at the beginning, people looked at the new inscriptions in a daze and did not understand anything, but gradually they got used to it. They just came quite radically. But in Uzbekistan the situation is different: nominally the transition has been completed, but the Cyrillic alphabet retains its position. Many documents still exist in the Cyrillic version,” Kibrik explained.

It should be noted that in Azerbaijan, the process of transition to a new alphabet was quite successful, as it was supported by large financial investments and a well-thought-out gradual strategy. Simultaneously with office work, textbooks were translated in kindergartens, then in schools and universities, and later all the media switched to the Latin alphabet. At the same time, according to statistics, in Azerbaijan, slightly less than 30% of the population speaks spoken Russian, but it is almost never used in everyday life.

Experts do not consider the experience of Uzbekistan successful. The new graphics divided two generations: it was difficult for older people to adapt to the new reading rules, they found themselves in information isolation, and for the younger generation, books and all those publications published in Cyrillic over the past 60 years became inaccessible.

Changing mentality

Political scientist and analyst Alexander Asafov points out that if the government of Kazakhstan plans to receive some political bonuses from the transition to the Latin script, then such changes do not bode well for ordinary people; they will only face difficulties.

“All countries of the former USSR apply various aspects of distancing: both in the cultural and linguistic environment. They are experimenting with their ancient history. Of course, the transition to the Latin alphabet has primarily political implications, because such a transition is usually associated with enormous difficulties for native speakers of the language in its existing form. It's not just about changing signs. This is a change in the mentality of society,” he explained.

Such reforms contain many hidden problems, overcoming which requires the careful work of many specialists: from teachers to philologists.

“The most important problem is the transfer of document flow to a new script. In addition, there will be colossal problems in education. This will mean reformatting education and the loss of Kazakh specialists from the general Russian-speaking field of specialists. In fact, they will be deprived of the opportunity to integrate with Russian education,” the analyst emphasized.

He also recalled the experience of Poland, where the actual transition of the population to the Latin alphabet took place over “a couple of centuries,” while philologists had to invent new letters in order to adapt the new graphics to the peculiarities of the phonetics of the language.

Russian language in the former USSR

One way or another, the change in the removal of the Cyrillic alphabet from everyday life leads to a decrease in the role of Russian culture and language in people’s lives, and this in the post-Soviet space actually means cutting off the country from intercultural communication with many countries. Political scientist Alexander Asafov points to this.

“In other post-Soviet countries, the Russian language is a way of intercultural communication. This is the cementing language of Soviet culture. This is the language of culture. He will remain that way. Even English cannot replace it. That is, when an Estonian and a Kazakh meet, they speak Russian,” he explained.

In fact, with the displacement of the Cyrillic alphabet, the cultural and historical basis of the unity of a large number of people will be undermined.

It is interesting that in the post-Soviet space only Belarus gave the Russian language the status of a state language. In Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and South Ossetia it is the official language, and in Moldova, Tajikistan and Ukraine it is the language of interethnic communication. In Georgia and Armenia, the status of the Russian language is not formally defined, but in fact it has the status of a foreign language.