All ministries, government agencies and organizations in Uzbekistan now conduct their operations entirely in the state language, according to Nodir Jonuzoq, head of the government's Department for the Development of the State Language.
The announcement was made during the Oydin Gurunglar (Bright Conversations) international creative forum, which opened in Tashkent on October 19. According to a Daryo correspondent, the event featured presentations on initiatives aimed at promoting reading and developing the Uzbek language.
Source: Central Bank of Uzbekistan
Speaking at the forum, Jonuzoq discussed changes in the use of Uzbek in government operations over the past seven years. The use of the state language previously varied across government institutions, with some agencies conducting approximately 50% of their operations in Uzbek and others reporting even lower levels.
"Seven years ago, the extent to which the state language was used in official operations varied—in some agencies it was 50%, while in others it was even lower. Today, all ministries, agencies, and organizations conduct their work entirely in the state language. This signifies that unprecedented progress has been achieved within this short timeframe," Jonuzoq stated.
He also noted that all ministries and government agencies now conduct their operations using the Latin-based Uzbek alphabet. Jonuzoq reported that the names of 5,292 geographical locations have been brought into compliance with state language standards.
Source: Central Bank of Uzbekistan
He announced that the Terminology Commission had resumed its activities after a 30-year interruption. The commission is working on developing Uzbek equivalents for terms entering the language from foreign sources. According to the official, nearly 100 Uzbek equivalents for foreign terms have been approved by the commission over the past year. The forum also featured a presentation of the Central Bank's Financial Literacy project.
As part of the initiative, 10 major international works on economics and finance have been translated into Uzbek and published. Nodirbek Saydullayev, First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank, stated that the publications are intended to provide students, professionals and entrepreneurs with access to modern economic knowledge. The Central Bank also plans to expand the project by translating and publishing another 30 books covering different areas of economics.
"In the next phase of the project, we aim to translate and publish another 30 high-quality books covering various fields of economics. Through this, we intend not only to expand access to international experience and modern knowledge but also to contribute to the development of economic literature and terminology in the Uzbek language," Saydullayev stated.
Source: Central Bank of Uzbekistan
Other initiatives presented at the forum included the Mahalla Library project and the Bitik.online digital platform. Participants discussed translating scholarly and popular literature into Uzbek and increasing the number of high-quality publications. It was also announced that several banks are establishing libraries within mahallas, or neighborhood communities.
The Oydin Gurunglar international creative forum will continue in Khiva from October 22 to 25. An exhibition of books and educational projects is being held as part of the forum.
Source: Central Bank of Uzbekistan
Earlier, it was reported that President Shavkat Mirziyoyev had signed a law refining the Latin-based Uzbek alphabet. Under the changes, the updated alphabet will consist of 28 letters and one apostrophe-like mark, known as tutuq belgisi. The changes follow the "one sound — one letter" principle, under which the characters Oʻ, Gʻ, Sh and Ch will each be represented in a single unified form.