President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a law revising the Uzbek alphabet based on the Latin script on 21 October, Uzbek Language Day, head of the Presidential Administration Saida Mirziyoyeva announced.
“Finally, a longstanding historical mistake has been corrected […]. This issue had been the subject of debate for many years, with no end in sight. Speaking at a conference on the legacy of the Jadids on 11 December 2023, I proposed revising the alphabet and expressed the view that it was time to put an end to these discussions,” she wrote on her Telegram channel.
“Of course, change is never easy, and it is perfectly natural for it to provoke objections or concerns. But believe me, there was no other way to address the shortcomings of our writing and strengthen the position of our native language in the digital space,” Mirziyoyeva noted.
“Will all documents now have to be changed? Not at all. We have chosen a path that minimizes costs: all existing documents, the national currency and securities will remain valid, while textbooks, signs and signposts will be replaced gradually as they reach the end of their service life,” the head of the Presidential Administration said.
“Passing this law on 21 October carries profound symbolic meaning. I am confident that our improved alphabet will help realize the dream of our enlightened ancestors — improving literacy among young people and strengthening the status of our language. I congratulate you all on Uzbek Language Day!” she wrote.
The Senate of the Oliy Majlis approved changes to four letters of the alphabet in early September. The revised version contains 28 letters and one apostrophe, compared with 26 letters and three letter combinations previously. The combinations Sh, Ch, Oʻ and Gʻ have been replaced with Ş, Ç, Ö and Ğ, while Ng is no longer treated as a separate letter combination. The Legislative Chamber passed the law in early July.
Reform spanning more than 30 years
Uzbekistan introduced the Uzbek Latin alphabet in 1993, citing the positive experience of the transition to Latin script in 1929−1940 and taking into account the wishes of the wider public.
The original version already included the letters Ş, Ç, Õ and Ğ. However, in 1995, they were removed and replaced with the combinations Sh, Ch, Oʻ and Gʻ.
The full transition to the Latin alphabet was scheduled to be completed by 2000. However, the transition remained incomplete for another 26 years.
In October 2020, the president signed a decree on the development of the Uzbek language and the improvement of language policy in the country. The government was instructed to establish a working group to ensure the full transition to the revised alphabet.
Draft versions of the revised Latin-based Uzbek alphabet, incorporating some changes, were published for discussion in 2018, 2019 and 2021. An alternative version was proposed in 2023. The proposals sparked debate. Gazeta has published numerous articles on the issue, some of which are linked below.