Kazakh alphabet in Latin script. Why is it important for Kazakhstan to switch to the Latin alphabet and how Russia should react to it

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev at the end of February approved a new and, most likely, final version of the Kazakh language alphabet based on Latin script.

In the near future, the clerical work of the authorities and the media will be transferred to this option, and the Kazakhs will begin to receive documents in which digraphs and diacritics will flaunt instead of the usual Cyrillic letters. Will Russia and Kazakhstan move away because of this?

Turks started

The legislative decision to transfer the Kazakh language to the new script was formalized in October 2017, when Nazarbayev signed the relevant decree. The document put an end to many years of disputes about the need to switch to the Latin alphabet instead of the Cyrillic alphabet.

Discussions about changing the alphabet in Kazakhstan and other countries Central Asia, which are part of the Turkic world, have been actively conducted since the beginning of the last century. Until the 1920s, all of them predominantly used the Arabic script, which eventually ceased to satisfy all the needs of the language.

Initially, the Central Asian states, in order to adapt the alphabet to the present, took a step towards the Latin script. The forerunner in this process was Turkey, which, after the collapse of Ottoman Empire took a course in Westernization. The transition to the Latin alphabet along this path, first of all, simplified communication, however, it also had political overtones. Thus, Ankara sought to seize influence from Russia in Central Asia.

In the USSR, they also caught the spirit of the times. In the 1920s - 1930s, a campaign began in the Union to translate the scripts of the peoples of the country into the Latin alphabet. During this time, 69 languages ​​were romanized, including Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Turkmen and Uzbek. They received official status by decree of 1929.

But the new alphabet did not last long: already in 1936, it was decided to translate the languages ​​into Cyrillic. The transition campaign ended in 1940. The update made it possible to simplify the workflow and publishing of books, and also made it possible to simultaneously teach Russian and national languages. Cyrillic writing in the Central Asian republics Soviet Union survived until the 1990s.

Only with the collapse of the USSR, disputes about the most suitable schedule resumed. As a result, Azerbaijan was the first to change the Cyrillic alphabet to the Latin alphabet, then Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan is in the process.

For a long time, Nazarbayev also thought about the transition. Back in 2012, speaking with a message to the people of Kazakhstan, the president said that the country could change the alphabet within 15 years. In the signed decree, the head of state specified this deadline - it is planned to transfer the language to the new script by 2025.

According to the head of state, the goal of switching to the Latin alphabet is to modernize the economy and develop culture. It is assumed that this will help to get cheap investments and loans and will provide an opportunity to join the single Turkic cultural space.

As Vladimir Zhirikhin, deputy director of the Institute of CIS Countries, explained in a commentary to the Cyrillic columnist, the translation of Kazakh into Latin script is, to some extent, a desire to simplify the presence of Kazakhs in the Turkic world and the desire for standardization. However, the expert did not rule out that there is also a political component in the process. However, according to him, in the comments on this topic, it is clearly exaggerated.

In fact, Nazarbayev's actions from the very beginning were regarded as a change in the political vector and evidence of a gradual withdrawal from Moscow's sphere of influence. But the President of Kazakhstan answered similar interpretations in the same way: they will not stop treating the Russian language with care, we are talking only about the translation of the Kazakh language.

As of the beginning of 2017, Russians in Kazakhstan make up 20.2% of the population. This is the second largest national group in the country, and the Russian language is the first in terms of possession and distribution.

This state of affairs, Vladimir Zharikhin is sure, will continue in the coming decades. At the same time, the Latinization of document flow and the media in Kazakhstan will not affect the Russian diaspora in any way: the Kazakh language is, as a rule, still incomprehensible to its representatives. Teaching in Russian in the country remains an integral part of the educational process.

New doesn't mean good

At the same time, the prospect of an early transition to the Latin script pleases not everyone, both in Kazakhstan and in the Turkic world. For example, the President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev, speaking at the forum of the Altai civilization, criticized the Kazakh authorities for abandoning the Cyrillic alphabet.

In his opinion, the old graphics allow you to save historical heritage and be in the same cultural channel with Eurasia. Rejection of it will lead to the destruction of established ties.

Kazakh authorities and experts warn about future difficulties in case of translating the alphabet into Latin. According to the generally accepted opinion, the reform of writing is always fraught with a gap in generations and the loss of knowledge recorded on the previous chart. In addition, the transition will cost money - in the budget for 2018-2020 alone, 600 million tenge (almost 2 million US dollars) are allocated for this.

In addition, there is no unity of opinion in answering the question whether the Latin alphabet will allow to reflect all the sounds of the Kazakh language in writing. Yes, in new version alphabet, approved on February 20, turned out to be 32 letters instead of 42 in the Cyrillic version.

According to some, the reduction of characters will avoid confusion and errors in the spelling of some words. But opponents of the reduction of characters are inclined to argue that it was the variety of the Cyrillic alphabet that corresponded to the peculiarities of the Kazakh language.

Initially, the developers of the new alphabet tried to smooth out the stinginess of Latin graphics with the help of apostrophes - superscript commas or strokes. But the attempt was clearly not successful and was criticized. Therefore, already in the second version of the alphabet, it was decided to abandon additional characters, but new digraphs and diacritics appeared.

One way or another, in Moscow, Kazakh innovations are rather neutral. The Kremlin, unlike the media, did not react to Nazarbayev's signing of the romanization decree. Of course, the Russian authorities understand that such a gesture by Astana is an obvious nod to the West.

However, the fact remains: if it is realistic to get additional investments with the help of the Latin alphabet, then it is unlikely to build allied relations.

Revolutionary reform awaits the state language. The Kazakh language will say goodbye to the Cyrillic alphabet and return to the Latin alphabet. The transition to a new graphic dimension will be carried out gradually until 2025.

As already expressed by many public figures and linguists, the site tried to answer the question: "How?". After all, you can’t just take and switch to the Latin alphabet, you need to decide how exactly this or that sound will be transmitted.

Translator, philologist and teacher Anatoly Chernousov, using the example of just one, but very important word "Kazakhstan", showed us how little we actually know about how to write Kazakh words in the Latin alphabet correctly.

What did Jamal Omarova sing about

We are used to the fact that "Kazakhstan" is written in our passports as "Kazakhstan". And the much-discussed English version, proposed by Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in November 2016, looks like Qazaqstan.

However, before the transition to Cyrillic, the name of our country was written differently.

"An interesting fact: in the 20s the word" Kazakhstan "was written as Qazaqьstan, and, most likely, it was pronounced as" Kazakhstan ". To do this, just listen to the recording of the song "Menin Kazakhstanym" in 1956 performed by Zhamal Omarova (performer of Kazakh folk songs and songs of the peoples of the USSR. Auth.). She sings "Kazakhystanym" very clearly. By the way, this song is our modern anthem," says Anatoly Chernousov.

It would be easier to correct the current alphabet

The Kazakh language, figuratively speaking, like a lady changing clothes, changed clothes many times, being translated into one or another graphic system. Not all outfits fit equally well. There are problems with both Cyrillic and Latin.

“The Cyrillic alphabet that we are currently using is rather irrational,” Anatoly Chernousov commented. “It contains a lot of unnecessary letters, such as hard and soft signs and the letter Y. And some sounds of the Kazakh language are written very strangely. For example, there is the letter Sh. It is in Kazakh alphabet means long soundШ, for example, in the word "ashchy". While words like "sheber" are written with a sh, although when we say the word, we are actually saying "sheber". I am not saying that it is necessary to write with Щ, but the very existence of such strange things suggests that the alphabet has not been finalized, it needs to be reworked. In addition, there are studies that claim that the letter I in the Kazakh language has from three to eight different interpretations. You write I, but you read different sounds in different positions. This is a problem that needs to be addressed. You can, of course, leave it as it is. different languages there are different assumptions. For example, the letter O in Russian is also written and read differently. We don't write "karova", although we pronounce it like that, well, or almost like that. It all has to be thought out."

According to the linguist, perhaps it would be easier and cheaper to just slightly correct the alphabet that is used for the Kazakh language today.

"From the point of view of time and financial costs, it would be easier to slightly correct the current alphabet than to change the graphics completely. This is serious work. This does not mean that we will say:" That's it, we'll throw out these letters and that's it. "No, of course. That too would have a very strong impact on spelling. Replacing even one letter or refusing it causes systemic changes in spelling," Anatoly believes.

"Unified Turkic alphabet", developed by the Central Executive Committee of the SSR

Alphabet on the knee

Anatoly Chernousov says that many citizens have the wrong idea about the transition to the Latin alphabet. They think it's enough to write everything English letters. In social networks, there were even versions of the new alphabet from amateur philologists.

“The transition to the Latin alphabet is seen by many as replacing some letters with others. It looks especially funny on social networks, where users post posts like: “I came up with it, it will look like this,” Anatoly Chernousov commented. “And they just take the modern alphabet and they are rewritten in Latin letters. At the same time, they leave the letter Y, for example, which does not exist in the Kazakh language at all, or soft and hard signs. Or they remove unused letters, but leave the modern order. That is, the alphabet is based on Latin script, but the order is like in Cyrillic, that is, instead of “A, B, C…” they have “A, B, V…". And not only that, B is a rather controversial letter, because there is no sound B in the Kazakh language. That is, the presence of this letter in the alphabet The Latin alphabet with the Cyrillic order of letters also looks ridiculous. nuclear reactor, then everyone would be horrified and decided that the person had gone crazy. But when someone on their knees scribbled a new alphabet for the Kazakh language, people say that yes, they say, it’s normal. And they are starting to argue how applicable it is."

There is no perfect graphics

If you look more broadly, then the symbols with which we designate this or that sound are relative. If you don't invest in them political sense, it's just a convention.

“There is an opinion that the Latin alphabet better reflects the sounds of the Kazakh language,” says Anatoly Chernousov. “In my opinion, this is a rather strange statement. The way it is written and the way it is pronounced, that is, the ratio of graphics and phonetics, is conventional For example, if we agreed that the letter A is pronounced like the sound A, then in principle it is considered that it is so. If we decide that the letter A is pronounced like B, for example, then we will write A and say B. This not a question at all. When someone says that the Latin alphabet better reflects the pronunciation of the Kazakh language, the letter Q conveys the sound Қ better than the modern letter - it sounds strange to say the least."

Anatoly Chernousov / Facebook photo

In principle, graphics that fully reflect the pronunciation of words do not exist. This is a utopia. Therefore, the most convenient or familiar option is often adopted.

"The ideal would be a graphic that can reflect all the diversity of the implementation of the phonemes of the language during speech, but such a language recording system is unlikely to ever be created," Anatoly believes. - Modern languages very often they live perfectly with rather archaic graphics. For example, in English language the writing of words graphically is very different from their sound. At the same time, English is the most successful language in the world in terms of the number of people who speak it and the areas of use. Graphic and phonetic filling of a word are two different things. It is impossible to demand from the Kazakh language to strive for a complete coincidence of graphics and phonetics, since this is impossible in principle.

Disputes and discussions in society, according to Anatoly, are caused by the fact that many people do not know a simple thing: speaking a language and knowing how it functions are not the same thing.

"Everything is not as simple as it might seem to a simple layman. A change in graphics leads to a change in the rules of writing, that is, the entire spelling. And since we have decided to switch to the Latin alphabet, it is worth noting that there is a lot of work to be done. As far as I know, it is being MES RK. Let's leave it to Kazakh linguists," Anatoly summed up.

The question is how to pronounce

Doctor of Philology Aigul Bizhkenova believes that the spellings Qazaqstan or Kazakhstan are quite acceptable. And it does not matter that they may not perfectly convey the sound of the word in Kazakh.

“You are right, it is written “Kazakhstan”, but it is pronounced “Kazakhystan”. But it is in any language. This is the assimilation of sounds at the junction, commented Aigul Bizhkenova. vice versa - if the subsequent sound is voiced and the previous one is deaf, it can be played loudly. Conversational speech differs from written speech. Written speech is more normalized, and oral speech is varied when pronouncing, sounds affect each other during fast speech. For example, the city of Hamburg is written "Hamburg" ", but it is pronounced completely differently. Oral speaking is different, there are also dialect variants. The spelling of the word "Kazakhstan" has already, in principle, entered into international circulation, so there is no point in arguing how it is spelled. The question is how to pronounce it."

Specific letters

Aigul Bizhkenova pointed out to us other difficulties that may await us during the transition to the Latin alphabet. For example, in the Kazakh language there are completely unique sounds that are very difficult to identify.

“Transferring the specific letters of the Kazakh language is difficult,” says Aigul Bizhkenova. “There are sounds ә, ғ, қ, ң, ө, ұ, ү, h, i. Expertise is needed here. which have consonant phonemes. For example, the same German, there are exactly the same sounds as in the Kazakh language. For example, "h", we have "Gauhar". Another question is that there is a sound "ә", which is not in other languages ​​- it needs to be dealt with. This is not such a problem, all this is subject to discussion and decision. There is a whole cohort of scientists who can advise on how to write correctly. "

Another side of the issue is the need to relearn for those who have never dealt with Latin letters.

"Now there is a population that has not studied at all foreign languages. It is very difficult for them to distinguish between the Latin alphabet, especially for the elderly part of the population. There are even fears that in the end it will be illiterate people, - says Aigul Bizhkenova. - If they never knew what those letters were, it is very difficult for them to read today's advertisement, which is written in English. So, of course, there are certain problems here. But innovation is never without problems, you have to be ready for everything. As for the youth, you can’t be afraid for them at all - everyone is computer literate, everyone has phones. They already know the Latin letters."

April 12, 2017 Nursultan Nazarbayev: scientists and members of the public must accept a single standard for the new Kazakh alphabet and graphics. In the end current year standards should already be ready, and business documentation, periodicals, textbooks should be translated into Latin by 2025.

"These days the issue of

regarding the new alphabet of the Kazakh language.

Many people took part in this.

The idea of ​​switching to Latin script was born

ever since our independence.

The transition of Kazakh writing to the Latin alphabet

always remained under my special control"

Nursultan Nazarbaev

The President of Kazakhstan signed a decree on the transfer of the Kazakh 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 alphabet of the Kazakh language from Cyrillic to Latin graphics, I decide:

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 alphabet into the Latin script; ensure a phased translation of the Kazakh alphabet into the Latin alphabet until 2025; take other measures to implement this decree, including organizational and legislative ones.

3. To impose control over the execution of this decree on the administration of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

4. This decree comes into force from the date of its publication,” the decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan says7

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 stressed the presence of public support for the proposed version. “It is necessary to issue a decree on the approval of the proposed project of the 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 among scientists, linguists, politicians, youth, representatives of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan. In general, society supports,” the President of Kazakhstan said. Recall that the project of the Latin alphabet of the Kazakh language was presented on September 25 in the Mazhilis of the Parliament. On this occasion, parliamentary hearings were organized, in which all interested parties participated. Opening the meeting, Nurlan Nigmatulin, speaker of the lower house, then noted that the transition to the Latin alphabet "does not accept haste", but will be carried out "dynamically". According to him, a new alphabet of the Kazakh language based on the Latin alphabet has been developed over several years. And now it is necessary to deeply analyze each letter, each sign and each designation in order to avoid mistakes. “Every citizen of our country should know that the transition to the Latin alphabet is the main way to achieve world civilization. Since the Latin alphabet is one of the most strong languages development of mankind. 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 crucial period with great readiness, as a lot of work has been done,” said Nurlan Nigmatulin. “This is the only way we can ensure the high-quality implementation of the instructions of the head of state and make Kazakhstan a model 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 project of the alphabet, first of all, 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, denoting eight specific sounds, ”said Yerbol Tleshov, director of the Shayakhmetov Republican Coordinating and Methodological Center for the Development of Languages. The doctor of philological sciences emphasized that only native characters of the Latin alphabet were included in the new graphics. “Thus, mobile phones, smartphones and other means of writing are a means of writing and come to us from various countries where only 26 Latin sounds are used. 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,” said Yerbol Tleshov. The transition to the Latin alphabet in Kazakhstan will take place gradually. As Deputy Prime Minister Yerbolat Dosaev assured, “replacement of documents will take place sequentially. Those documents that are now on hand will be valid until the 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 held 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 for switching to the Latin alphabet, then, as Finance Minister Bakhyt Sultanov reported, all calculations will be made after the approval of the alphabet. According to him, the budget included only 250 million tenge to study the issue and develop a draft alphabet.

The President 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 the Russian-speaking, Russian and other languages. The use of the Russian language in Cyrillic remains unchanged. It will also continue to function. The transition to a new alphabet will facilitate the study of the Kazakh language," he said.

Nursultan Nazarbayev believes that the transition to the Latin alphabet is a very complex process, the purpose of which is to create conditions for further development Kazakh language and its inclusion in the global information space. Nursultan Nazarbayev pointed out the need to train teachers and the methodological framework 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 ongoing work. During the implementation of the project, world experience was taken into account. It is very important. It is necessary to continue the information and explanatory work regarding the process of transition of the Kazakh alphabet to the Latin script",

Temirtau қalasy аkіmdіgі

"No. 13 "Ship" balabakshasy" MKKK

Report on the topic:

« Otranslation of the Kazakh alphabet from Cyrillic to Latin script» .

Prepared by: Kazakh language teacher

Kabdymanova R.T.

Temirtau 2017

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 necessary and what are the possible consequences?

Kazakhstan chooses between Russia and Turkey?

Nazarbayev's author's article in "Egemen Kazakhstan" ("Independent Kazakhstan") states that "before the end of 2017, after consultations with scientists and members of the public, a single standard for the new Kazakh alphabet and graphics in Latin should be developed."

"From 2018, it is necessary to train specialists to teach the new alphabet and publish textbooks for high school. In the next two years, it is necessary to carry out organizational and methodical works", - added the head of state. 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 political choice of the country and rapprochement with this or that civilization. In this case, the choice of the Latin alphabet means rapprochement with other Turkic languages. First of all, it is Turkish," the scientist told the National News Service.

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

For example, 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 there were no external prerequisites, no national liberation struggle of the peoples of the Soviet Union. real reasons to destroy the country. But independence must be justified. And the justification for independence is built everywhere on the anti-Russian platform," she told Pravda.Ru.

Speaking, Alexandra Dokuchaeva noted that "the departure of the Russians continues, and it is quite obvious that the reason for the departure is the concern of the Russians about their situation in connection with the attack on the Russian language." Recall that Russian speakers live in the majority in the northern regions of Kazakhstan, bordering on 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 difficult. education, the need for Russian schools is closing," she said.

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

. "The period of Kazakhstan being a part of the first 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 also 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 to start 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 reform of the graphics. 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 can lead to the isolation of the Republic of Tatarstan from the multinational Turkic-speaking population living in various subjects of Russia, including ethnic Tatars using the Cyrillic script, and ultimately to possible interethnic conflicts.

As a result, in November 2004, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation issued a verdict, which rejected the attempts of the Tatarstan authorities to translate 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 recognize law No. 2352 "On the restoration of the Tatar alphabet based on the Latin script" as invalid.

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

The reform is fraught with many pitfalls, which, according to observers, can turn into many social problems- up to the split of society. According to linguists, the rejection 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 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 an appropriate plan by the end of 2018. The head of Kazakhstan announced this in an article published on the portal of the country's government.

Kazakhstan switched to Cyrillic in 1940. According to Nazarbayev, at that time such a move was political in 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 script is known as Yanalif or the New Turkic alphabet. However, in the forties, Soviet philologists developed the new kind alphabet, which is used in Kazakhstan until now.

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

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

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

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

Political overtones

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 a persecution of Russians, the Kazakhs are defending themselves as a state. But Russians in Kazakhstan will not be infringed. And Russia will never be a threat to Kazakhstan. It's just an attempt to draw a watershed and eliminate the threat state structure Kazakhstan, the scenario of collapse or the possible arrival of the "Russian spring", - the expert explained.

Nazarbaev'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 Turkic people, the direction of movement towards that civilizational branch, and on the other hand, building a certain cultural barrier or distance between Russian and Kazakh culture,” continues Krutakov.

Absolutely, this step should not be taken as an act of aggression against Russia and its culture, since this is not beneficial for Astana at all. She would like to keep these contacts, Krutakov is sure.

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

"Linguistically unjustified"

According to Andrei Kibrik, a leading researcher at the Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Astana's decision does not make any practical sense, since the language functions quite effectively within the framework of the Cyrillic alphabet.

In addition, according to the expert, it is not necessary 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.

“You have to understand that a 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 a written Russian text, even if they speak oral Russian, ”explained a representative of the Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

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

“As for the ordinary use of the language, such a transition at the same time makes the population illiterate. People can't read the signs on the bus stop on their mother tongue. Such experiments can be afforded by countries that have little to lose, but I do not think that Kazakhstan is among them. Many graphics such as French, 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 made, 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 were translated study guides in kindergartens, then in schools and universities, later all the media switched to the Latin alphabet. At the same time, according to statistics, in Azerbaijan a little less than 30% of the population speak Russian, but it is almost never used in everyday and everyday communication.

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 the books and all those publications published over the past 60 years in Cyrillic became inaccessible to the younger generation.

Change of mentality

Political analyst Alexander Asafov points out that if the government of Kazakhstan plans to get some political bonuses from the transition to the Latin script, then ordinary people such changes do not bode well, only difficulties await them.

"All countries former USSR apply various aspects of distancing: both culturally and linguistically. They experiment with their ancient history. Of course, the transition to the Latin alphabet has primarily political overtones, because such a transition is usually associated with enormous difficulties for native speakers in current form. It's not just about changing signage. This is a change in the mentality of society,” he explained.

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

"The most the main problem- This is a translation of the document flow into a new script. In addition, there will be colossal problems in education. This will mean the reformatting of education and the loss of Kazakh specialists from the general Russian-speaking field of specialists. In fact, they lose the ability 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 displacement 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. It is the cementing language of Soviet culture. It is the language of culture. He will remain so. 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.

Interestingly, 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 official language, and in Moldova, Tajikistan and Ukraine - 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.