A meeting of the National Coalition was held democratic forces"Kazakhstan-2050", dedicated to the transition of the Kazakh language to the Latin alphabet. Politicians and representatives of ethno-cultural associations of Kazakhstan spoke at it. Each of them expressed his opinion about the upcoming language reform.

Mukhtar Kul-Mukhammed / Photo site

The first deputy chairman of the Nur Otan party noted that the decision of the President to switch the Kazakh language to the Latin alphabet was taken very timely - exactly when Kazakhstan has already established itself as one of the most respected states in the world, when stability, harmony and unity of the people reign in the country. The transition to the Latin alphabet should be the basis of spiritual modernization, which solves several important tasks at once, he believes.

"The transition to the Latin alphabet based on English alphabet solves a trinity problem. Firstly, it creates favorable conditions for mass mastery of the English language, integrating us into the global English-speaking world. Secondly, it opens up new opportunities for access to the latest achievements of science and technology. Thirdly, it unites all Kazakhs living in more than forty countries of the world. By switching to the Latin alphabet, we are modernizing the modern Kazakh language, improving its grammar," said Mukhtar Kul-Mukhammed.

The rich heritage of Kazakh literature, he said, will be transferred to an electronic format and converted into Latin, from which the national culture and literature will only expand its horizons. As for the Russian language, the country is not going to abandon it, preserving bilingualism.

Julia Kuchinskaya / Photo site

Center Director political analysis and strategic studies of the "Nur Otan" party called the transition to the Latin alphabet truly historical event in the life of our state.

"The translation of the Kazakh language into Latin script is our sovereign choice. According to opinion polls conducted by the Center for Political Analysis and sociological research, the vast majority of citizens support this choice," the specialist said.

The lexical part of the language, according to her, is considered the most flexible and mobile, subject to change. In the conditions of modernization, accelerated technological and scientific development, new terms and phrases appear in speech every day, and, as a rule, these are words borrowed from English and other languages ​​in Latin.

"Language modern science- it's Latin. According to various estimates, annually from 55 to 75% of scientific literature in the world is published in languages ​​using the Latin alphabet. Among the 12.5 million articles published in 2005-2015 in the top 15 advanced countries in the Webof Sceince database, 75.2% were published in Latin, while only 2.4% were in Cyrillic. It is significant that the difference between the growth scientific knowledge in Latin and Cyrillic is significant. For example, among 1.4 million patents issued in the top ten scientifically advanced countries, 61% of patents are issued in countries using the Latin alphabet, and only 2.7% are issued in countries using the Cyrillic alphabet," Yulia Kuchinskaya cited research data.

"In this context, it is important that neologisms are fixed in the Kazakh language according to the rules of word formation of the Kazakh language. As a result, our state language will be enriched, modernized, the process of the immune mechanism of the language will resume," she added.

Zhambyl Akhmetbekov / Photo site

A member of the Mazhilis of the Parliament from the CPPK said that the Communists welcome the return of the Latin script to the Kazakh language. In the age of globalization and explosive development information technologies the issue of language modernization, according to him, is directly related to the country's competitiveness and strategic development issues - the level of innovation, the country's attractiveness and openness for investment, and the development of human capital.

"We believe that with the transition to the Latin script, our country will become more open and close to most of the peoples of the planet, because in modern world more than 75% of countries use the Latin alphabet. There are currently 6 Turkic states in the world. Kazakhstan will become the fifth state using the Latin alphabet. Further rapprochement and strengthening of Kazakhstan's relations with the fraternal countries of Central Asia and the states of the Caspian region - Azerbaijan, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan - is a very significant factor for integration and strengthening of good neighborly relations," the Secretary of the Communist Party said.

“I believe that there are all the necessary conditions for switching to the Latin alphabet. We have 100 percent literacy, almost every Kazakhstani de facto writes and reads in the Latin alphabet, daily using cell phones browsing the internet," he added.

After the publication of the presidential program "Rukhani Zhangyru", according to the deputy, many meetings were held with the population in all regions of the country. During these meetings, the communists personally made sure that the people of Kazakhstan show great interest in the program of spiritual modernization and support it, primarily on the issue of switching the state language to the Latin alphabet.

Yuri Timoshchenko / Photo site

The deputy of the Mazhilis of the Parliament in his speech reminded those present of how in the most important moments for the country the people unanimously supported the President. The decision to translate the Kazakh language into Latin, according to him, is another important process in the history of Kazakhstan, when citizens should once again show solidarity.

"This is a historical necessity. The return to the Latin script will give a powerful impetus to the popularization of the Kazakh language within the country. The Latin script is a basic element of the cultural openness of Kazakhstan to the whole world. As a student of the Kazakh language, having tried many methods and dozens of manuals, I special attention I got acquainted with the version of the alphabet presented at the Parliamentary hearings, and I can say with confidence that the new graphics are closer to the phonetic structure of the Kazakh language, which is why it should contribute to the study and dissemination of the state language. I fully support the proposed version of the Latin alphabet and call on all citizens of Kazakhstan to support this historic step for our nation," the parliamentarian said.

"While the world is being shaken by political, economic and religious cataclysms, Kazakhstan remains a symbol of stability and prosperity, this is certainly the merit of our Elbasy and all Kazakhstanis. I urge everyone to once again show their unity in the name of the future of our common Motherland - the Republic of Kazakhstan!" he added.

Bakhytzhan Ertaev / Photo site

The deputy of the Mazhilis of the Parliament called the transition of the Kazakh language to the Latin alphabet a grandiose reform. He spoke for the veterans' organization he heads. According to him, the Armed Forces of the country, participants in the hostilities in Afghanistan, "Chernobyl victims" always, without hesitation, support the decisions of Elbasy.

"As a military man, I know that victory has 3 components. This is a clear strategy, faith in victory and, of course, a loyal army. Thanks to the strategic course of Elbasy, Kazakhstan has achieved triumphant victories. A magnificent capital has been built, the pride of all Kazakhstanis - Astana. Successfully carried out international specialized exhibition EXPO-2017 "Future Energy", which has become the center of attraction for innovations, as well as millions of tourists from all over the world. Astana this year became the capital Shanghai Organization cooperation that unites more than half of humanity. And you and I are well aware that each of these achievements became possible thanks to the strategic gift and will of our Elbasy. Therefore, I, like all military personnel and veterans armed forces I believe in my Commander-in-Chief," Bakhytzhan Yertayev said.

The transition to the Latin alphabet, he said, will take some time, so it is important that today's initiative be continued by the younger generation of Kazakhstanis. It is important that our youth actively participate in the life and further construction of the country. Not only their future, the future of their families, but also the prosperity of our country as a whole depends on their contribution, he concluded his speech.

Chairman of the board public association"National Cultural Center "Belarus" Leonid Pitalenko noted that annually in the world about 40 languages ​​disappear. The reasons for the disappearance of languages ​​are different, but they are united by the inability of the language to adapt to new changing conditions. More than 70 languages ​​disappeared in Europe and Asia Minor, more than 100 languages ​​in the USA. As of today, nearly 200 languages ​​are endangered in India. The modernization of the Kazakh language and the transition to the Latin alphabet are necessary conditions for the survival and development of the language.

"Languages ​​that do not develop are doomed to oblivion. Therefore, the importance of the transition to the Latin alphabet for the development and strengthening of the Kazakh language can not be overestimated. The Latin alphabet is a tool of modern communication. The transition of the Kazakh language to the Latin alphabet will enrich the state language, which will preserve its originality and originality of the sound system ", - considers the chairman of the board of the Public Association "National Cultural Center "Belarus".

Modernization, according to him, is taking place in many Slavic languages, including Russian and Belarusian.

"It should be noted that it is the Latin alphabet that is the leader today in the global information space. Even in countries such as India, China and Japan, where traditional writing is used, in the field of business and technology development, English language. Today, all conditions have been created for the transition of the Kazakh language to the Latin alphabet. Society, state, everything social groups, youth, representatives of business and science de facto use the Latin script," he said.

Vadim Salakhov / Photo from inform.kz

President of the "Union of Azerbaijani cultural centers Kazakhstan", Dr. historical sciences Vidadi Salakhov said that the initiative of Nursultan Nazarbayev regarding the transition of the Kazakh alphabet to the Latin alphabet aroused great interest among representatives of the Turkic states.

"My friends and relatives living in other Turkic-speaking countries received this news with great enthusiasm. Because it will further bring together Turkic-speaking countries, most of which use the Latin script. Information in the Kazakh language, including poetry, literature, history, science will become more accessible for our brothers living abroad, for foreigners studying the Kazakh language. The legacy of the great Abai, Magzhan Zhumabaev can be read without translation by any schoolchild in Turkey, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan," he said.

The reform of the alphabet, according to him, has a great practical value. It is much easier for a first-grader to learn 25 Latin letters than 42 Cyrillic letters.

"There are 35 phonemes in French, 45 in English. These numerous phonemes are transmitted in only 26 with Latin letters. And in the Kazakh language, 28 primordial sounds-phonemes are transmitted by 42 letters. Therefore, it is much more difficult for our schoolchild to learn Kazakh than for a small European to learn his English or French. The proposed alphabet based on the Latin alphabet consists of 25 sounds," Vidadi Salakhov said.

He recalled that the need to reduce letters in the Kazakh alphabet was written by the first professor of Kazakh philology Kudaibergen Zhubanov. In 1935, he prepared a project to change the spelling and alphabet of the Kazakh language based on the Latin alphabet, which proposed to reduce the number of letters. The ideas expressed by scientists more than half a century ago have not lost their relevance and are reflected in the new proposed alphabet.

"I carefully studied this version of the alphabet, compared its capabilities with the capabilities of the alphabets of other Turkic languages, repeatedly discussed this issue with specialists, colleagues, including those living in other countries, and I believe that this project of the Latin alphabet is the best option for a full reflection specifics of the Kazakh language.The Kazakh Latin alphabet turned out to be more perfect due to the fact that when preparing the alphabet problematic issues that other countries encountered during the transition to the Latin alphabet," the doctor of historical sciences concluded.

Ikram Khashimzhanov / Photo from inform.kz

The chairman of the Uzbek ethno-cultural association of the South Kazakhstan region believes that further technical modernization cannot be carried out without spiritual modernization, which is why the President put forward the idea of ​​modernization public consciousness. The return of the Kazakh language to the Latin alphabet, according to him, is a historic step not only for Kazakhstan, but for the entire Turkic world, as it is the basis for strengthening friendship and ties with the fraternal peoples of Central Asia - Azerbaijan and Turkey.

"I consider the main advantage of the new alphabet to be the wide possibilities of using the entire phonetic diversity of not only Kazakh, but also all Turkic languages. It can be used for any of them, as well as their dialects, without any obstacles. The developers managed to avoid the mistakes of their neighbors. I am sure that taking into account the experience of Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan will make the introduction of the Latin alphabet in Kazakhstan successful," he said.

April 12, 2017 Nursultan Nazarbayev: scientists and members of the public must accept a single standard for the new Kazakh alphabet and graphics. At the end of this year, the standards should already be ready, and business documentation, periodicals, textbooks should be translated into Latin by 2025. At the same time, he explained that the transition to the Latin alphabet entails the rejection of the Russian language.

The transition of the Kazakh language to the Latin alphabet is part of the large-scale program of the President for the modernization of consciousness, presented by him in the strategic article "Bolashakka bagdar: ruhani zhangyru".

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?

AT author's article Nazarbayev in "Egemen Kazakhstan" ("Independent Kazakhstan") states that "by 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: thus 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, it is Turkish," the scientist said. National Service news".

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 no external prerequisites, no national liberation struggle of peoples Soviet Union didn't exist. So, there were no real reasons for the collapse of 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 northern regions 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 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 in December 2000 came to next conclusion: "The study of the problem shows that both linguistic and pedagogical grounds for this graphic reform are absent. Modern Tatar literary language develops successfully using the Cyrillic-based alphabet. As for entering the Latin written Turkic world, such an orientation may 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. December 28, 2004 by decision Supreme Court The Republic of Tatarstan granted the application of the prosecutor of the Republic of Tatarstan to recognize the 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 Republic of Tatarstan adopted the law 1-ZRT "On the use Tatar language as the state language of the Republic of Tatarstan". According to the law, the alphabet based on Cyrillic is considered the official alphabet, but the use of Latin or Arabic letters is allowed when citizens apply to government bodies. In official responses government agencies the Cyrillic alphabet is used, but the possibility of duplicating the Cyrillic text in Latin or Arabic is also provided. So one cannot say that Tatarstan has given up on attempts to "legitimize" the Latin alphabet.

Vanity. Those who think how to write cirrhosis, Engels, Ethiopia, etc. in the new alphabet:

This is what I explained

P.S. I am not a philologist. As I understood myself, I explained it.
And the loot .... I understand that if you don’t let the president sign (I’m talking about the alphabet), then he will sign ... basically all the same, the main thing is to accept it as quickly as possible, and after that even a flood ... this alarms me. ..
I don’t know if our state needs a new alphabet, but I know for sure that I don’t want to pay for it! Yes, and I can’t understand how this will help us integrate ... whatever one may say, we are a third world country, in no way for them better than that Or Pakistan...
Hope they make the right decision. Alg "a Qazaqstan !! Alǵa Qazaqstan !! I personally believe that this second wave of breaking the awareness of statehood will move the whole country a few steps back. The first wave of renunciation of the post-Soviet heritage has already passed and weakened. The second wave needs to be done right now and precisely under the current president, because the next person to take his place, I think, is unlikely to attend to such a problem. There are more pressing problems, solutions are required. And this, oddly enough, is not a continuation of the life of the EXPO center. In some cities, we provide water on schedule and there is no gas and sewerage and hospitals with pharmacies.
I think that in this case, representatives of the indigenous population will suffer first of all. Because they bent without asking and without a referendum. We decided everything urgently.
All specialists and techies will be retrained, all teachers, doctors, absolutely everything will learn to read and write again. And if now someone has a chance to get out knowing their native language, reading and owning a letter in Cyrillic, then after the introduction of the Latin alphabet, this segment of the population will fall off society and will not come out soon. They bent their own for their own illusory good. What is the advantage of integrating the economies of countries with different or the same alphabet, I can’t smoke it in any way.
Now about the most terrible, about the budget. Absolutely all documents will be renamed and redone. These are the names and signs of the regions of cities, streets, districts. Changes in information on topographic maps. Change of workflow. All registration certificates, passports, IDs, all state certificates, all signs, all magazines and books, in general, you can’t list everything. What a fucking mover! All Electronic state portals and programs, all normative documents and by-laws and other documentation. In a word, a star!
It's hard to imagine how much it will cost. Has anyone done research from bureaucrats? Does anyone have an estimate for the cost of the move? I think the total cost will reach the sum of 12 zeros. And most of them, I think, will again be shifted onto our shoulders. They will stupidly force them to change all the documents of the BTI and other certificates, documents for transport, business, real estate. That's when we get involved! while we live! How to trample up! though already with glued fins ... Quote:

Almost KZT500 mln is planned to be spent on covering the transition to the Latin alphabet in social networks through bloggers, according to the draft action plan for the phased transfer of the Kazakh alphabet to the Latin script until 2025, published on the website of the electronic government of Kazakhstan.

It is also noted that the budget is planned to be distributed in equal shares for each year from 2018 to 2025.

At the same time, the information work of the project includes the creation in the first half of 2018 of special hashtags for use in the distribution of materials on the translation of the Kazakh alphabet into the Latin script in social networks, as well as on an ongoing basis to make publications in social networks popular among young people, motivators, posts on state language in Latin script. As stated in the document, funding this work does not require.

As previously reported, according to the project, more than 200 billion tenge is planned to be spent on reprinting textbooks written in Kazakh in Latin script.

If I get a piece of this "pie" I use my hands and feet "FOR", and then "at least the grass does not grow." I think that's what many supporters of latinization think. Quote:

The eastern leaders of Central Asia have a desire to become Europe, "although they are located deep in Asia

I'd the last word changed to "in f .... e". Who is more useful for the country - a janitor or deputies, ministers, philologists who spend people's money on dubious projects? Whether there is a
an official who, out of remorse, quit and opened a service station or something like that?

Quote: bolatbol from 22.02.2018 12:05:50
Who is more useful for the country - a janitor or deputies, ministers, philologists who spend people's money on dubious projects? Whether there is a
an official who, out of remorse, quit and opened a service station or something like that?

Electricians, brother, without them - nothing. Gentlemen from the government, if you want to "show off" in front of the whole world, do it like in the UAE - give each newly born citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan a deposit of $ 100 .... although no, better than 200 (we are the coolest of all). And yes, enter a strict ban on work for citizens over 5 hours a week. I assure you, even the inhabitants of our country will talk about our country. North Pole I'm not against Latin ... I just don't care
But I am sure that this alphabet will throw education back 50 years...
Although what am I saying ... Uneducated people are easier to steer

Quote: GoodZone from 22.02.2018 14:15:05
And I would like to have a normal independent referendum on this matter. After all, this concerns every Kazakhstani, but they make a decision somewhere on the sidelines ... let everyone speak out and then a decision will be made based on the results, this is honest and correct ... but they don’t ask us and it annoys us - I want my state to treat me like a human...

Quote: roden from 22.02.2018 11:12:04
Those who think how to write cirrhosis, Engels, Ethiopia, etc. in the new alphabet:
for example, in Russian Micheal - Michael, cirrhosis - cirrhosis, Ethiopia - Ethiopia, Beijing - Beijing, etc. are written according to the mood of their alphabet, i.e. Initially, no language tries to accurately reproduce the sounds of another language by introducing new letters or altering its language.

Kazakh - Kazakh, Kokshetau - Kokchetav, Shymkent - Chimkent, etc. are written in Russian (not adjusting to the sounds of the Kazakh language). After gaining independence, the Russian variants were slightly altered: Kokshetau, Shymkent.

The British also do not adapt to the Russian language: Moscow - Moscow, Alexander - Alexander. In Russian it is heard differently, in English it is different.

I myself am not against and not for the Latin alphabet, I explain this to those who talk about the dropped letters c, b, e, u, etc. It turns out that they were not in the Kazakh language. Initially, when the Kazakh language was made in Cyrillic, they added specific letters of the Kazakh language and specific sounds of the Russian language for Kazakh. It turned out 42 letters.

In the Kazakh Latin alphabet, English, Russian, Chinese, etc. words will be written through the rules of the Kazakh language.

This is what I explained

P.S. I am not a philologist. As I understood myself, I explained it.

Old Kazakh did not have a lot of sounds and letters. for example, there was no "v" and "f". let's take them all out. and let the rest of the world adjust. let's throw out all the borrowed words and come up with new options, taking into account the features of the old language. because T-Traditions. "bus" will become "aptobys", "train" will become "poyyz" (oops, it seems there was such an option, and "y" is out of place here), and so on and so forth.
why am I all this? to the fact that the modern Kazakh language has absorbed new sounds and letters, one cannot do without them. he is rich in this, that there are a lot of sounds under the most different words. and to simplify it means to roll back. PS. about kuisandyk, galamtor and other symtetik "and joking, probably already bearded ... Why don't we switch to hieroglyphs? Take a look at China, Japan, South Korea. The economy there is rushing much faster than in Europe.

Quote: GoodZone from 22.02.2018 14:15:05
And I would like to have a normal independent referendum on this matter. After all, this concerns every Kazakhstani, but they make a decision somewhere on the sidelines ... let everyone speak out and then a decision will be made based on the results, this is honest and correct ... but they don’t ask us and it annoys us - I want my state to treat me like a human...

It won’t work with a normal and independent referendum, they don’t know how to conduct it differently

Quote: Zoggyla from 22.02.2018 14:17:27

Quote: GoodZone from 22.02.2018 14:15:05
And I would like to have a normal independent referendum on this matter. After all, this concerns every Kazakhstani, but they make a decision somewhere on the sidelines ... let everyone speak out and then a decision will be made based on the results, this is honest and correct ... but they don’t ask us and it annoys us - I want my state to treat me like a human...

How likely do you think it is possible to predict the expected outcome of the referendum?

Quote: GoodZone from 22.02.2018 15:22:08

Quote: Zoggyla from 22.02.2018 14:17:27

Quote: GoodZone from 22.02.2018 14:15:05
And I would like to have a normal independent referendum on this matter. After all, this concerns every Kazakhstani, but they make a decision somewhere on the sidelines ... let everyone speak out and then a decision will be made based on the results, this is honest and correct ... but they don’t ask us and it annoys us - I want my state to treat me like a human...

How likely do you think it is possible to predict the expected outcome of the referendum?

It is difficult to say unequivocally, but you can logically reason:
1. An analysis of the national composition of the inhabitants suggests that about 25-28% are inclined to the Cyrillic alphabet, these are Russians, Germans, Ukrainians and other peoples for whom the Cyrillic alphabet is native - suppose that they will speak out against ...
2. Approximately 65-70% - Kazakhs, Uzbeks, everything is much more complicated here and it is this group that will be decisive ... suppose that from 30 to 50% of this group will speak out against, that is, it is 20-35% of the total ...
3. Other group - 4-7%, well, another 2-4% against.

So what do we have? - range from 47 to 55%.

But again, I could be wrong ... we live in the south and do not see the whole situation ... in the north, I think it will be completely different, it will be different in the city and the village, for a person with and without a higher education, it will depend on the activity of the population ... in general, the survey can be stirred up, although it seems that it has already been ...

This may be the case when you vote in such a vacuum, but what if with money? 10,000 tons one vote "for", "against" - not at all. And with this very money and make the transition.
PS. Of course, this is a joke, but let's say a completely clean and transparent referendum, although why not go at the expense of the lobby? Banquet at the expense of the suffering. Everything is visible from above and they spit on our opinion from a high bell tower. Not so, so through one place, but they will do as they want. The country needs fundamental changes, the economy does not work, we will change the script.
To be honest, I also do not support the Latin alphabet. But now the question is different? Do the commenters at the top know Kazakh in Cyrillic? 1 reason. Distance as far as possible from any possible Russian influence
2. Make your own adult population immediately illiterate. For children - school reforms, for adults - Latin. And that's it - do what you want with such a population
Everything! The rest is pathetic attempts to find excuses

After the announcement by the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, of the transition of the Kazakh script to the Latin alphabet, heated discussions of this topic began in Kaznet, reports.

What Kazakh writing looked like in the 20s of the last century. Photo: Wikipedia

There were both supporters of this reform and its opponents.

We decided to show readers how and when such reforms were introduced in neighboring states.

UZBEKISTAN

First of all, the Uzbek experience of the transition of writing to the Latin alphabet comes to mind. If you go deep into history, then the Uzbeks in the past used different scripts - the Old Uyghur script, the ancient Khorezmian script and Turkic runes. Then, after the invasion of the Arabs, the Uzbeks switched to Arabic alphabet(Afghan Uzbeks still use it).

Until the socialist revolution and civil war on the territory of Uzbekistan, the Arabic script was used, but already in the 1920s, philologists and other specialists began to actively advocate for the transition to the Latin alphabet. And in 1926, at the 1st Turkological Congress in Baku, the Turkic peoples adopted the Latin alphabet - yanalif.

How similar the Turkic languages ​​​​became after the transition to the Latin alphabet. Photo: Wikipedia

However, with the strengthening of Soviet power in 1939, an order from above created a commission to develop the Uzbek alphabet based on the Cyrillic alphabet. But already after the collapse of the USSR, President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov in 1993 signed the law "On the introduction of the Uzbek alphabet based on the Latin script."

Initially, the transition to the new alphabet was planned to be completed by 2000, then the deadline was moved to 2005, and then to 2010. But by 2015, the transition to the Latin alphabet in Uzbekistan was far from complete: the education sector and partly office work were transferred to the Latin alphabet, but newspapers and magazines continue to be published in Cyrillic, about 70% of literature is printed in it. In advertising, on television and on the Internet, both Cyrillic and Latin are used.

So the transition from Cyrillic to Latin in Uzbekistan has not yet been completed, but only in the process.

Billboard in Uzbekistan. Photo: UzReport.uz

TURKMENISTAN

In Turkmen, as well as Uzbek, the Arabic alphabet was used for writing. The Turkmens of Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran still use Arabic-based writing.

After the revolution, specialists also began to introduce a letter in the Latin alphabet, but at the end of the 30s, the process of Cyrillic writing began throughout the USSR. In January 1939, the newspaper "Sovet Tyrkmenistan" published a letter from the teachers of Ashgabat and the Ashgabat region with the initiative to transfer the Turkmen letter to the Cyrillic basis. The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Turkmen SSR instructed the Research Institute of Language and Literature to draft a new alphabet. The teachers of the Ashgabat Pedagogical Institute and press workers also took part in the development of the new script. In April 1940, the draft alphabet was published.

After the collapse of the USSR in the early 1990s, the issue of switching to Latin script. A new alphabet based on the Latin alphabet was introduced, but in the 90s the alphabet was changed twice, which affected the quality of education.

Due to the fact that the transition from Cyrillic to Latin in Turkmenistan was rather harsh and radical, such a sharp jump had a negative impact on the quality of education. For example, first-graders learned a new Latinized alphabet, but already on next year were forced to learn Cyrillic as well, since no new textbooks for the 2nd grade were published. This situation has been observed for 5-6 years since the beginning of the reform.

AZERBAIJAN

There are three official alphabetic systems in the Azerbaijani language: in Azerbaijan - in Latin, in Iran - in Arabic, in Russia (Dagestan) - in Cyrillic. Until 1922, Azerbaijanis used the Arabic script with additional signs characteristic of the Turkic languages.

Billboard in Azerbaijan. Photo: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Azerbaijanis raised the issue of switching from Arabic writing to Latin in the middle of the 19th century. However, in reality this happened only in 1922, and in 1925 the Latin alphabet was introduced into official use in parallel with the Arabic one.

But in May 1939, discussions began on the transition to the Cyrillic alphabet, and at the end of the same move, the transition process itself began.

After gaining Independence, in 1992, a gradual transition to the Latin alphabet began, which ended in 2001.

As for the Baltic republics, since 1904 they began to use the Latin alphabet and attempts to introduce the Cyrillic alphabet were unsuccessful. Even in Soviet time in the Baltics, the letter was in Latin.

Billboard in Lithuania. Photo: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

But most a prime example the transition to the Latin alphabet was Turkey. Officially, the Turks switched to the Latin alphabet in 1928. The transition process of a complete transition took about 30 years. Indeed, until 1928, the Turks, like all Turkic peoples, used the Arabic alphabet. The reforms were carried out under the leadership of Atatürk.

Billboard in Turkey. Photo: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

The departure from Arabic writing was opposed by conservative and religious opponents. They argued that the adoption of the Latin script would lead to Turkey's separation from the big Islamic world and will replace traditional values ​​with “alien” ones (including European ones).

As an alternative, the same Arabic alphabet was proposed with the introduction of additional letters to convey the specific sounds of the Turkish language.

However, Turkey successfully managed the transition and today is the most positive example for the Turkic-speaking republics.

In early April, the President of Kazakhstan reminded that by 2025 it is necessary to translate the Kazakh alphabet into the Latin alphabet. This intention received many different interpretations: both as the republic's exit from the cultural field of Russia, and as a kind of "civilizational choice", and simply as a desire for at least some changes. I figured out why the country's authorities want to change the writing system, what does this have to do with the situation in the country and the discussions of the 1930s in the USSR.

Language reload

Despite the slogan “there are no fortresses that the Bolsheviks could not take,” by the 1930s the Soviet government was convinced that reality was not entirely amenable to experiments. The languages ​​of the Soviet republics could not function as full-fledged communication systems. The department of agitation and propaganda of the Central Committee complained about the poor quality of dictionaries and books, the lack of protocols, and errors in translating the statements of the classics of Marxism and party leaders into local languages. And in the early 40s, the Turkic languages ​​were translated into Cyrillic.

Goals are clear, tasks are the same

Of course, part of the intelligentsia of Kazakhstan is happy to perceive romanization as a symbolic exit from the cultural space of Russia and "decolonization". The irony of history is that here, too, they follow Soviet ideological patterns. General Secretary Communist Party Joseph Stalin in 1934 set the task of the Bolsheviks in the republics "to develop and strengthen the forces operating on mother tongue court, administration, economic bodies, authorities”. Tasks, apparently, after 80 years have not changed - the Soviet intelligentsia has been stubbornly leaving the cultural field of Russia for several decades. How successful she is in doing this and what does real, and not imaginary Russia have to do with this, is at least a debatable question.

Photo: Alexei Nikolsky / RIA Novosti

The most interesting thing is that most disputes about the change of writing in Kazakhstan makes no sense that in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan the alphabets have already been romanized. It is difficult to judge what this has done for Turkmenistan due to the closed nature of the country, but the situation in the other two former Soviet republics is clear. In Uzbekistan, it was not possible to completely translate even state office work into the Latin alphabet. The language reform was criticized in 2016 by one of the country's presidential candidates, leader Sarvar Otamuratov. The experience of Azerbaijan is considered more positive, but critics note that total Latinization has led to the fact that citizens began to read less.

People who work professionally with the word, the writers of Kazakhstan, have taken into account the experience of their neighbors. In 2013, after the publication of the thesis on the transition to the Latin alphabet, a group of writers addressed an open letter to the president and government. “To this day, almost a million titles of books have been published in the republic, scientific papers about the ancient and subsequent history of the people (...). It is clear that with the transition to the Latin alphabet, our young generation will be cut off from the history of their ancestors,” the appeal said. The authors of the letter drew attention to the fact that there is generally a problem of mastering the Kazakh language in the country and in these conditions it is unreasonable to carry out radical reforms.

On the way to the civilized world

Obviously, Kazakhstan will face significant problems in the transition to the Latin script. Firstly, it will require significant financial costs - the numbers here are different, from hundreds of millions to billions of dollars. But not everything is so unambiguous: for the national intelligentsia admitted to the implementation of the reform, the development of huge funds is an absolute plus. Another thing is that this can slow down the implementation of other projects in the humanitarian and cultural sphere, although, apparently, there are simply no such projects. Secondly, it will create difficulties for those who use the Kazakh language - even for an educated person, slowing down the reading process complicates the perception of texts, which will affect the state of the intellectual sphere in the country.

Of course, supporters of Latinization consider these problems insignificant. For example, in response to the question of how much it would cost to transfer the country to a new script, the lower house of parliament answered, in the spirit of the hero Ilf and Petrov, “bargaining is inappropriate here.” “Going out on the road to the civilized world is always more expensive, but then you go out into the world,” the deputy said. If the reform is nevertheless started, then only victorious reports about the successful development of new graphics the broad masses of workers.

One of the reasons why Astana needs modernization in the ideological sphere is that the state in the cultural sphere has to compete with the ideologically savvy agents of the doctrine of the theocratic state - the Islamists. They skillfully use modern means communication and know how to answer questions from the public. If Latinization causes even a short-term vacuum in culture and education, the Islamists will fill it with lightning speed.

It is very important that the change in writing will affect only the Kazakh society, or its Kazakh-speaking part (ethnic Kazakhs speak not only Kazakh). Russian officials practically do not speak out on this issue, Kazakh officials insistently emphasize that the language reform will not affect relations between Moscow and Astana in any way. But why do the authorities of the republic have to procrastinate the ideological issue of 80-90 years ago? Apparently, because no other mobilization agenda has been formed for societies (against the backdrop of five-year industrialization plans, this all makes a strong impression of deja vu). Under these conditions, ideologists, with the most powerful theoretical base, can only copy the successful experience of marketers - try to give citizens "good emotions", as the journalist put it. And, of course, “play with fonts” and budget.