Transition to Latin. Why do the CIS countries transfer their writing to the Latin alphabet? Use of the Latin alphabet in the world

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.

President Nursultan Nazarbayev initiated the translation of the Kazakh language to a new script. Photo from the website www.president.kz

Kazakhstan will completely switch to the Latin script from 2025. President Nursultan Nazarbayev informed the population about this. According to experts, this will contribute to the country’s closer integration into the Turkic world. However, the population fears that linguistic innovations will lead to a narrowing of the use of the Russian language and a mass exodus of ethnic Russians from Kazakhstan.

“The inevitable consequence of the transition to the Latin alphabet will be the strengthening of suitcase sentiments of the Russian-speaking population and an increase in emigration from the country this year. One should not expect any active resistance from the Russian-speaking population to a truly global language reform.

It’s easier for them to leave, which is what they will do. And the rest will remain with old problems and a new Latin alphabet,” political scientist Sultanbek Sultangaliev told radio Sputnik Kazakhstan. He believes that the true reasons for the actualization of the transition of the Kazakh alphabet to the Latin alphabet lie in the foreign policy plane. “Changing the alphabet will in no way affect the dynamics and nature of our multi-vector policy. It is not the alphabet that brings countries together, but common interests. But it cannot be ruled out that the president’s article is a signal to both Moscow and the West. For Russia, this is a hint to be more compliant in matters relating to common economic interests, and for the West, it is a demonstration of loyalty and an independent position against the backdrop of deteriorating relations between Russia and the United States,” Sultangaliev said.

Director of international programs at the Institute of National Strategy of Russia, Yuri Solozobov, assessed the pros and cons of the upcoming reform. The expert believes that international communication will be simplified for Kazakhstan. “The transition to the Latin script means a closer entry of Kazakhstan into the Turkic-speaking world, joining the Turkic project,” Yuri Solozobov told NG. But there is a minus here - the country’s geopolitical preferences will change over time. “The consequences of the transition to the Latin alphabet may be felt over the next 10–15 years, already with a new generation of politicians. Now that Nazarbayev is in power, Kazakhstan will not make any sudden moves away from Russia. We have the Eurasian Union. But this is a signal to Moscow,” the expert believes. According to Yuri Solozobov, Russia should pursue a serious policy of linguistic imperialism, and not limit itself to media events and the distribution of textbooks. “The common cultural space was one of the three pillars, along with energy and defense space, that connected all the CIS countries with invisible ties. The fact that this block is being eroded is a very serious signal. There is no reason for panic, but for reflection and decision-making,” the expert believes.

Listing the disadvantages, Yuri Solozobov cited the experience of Azerbaijan, where most of the technical documentation written in Cyrillic was lost. A very complex and lengthy process of transition to the Latin alphabet is taking place in Uzbekistan. Many documents there are still duplicated in Cyrillic, since the older generation has difficulty adapting to the new alphabet. But there is no tragedy in this. There is such a concept - material resistance. It has yet to be taken into account,” Solozobov noted.

The possibility of switching to the Latin alphabet has been discussed in Kazakhstan for a long time. As Nursultan Nazarbayev noted, this idea appeared immediately after the country gained independence. And already in the development strategy of Kazakhstan until 2050, it was officially announced that the country would switch from the Cyrillic to the Latin alphabet by 2025. Now, in a policy article published in the newspaper “Egemen Kazakhstan” (“Independent Kazakhstan”), Nursultan Nazarbayev told how this should happen. Namely, by the end of 2017, scientists must develop and present a unified standard for the new Kazakh alphabet and graphics in the Latin alphabet. By 2018, it is necessary to train specialists and develop textbooks in Latin. In his opinion, for the younger generation the transition from Cyrillic to Latin will not be a problem. Because children learn English in schools. For the older generation, the Cyrillic alphabet will be used in parallel for some time. At the initial stage, this will cost Kazakhstan $300 million per year (the reform was assessed pre-crisis). “There is no new data yet,” a source in the government of the republic told NG. The announcement of alphabet reform caused great resonance on social networks. Some users believe that it is better to use this money for education. Some suggested returning to the roots and switching to runic writing. Many reported that the accelerated transition to the Latin alphabet only encouraged people to decide to leave Kazakhstan. Economic difficulties and a basic desire to return to their historical homeland also play a role. But the main reason is said to be the displacement of the Russian language. Although the president himself refutes this opinion, stating that trilingualism has been introduced in Kazakhstan - Kazakh, Russian and English.

Nursultan Nazarbayev suggests that the transition to the Latin alphabet should not be linked to politics. This has its own logic, Nazarbayev believes. In his opinion, this is due to the peculiarities of the introduction of modern technologies and communications, scientific and educational processes in the 21st century.

On October 26, he signed a decree on transferring the Kazakh language alphabet from Cyrillic to Latin script. The head of state decided to form a National Commission for the translation of the alphabet into the Latin alphabet, and a phased transition, in accordance with this document, should be ensured until 2025.

Now the country uses the Kazakh alphabet based on the Cyrillic alphabet, it includes 42 letters. At the end of September 2017, work on a new alphabet based on the Latin alphabet and consisting of 32 letters was completed. According to Nursultan Nazarbayev, the idea of ​​switching to the Latin script arose from the moment Kazakhstan gained independence, and the transition of Kazakh writing to the Latin alphabet always remained under his special control.

About what the final decision on the transition to the Latin alphabet means, who is interested in this, how it will affect ordinary citizens and whether in this case we are talking about a demonstrative distancing of Kazakhstan from the Russian world, IA REGNUM said the head of the department of Central Asia and Kazakhstan at the Institute of CIS Countries Andrey Grozin.

What does it mean to sign a decree on the translation of the Kazakh language into the Latin script? How feasible are the stated plans?

This idea is not new, he has been nurturing this idea for a long time - the first official translation of the Kazakh language into Latin writing was announced back in April. That is, it looks like the current workflow. Moreover, in the same spring settings of Akorda (r residence of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan - approx. IA REGNUM ) it was said that the alphabet should be developed before the end of the year, that is, there is even a slight advance in schedule. How the transfer of education to the Latin script in 2022 and the complete transition to it in 2025 will be organized is a big question.

Theoretically, if the president survives to that period and is able to govern the country, which is very doubtful, despite the achievements of modern gerontology and elite medicine, then this course will continue to be followed. One can only guess how things will continue after this.

It is possible that everything will be the same as what happened in Uzbekistan, where they switched to Latin script more than two decades ago, but even the signs are still in Cyrillic. You can't jump over certain things. There is a problem of a cultural and civilizational nature. Of course, there are some successes among the Uzbeks and, especially, the Turkmens. But there is a mono-ethnic environment there, it is easier to conduct this kind of experiments on people. In Kazakhstan, everything is much more complicated.

Will the question concern the Russian-speaking population?

Yes, all high-ranking officials on every corner say that this matter is purely Kazakh, it will not affect Russians in any way, but this is deceit. The Kazakh language is the state language. All children study it in schools, regardless of their ethnicity. Children - Russian, Korean, Tatar, German - will learn the Kazakh language in Latin transcription if everything goes as planned. That is, it will affect you in the most direct way. On the other hand, who will pay for it? The transition to the Latin alphabet will be paid for from taxes. And taxes will be collected from everyone, regardless of their ethnicity. Everyone will chip in for a new paragraph in future history textbooks.

I doubt that this will somehow directly affect Russian citizens of Kazakhstan. By and large, just as they haven’t watched Kazakh television, they never will. They don’t care what letters something will be signed with. If you couldn’t read the Cyrillic alphabet, you won’t learn to read the Latin alphabet either - there’s no motivation. In the everyday sense, the transition to the Latin alphabet will not affect Russian speakers in any way, especially the older generation - those who have already graduated from schools, universities and have already somehow found a job.

In connection with the abandonment of the Cyrillic alphabet, is it possible to talk about the squeezing out of the Russian language and the desire of the President of Kazakhstan to distance himself from Russia?

The process of “Kazakhization” is in full swing. The displacement of the Russian language from the cultural space happened ten years ago, and will continue in ten years, regardless of what graphics the state language will have. I don’t see any prospects for new pressure and new persecution.

Maybe, even on the contrary, in order to soften the impression of such innovations, some money can be spent on the development of culturally distinctive autonomies, songs and dances in kokoshniks will be paid for once again. This can be done in order to reduce the critical potential in Russian media. It is already low, few people are generally interested in the essence of this problem, everyone believes that this is a matter of the Kazakhs.

In fact, there are problems here that are little talked about, including in Kazakhstan itself. For example, national patriots shouted back in the spring that “good, we are finally getting rid of yet another legacy of the colonial past, away from the Russian world, closer to the progressive Latin alphabet.” But they were quickly corrected “from above” so that they would not stupidly say things that should not be said. You can think about this as much as you like, but chatting on blogs is already superfluous. This wave quickly passed, but in reality this is how things are, this step is a symbolic turn away from Russia. And where - to Turkey, Europe or the States - is another question. Most likely, now this direction is not “to”, but “from”.

However, I don’t think there is a need to focus on some kind of “anti-Russianism.” In fact, for Nazarbayev, this is largely not an anti-Russian step and a desire to demonstrate even greater independence or increase distance. In my opinion, he is rather creating another “pyramid of the Pharaoh” for himself and writing another chapter for the history books. And those around him take advantage of this.

Who and how?

This is partly needed by some potential elites. These are not necessarily those who, according to Bolashak (international educational scholarship of the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev - approx. IA REGNUM) studied at Oxford, although for most of them too. These are attempts by the new part of the elite - deputies, assistants, and so on - to oust the old elite. In addition to “pyramids” and chapters in history books, for the current initiator of this transition, this is an intra-elite struggle, which has always been and will always be in Kazakhstan. Along these lines of intergenerational cleavage, new alliances will likely emerge. The desire to oust the old elite and bring new, “progressive” and “technological” ones in their place, some tuned to Ankara, some to Brussels, some to Washington.

How necessary and justified is such a transition? Nursultan Nazarbayev said that “in general, society supports it.” What could be the consequences of implementing the stated plans?

The problem is that the generations of the titular nation are now split. Those who are 40-50 years old, for the most part, will not learn Kazakh, this is a historical practice. Lines of division will no longer be drawn between ethnic groups, which exist in Kazakhstan and are only expanding, but between the Kazakhs themselves, in terms of generational indicators, as happened in Uzbekistan.

There, children who graduated from school 5-10 years ago are simply no longer able to read Uzbek texts in Cyrillic. That is, everything that their mothers and fathers and grandparents live with is no longer interesting for them, it doesn’t matter. Conversely, the older generation is not able to master Uzbek in the Latin alphabet. Hence the polyphony in the proposals of Uzbek intellectuals to play back and return to the Cyrillic letter. That is, the intergenerational gap, which always exists in all societies, will only worsen in this case in Kazakhstan.

The population is told that it will be easier for their children to learn English; the keyboard is designed for English. This is, of course, a kindergarten. Any critic, any linguist will explain in a nutshell that the keyboard is not a reason to redo the entire structure of writing. And the English language - in Russia they teach it somehow.

All the talk that this is a step towards modernization, in order to build a new society, new people with new values ​​- more pragmatic and more modern, more IT-oriented - in absolute terms, if everything goes as planned , maybe they will become a reality. But this will only happen with a part of society - with young people who will be raised according to new programs in new language conditions, in a new environment and for new tasks. And the remaining, say, three quarters of society do not automatically fit into this new “ideal world”.

Who will rewrite everything that has accumulated since 1940, when Kazakh was finally transferred to Cyrillic graphics? What difficulties can you imagine in this direction?

They said about the allocation of $115 million, but this is ridiculous, so as not to irritate society. The bill will amount to billions that will need to be spent before 2020. Signs will have to be rewritten, documents will be forwarded, which, by the way, everyone will have to do, regardless of ethnicity, as well as put up with the exactions that will be at the local and regional level in order to rewrite them.

All this is no end for enthusiasts to share money, but there is not enough space for all these enthusiasts; there are plenty of people willing. It is clear that this is a certain niche, a “feeding trough”, but this is a problem, like in Kyrgyzstan - there are many ambitions, many people who want it, but not enough portfolios.

I am not inclined to believe that nothing will come of this. He (Nursultan Nazarbayev, - approx.) is the capital. IA REGNUM) moved Although this made such holes in the budgets, it ate up so much money that theoretically could have gone to the citizens of the country. Here it’s about the same thing - a large “Panama” stretched out over time and drank in advance with indulgence from possible checks. Huge sums can be written off for all these preparatory activities, explanatory work, and so on. This is a big field for drinking with very blurred boundaries of responsibility for how these funds will be spent. There is also a large corruption component in the commissions that will write lists for transfers of creative figures, and a large corruption component for local officials.

In addition, there is a version that this is done in order to distract the population from events and processes that are much more important for the political class. From the same transit of power, from complex economic situation e. All n National patriots in the Kazakh segment of the Internet are fighting over the idea of ​​​​switching to the Latin alphabet, discuss it, suck it, chew it. They were thrown a bone, they pounced, began to gnaw on all sides, everything else fades into the background. Perhaps this is a conspiracy theory, but Tazhin ( Marat Tazhin, First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration, - approx. IA REGNUM) is a well-known manipulator, he feeds them, as happened in Ukraine, but not quite like that. But they played too hard and let the process take its course. This does not exist in Kazakhstan yet; all nationally concerned “comrades” under the hood of the National Security Committee are under much stricter control. For now, this situation is under control.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev approved a new version of the Kazakh alphabet, based on the Latin script. The alphabet, to which the country must switch over the next seven years, will have 32 letters. In the Cyrillic version of the Kazakh alphabet, which was used for almost eighty years, there were 42 of them.

At the end of October, Nazarbayev signed a decree on a phased transition to the Latin alphabet until 2025. Initially, the head of the republic was presented with a choice of two versions of the Kazakh alphabet in the Latin alphabet: in the first, some specific sounds of the Kazakh language were proposed to be denoted using digraphs (combinations of two letters), the second option suggested transmitting these sounds in writing using apostrophes.

The head of the republic approved the version with apostrophes, but linguists and philologists criticized this version of the alphabet. According to scientists, excessive use of apostrophes would seriously complicate reading and writing - out of 32 letters of the alphabet, 9 would be written with a superscript comma.

The project was sent for revision - in the final version, approved on February 20, there are no apostrophes, but new diacritics like umlauts are used (for example, á, ń), as well as two digraphs (sh, ch).

Expensive pleasure

Despite the fact that the authorities agreed to finalize the initially proposed version of the alphabet, the transition to the Latin alphabet itself will be fraught with great difficulties. Critics and scholars warn that older people may have difficulty adjusting to the Latin script, which could create a generation gap.

The Kazakh language alphabet, based on the Latin script, against the background of the flag of Kazakhstan, collage “Gazeta.Ru”

Akorda

Another danger is that future generations will not be able to access many scientific and other works written in Cyrillic - most books simply will not be able to be republished in Latin.

A potential problem is also the decline in young people’s interest in reading - at first it will be difficult to adapt to the new alphabet and you will have to spend significantly more time reading. As a result, young people may simply stop reading.

While the country still uses a slightly modified Russian Cyrillic alphabet, the transition period will last until 2025. New passports and identity cards will begin to be issued to citizens of Kazakhstan in 2021, and in 2024-2025 government agencies, educational institutions and the media will switch to the Latin alphabet - on February 13, this plan was announced by Deputy Minister of Culture and Sports of Kazakhstan Erlan Kozhagapanov.

The process of switching to the Latin alphabet will also be costly. At a minimum, it involves professional retraining of teachers.

According to data published on the website of the government of Kazakhstan, 192 thousand teachers will have to be “retrained” in the next seven years. This pleasure will cost Astana 2 billion rubles, and the reprinting of school textbooks will cost another 350 million rubles.

In September, Nazarbayev said that the first grades of schools would begin teaching in the Latin alphabet in 2022. At the same time, he emphasized that the transition process would not be painful - the president explained that in schools children learn English and are familiar with the Latin script.

The head of the Central Asia and Kazakhstan department also expressed concerns that the high cost of romanization could lead to abuse and corruption. “The allocation of such a volume of funds with a very weak control mechanism over expenses will lead to a situation where a significant part of the bureaucratic class, especially in the regions, will be faced with the temptation to spend money without reporting. This opens up a wide field for abuse,” the expert believes.

Why does Astana need the Latin alphabet: Nazarbayev’s version

Nazarbayev first spoke about introducing the Latin alphabet in 2012, delivering his annual message to the people of Kazakhstan. Five years later, in his article “Looking into the Future: Modernization of Public Consciousness,” the president argued for the need to abandon the Cyrillic alphabet due to the peculiarities of “the modern technological environment, communications, as well as the scientific and educational process of the 21st century.”

In mid-September 2017, Nazarbayev even declared that the Cyrillic alphabet “distorts” the Kazakh language. “In the Kazakh language there are no “sch”, “yu”, “ya”, “b”. Using these letters, we distort the Kazakh language, therefore [with the introduction of the Latin alphabet] we come to the basis,” noted the head of Kazakhstan.

Experts, by the way, claim the opposite: according to them, it is the Latin script that does a poor job of reflecting all the sounds of the Kazakh language in writing - this is evidenced by problems with additional diacritics like apostrophes.

Having signed a decree on the transition to the Latin alphabet in October last year, Nazarbayev assured that these changes “in no way affect the rights of Russian speakers, the Russian language and other languages.”

The deputy director of the Institute of CIS Countries notes that there is some slyness in such statements. “The money will be spent from the taxes of all citizens, this also applies to the Russian-speaking population,” the expert explained.

The President of Kazakhstan also hastened to dispel fears that the transition to the Latin alphabet signals a change in Astana’s geopolitical preferences. "Nothing like this. I will say unequivocally on this matter. The transition to the Latin alphabet is an internal need for the development and modernization of the Kazakh language. There is no need to look for a black cat in a dark room, especially if it has never been there,” Nazarbayev said, recalling that in the 1920s-40s the Kazakh language already used the Latin alphabet.

Until 1920, Kazakhs used Arabic script to write. In 1928, the USSR approved a unified alphabet for Turkic languages ​​based on the Latin alphabet, but in 1940 it was nevertheless replaced by the Cyrillic alphabet. The Kazakh alphabet has existed in this form for 78 years.

At the same time, some other union republics, after the collapse of the USSR in 1991, hastily switched to the Latin script - thereby wanting to indicate their own independence from the former USSR.

In particular, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan tried to introduce the Latin script, although certain problems arose there with the use of the new alphabet. In Kazakhstan, such changes were rejected for a long time, since the majority of the population was Russian-speaking. However, the country also made attempts to define and strengthen its own identity - in particular, the replacement of Russian toponyms with Kazakh ones took place.

Goodbye Russia - hello West?

Despite all Nazarbayev’s assurances that the abandonment of the Cyrillic alphabet does not indicate a change in the geopolitical aspirations of the republic, many in Russia and in Kazakhstan itself believe that the purpose of this step is to emphasize “independence” from Moscow.

Astana is pursuing a “multi-vector policy,” that is, it is trying to develop relations simultaneously with the countries of the post-Soviet space, and with China, and with the West. At the same time, Kazakhstan is the most developed and richest of the Central Asian republics; the European Union is Astana’s second trading partner after Russia. Kazakhstan, in turn, is the main partner in Central Asia, although its share in EU trade turnover is, of course, very insignificant.

According to the deputy director of the Institute of CIS Countries, Vladimir Evseev, it is the desire to emphasize the “multi-vector” nature of one’s policy that is the main reason for switching to the Latin alphabet.

“Within the framework of this multi-vector relationship, Kazakhstan’s relations with the West are developing - for this purpose Astana is switching to the Latin alphabet. This is necessary, among other things, to receive cheap investments, cheap loans, and so on,” the expert explained.

At the same time, the head of the department of Central Asia and Kazakhstan at the Institute of CIS Countries, Andrei Grozin, sees no reason to believe that Kazakhstan’s transition to the Latin alphabet indicates a reversal in foreign policy. “Kazakhstan maneuvers between Beijing, Moscow and Washington, it has always been so, and it will continue to be so,” the expert stated.

Experts interviewed by Gazeta.Ru claim that Moscow is not very concerned about the question of what alphabet the Kazakhs will use.

“This decision did not cause much tension in Moscow and is unlikely to cause it; in our country this topic is perceived as abstract and not related to real politics,” Grozin noted.

Vladimir Evseev, in turn, notes that Russia is trying to treat this step of Astana with understanding. “It just makes communication difficult. It’s Kazakhstan’s right to decide how to write to them - they can even use Chinese characters,” admitted Gazeta.Ru’s interlocutor.

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 collapse scenario 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 just under 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 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.