Official says gov't bodies now work fully in Uzbek

Official says gov't bodies now work fully in Uzbek

The Oydin Gurunglar international creative forum began in Tashkent on Oct. 19, where officials stressed initiatives to encourage reading and advance the Uzbek language, Daryo reported.

Nodir Jonuzoq, head of the government’s official Language Development Department, said public attitudes toward the mother tongue had shifted significantly in a short period. “Seven years ago, the use of the official language in official business stood at around 50% in some agencies and fell short of even that in others,” he said. “Today, all ministries, agencies and organizations conduct their business entirely in the official language.”

Jonuzoq said 5,292 geographic names had been aligned with official language standards. He added that a Terminology Commission, which resumed work after a 30-year break, had approved Uzbek equivalents for nearly 100 foreign-origin words in the space of a year.

The Central Bank introduced its “Financial Knowledge” project, under which 10 of the world’s best works on economics and finance have been translated into Uzbek and published. First Deputy Chairman Nodirbek Saydullayev said the bank plans to translate 30 more titles. “We also want to contribute to the development of economic literature and terminology in Uzbek,” he said.

The forum also included the “Mahalla Library” project and the Bitik.online digital platform. Participants were told that several banks are establishing libraries in mahallas. The forum will continue in Khiva on Oct. 22-25.

The president recently signed a law refining the Latin-based Uzbek alphabet. It will include 28 letters and one apostrophe-like sign for the glottal stop. Under a “one sound, one letter” principle, O’, G’, Sh and Ch will become single characters, while “ng” will be removed from the alphabet but retained in spelling rules.