Uzbekistan's media may be obliged to abandon the Cyrillic alphabet

Uzbekistan's Media May Be Required to Abandon Cyrillic

Following the adoption of the law on the updated Uzbek alphabet, the country is preparing for a complete transition of the press, government bodies, and official document flow to a single Latin script. The authorities intend to place this process under special control in order to finally end the parallel use of Cyrillic.

The need for clear rules was discussed at a Senate meeting on September 10. Commenting on the new law, Senator Khusan Ermatov noted that the language reform had remained incomplete for a long time, which is why the media and government agencies continued to use Cyrillic on a massive scale. According to him, another stage of updating the alphabet without clear deadlines will only worsen the situation and lead to confusion due to the simultaneous circulation of three versions of writing at once.

Clarifications were provided by Nodirzhon Kholbutaev, head of the Department for the Development of the State Language under the Cabinet of Ministers. He stated that the government intends to finally abandon double standards in the official sphere. After the law comes into force, the requirement to work in the single updated alphabet will become mandatory for all media editorial offices and government departments. Specific deadlines for the transition of the media and the state apparatus will be approved in a special program of the Cabinet of Ministers, which will also provide funds for retraining specialists, preparing manuals, and technical adaptation.

At the same time, the department emphasized that the innovations will affect only the public and administrative spheres: in private life and personal correspondence, citizens will be able to use any alphabet convenient for them without restrictions.