During a parliamentary committee meeting, several People’s Deputies of the Kyrgyz Parliament suggested transitioning the Kyrgyz language from Cyrillic to the Latin alphabet.
Emil Toktoshev and Kamila Taliyeva, two Kyrgyz parliament members, initiated the proposal. Toktoshev argued that Cyrillic-based Kyrgyz words were written incorrectly and that reform was necessary to preserve the state language. Kanibek Osmonaliyev, the chairman of the State Language Commission, stated that he was willing to switch to the Latin alphabet if the government approved the decision.
Kyrgyzstan is the only Turkic-speaking country that uses the Cyrillic alphabet in everyday life. In 1993, the then-prime minister of the republic, Abdigani Erkebayev, signed a memorandum at the summit of Turkic-speaking countries, agreeing to transition to the Latin alphabet. However, no political decision was made.
Osmonaliyev claimed that scientists and intellectuals are prepared to switch to the Latin alphabet and that the Commission has prepared several options. During the meeting, some deputies pointed out the shortcomings of the Latin alphabet and suggested introducing new letters.
However, Professor Mamed Tagayev, a doctor of philology, argued against the transition, claiming that Cyrillic writing has become a vital part of the Kyrgyz people’s national way of thinking and mental consciousness. He further argued that the switch to the Latin alphabet would cause illiteracy and that Kyrgyzstan would lose 80 years of knowledge.
Kyrgyzstan currently uses Cyrillic script and recognizes the Russian language as an official language. The Kyrgyz previously used the Arabic script in the 19th century and adopted the Latinized alphabet in 1927 before transitioning to Cyrillic in 1940.
Source: Daryo