Alphabet reform in Kazakhstan: history and linguistic foundations

This article provides an overview of the alphabets used in Kazakhstan from the 5th century BCE to the present, tracing the history of Kazakh writing's formation, development, and transformation. It also offers insights and analysis on the specific linguistic steps of the national plan of...

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Main Authors: Yermukhamet Maralbek, Gulzar Oralbai
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2024
Online Access:http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25007/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25007/1/Gema%20Online_24_4_1.pdf
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author Yermukhamet Maralbek,
Gulzar Oralbai,
author_facet Yermukhamet Maralbek,
Gulzar Oralbai,
author_sort Yermukhamet Maralbek,
building UKM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description This article provides an overview of the alphabets used in Kazakhstan from the 5th century BCE to the present, tracing the history of Kazakh writing's formation, development, and transformation. It also offers insights and analysis on the specific linguistic steps of the national plan of transitioning to the Latin graphics. Although the transition to the Latin graphics is crucial for Kazakhstan's development and the future of the Kazakh language, it has faced significant delays since 1991 due to the complexity of the issue, which includes political-economic challenges and numerous linguistic hurdles. The current study examines Kazakhstan's modern alphabet reform from a linguistic perspective and explores the extralinguistic influences. It details the specific steps in the transition process, including the linguistic work conducted between 2017 and 2023, the five officially proposed Kazakh-Latin alphabet versions, and the corresponding spelling rules and orthographic dictionaries. The research also analyzes the theoretical issues, linguistic difficulties, and scholarly debates among Kazakh linguists regarding the transition to the new Kazakh alphabet based on Latin graphics. As a result of the study, the linguistic reasons for the delay in the process of Kazakhstan’s transition to the new Kazakh alphabet based on Latin graphics are identified, and certain conceptions are presented.
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spelling oai:generic.eprints.org:250072025-04-07T01:59:17Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25007/ Alphabet reform in Kazakhstan: history and linguistic foundations Yermukhamet Maralbek, Gulzar Oralbai, This article provides an overview of the alphabets used in Kazakhstan from the 5th century BCE to the present, tracing the history of Kazakh writing's formation, development, and transformation. It also offers insights and analysis on the specific linguistic steps of the national plan of transitioning to the Latin graphics. Although the transition to the Latin graphics is crucial for Kazakhstan's development and the future of the Kazakh language, it has faced significant delays since 1991 due to the complexity of the issue, which includes political-economic challenges and numerous linguistic hurdles. The current study examines Kazakhstan's modern alphabet reform from a linguistic perspective and explores the extralinguistic influences. It details the specific steps in the transition process, including the linguistic work conducted between 2017 and 2023, the five officially proposed Kazakh-Latin alphabet versions, and the corresponding spelling rules and orthographic dictionaries. The research also analyzes the theoretical issues, linguistic difficulties, and scholarly debates among Kazakh linguists regarding the transition to the new Kazakh alphabet based on Latin graphics. As a result of the study, the linguistic reasons for the delay in the process of Kazakhstan’s transition to the new Kazakh alphabet based on Latin graphics are identified, and certain conceptions are presented. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2024 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25007/1/Gema%20Online_24_4_1.pdf Yermukhamet Maralbek, and Gulzar Oralbai, (2024) Alphabet reform in Kazakhstan: history and linguistic foundations. GEMA: Online Journal of Language Studies, 24 (4). pp. 1-16. ISSN 1675-8021 https://ejournal.ukm.my/gema/issue/view/1775
spellingShingle Yermukhamet Maralbek,
Gulzar Oralbai,
Alphabet reform in Kazakhstan: history and linguistic foundations
title Alphabet reform in Kazakhstan: history and linguistic foundations
title_full Alphabet reform in Kazakhstan: history and linguistic foundations
title_fullStr Alphabet reform in Kazakhstan: history and linguistic foundations
title_full_unstemmed Alphabet reform in Kazakhstan: history and linguistic foundations
title_short Alphabet reform in Kazakhstan: history and linguistic foundations
title_sort alphabet reform in kazakhstan: history and linguistic foundations
url http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25007/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25007/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25007/1/Gema%20Online_24_4_1.pdf