Uzbek alphabet explained

The Uzbek language has been written in various scripts: Latin, Cyrillic and Arabic.[1] The language traditionally used Arabic script, but the official Uzbek government under the Soviet Union started to use Cyrillic in 1940, which is when widespread literacy campaigns were initiated by the Soviet government across the Union. In 1992, Latin script was officially reintroduced in Uzbekistan along with Cyrillic. In the Xinjiang region of China, some Uzbek speakers write using Cyrillic, others with an alphabet based on the Uyghur Arabic alphabet. Uzbeks of Afghanistan also write the language using Arabic script, and the Arabic Uzbek alphabet is taught at some schools.

History

Arabic script

Like all Turkic languages in Central Asia and its literary predecessor Chagatai, Uzbek was written in various forms of the Arabic script historically. Following the Russian revolution and Soviet takeover of Russian Turkestan, in January 1921, a reformed Arabic orthography designed by the Jadidists was adopted, which replaced the harakat marks used for short vowels with a fully alphabetic system that indicated every vowel and removed all letters that occurred only in Arabic loanwords and did not have a distinct phonetic value. It had six vowels and twenty-three consonants. Notably, unlike the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets that followed, it did not contain a letter to represent /f/, due to the argument that it was always assimilated to /p/ in the orthophony. Some had also proposed that there be no letter to represent /h/, due to many dialects assimilating it to /x/, but this was not implemented in the end.[2]

The Arabic script is still used for writing Uzbek in Afghanistan and by Afghan-Uzbek diaspora elsewhere. In the early 21st century, with the publication of dictionaries[3] [4] and literature by Afghan-Uzbek scholars, as well as the adaptation of Uzbek Arabic script by domestic as well as international news outlets (just like BBC News Uzbek Afghanistan and TRT Afghani Uzbek), the Arabic script has undergone a process of documentation and standardization.

ابپتثجچ
حخ دذر زژ
سشصضطظع
غفقکگڭل
منوهی

Latin script

The question of the transition of the Uzbek language to the Latin alphabet was raised back in 1920. In January 1921, it was discussed at the regional congress in Tashkent, but then supporters of romanization did not receive approval from numerous adherents of reforming the Arabic script. This issue was raised for the second time in 1926 at the First Turkic Congress in Baku. At this congress, the transition of all Turkic languages of the peoples of the USSR to the new Latin alphabet, Yañalif was approved. To implement the transition to the Latin alphabet, the New Alphabet Committee was created under the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the Soviets of the Uzbek SSR. Various projects for the new alphabet were widely discussed on the pages of the press, various meetings, meetings, and conferences. Significant discussion flared up on the issue of displaying synharmonism in writing; As a result, it was decided to display synharmonism in writing, for which 9 letters were introduced into the alphabet to display vowels.[5]

In 1929, as part of comprehensive programs to "educate" (politically influence) Uzbek people, who for the first time now had their own cartographically delineated (administrative) region, Uzbek writing in the Uzbek SSR was switched to Latin script. The latinization of Uzbek was carried out in the context of latinization of all languages in the Soviet Union.[6] The new Latin script also brought about the letter to represent /f/ and distinction of back and front vowels, adding a number of new characters for them.

At the Republican Spelling Conference in Samarkand, held in May 1929, a new Uzbek alphabet of 34 characters was approved:

A aB ʙC cÇ çD dE eƏ əF f
G gƢ ƣH hI iJ jK kL lM m
N nꞐ ꞑO oӨ өP pQ qR rS s
Ş şT tU uV vX xY yZ zƵ ƶ
Ь ь'

In 1934, the script underwent another reform, which reverted the addition of back-front vowel distinctions. The letters Ө ө, Y y, Ь ь were removed from the alphabet, while the letter Ə ə had its usage reduced, being primarily replaced by A a. This reform simplified Uzbek spelling, but did not solve all its problems.[7] In this regard, in 1937, a team of scientists under the leadership of A.K. Borovkov began to develop a new version of the Uzbek alphabet and spelling. The alphabet compiled by this team had the following order: A a, B b, V v, G g, D d, E e, Ƶ ƶ, Z z, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, Å å, O o, P p, R r, S s, T t, U u, F f, X x, C c, Ş ş, Ç ç, Q q, Ƣ ƣ, H h, Ꞑ ꞑ. However, at this time the Cyrillization process was already gaining momentum in the USSR, which made the reform of the Latinized alphabet irrelevant.[5]

Cyrillic script

In 1939, a commission was created at the Collegium of the People's Commissariat of Education of the Uzbek SSR to develop the Uzbek alphabet based on the Cyrillic alphabet. This commission developed an alphabet that included all 33 letters of the Russian alphabet, as well as six additional characters Ң ң, Ҷ ҷ, Ө ө, Қ қ, Ƶ ƶ, Ҳ ҳ and an apostrophe. However, this project was heavily criticized by linguists and educators for its cumbersomeness and the presence of extra letters. Most critics proposed eliminating the letters Щ щ and Ы ы from the alphabet. Some considered it necessary to also exclude the letters Е е, Ё ё, Ц ц, Ю ю, Я я. It was proposed to take the letter A a for the sound [ɔ], and to use Ə ə for [ä]. In addition to the main project of the Uzbek Cyrillic alphabet, a number of others were proposed:[5]

Main
project 		Project I Project II Project III Project IV Project V
ç ҷ җ чʼ дж ç дж
q қ ʀ кʼ къ q к
ƣ ғ v гʼ гъ ƣ г
h һ ҳ хʼ хъ h х
ꞑ ң ң нг нг ꞑ нг
ө ө ө уʼ ў ө ү
o о о ў о у
a о ā о о а о
ə а а а а ə а
ts ц ц ц ц тс ц
ş, şc, c щ шч/щ щ щ шч/ш щ
je е йе/е е е йе/е е
ja ё йо/о ё ё йо/о ё
i ы и ы ы и ы
ju, jy, u, y ю ю ю ю йу/у ю
jə я я я я йа/а я
е э е э э е э
ʼ ъ ʼ ъ ъ ʼ ъ
ʼ ь ʼ ь ь ь

In 1940, Uzbek was switched to the Cyrillic script under Joseph Stalin:

А аБ бВ вГ гД дЕ еЁ ёЖ жЗ з
И иЙ йК кЛ лМ мН нО оП пР р
С сТ тУ уФ фХ хЦ цЧ чШ шЪ ъ
Ь ьЭ эЮ юЯ яЎ ўҚ қҒ ғҲ ҳ

The Uzbek Cyrillic alphabet contains all the letters of the Russian alphabet, apart from Щ and Ы, plus four extra ones, namely Ў, Қ, Ғ and Ҳ. These four letters are considered as separate letters and not letter variants. They come in alphabetical order after the letter Я.

The letters Ц and Ь are not used in Uzbek native words, but are included in the alphabet for writing loanwords, e. g. кальций (calcium). However, Щ and Ы are not included, so they are replaced by ШЧ and И in loanwords and names from Russian, e. g. the Russian surnames Щедрин (Shchedrin) and Быков (Bykov) are rendered Шчедрин and Биков in Uzbek Cyrillic.

Despite further reforms, this alphabet is still in use both in Uzbekistan and neighboring countries (Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan).

Modern Latin alphabet

А аB bD dЕ еF fG gH hI iJ jK k
L lМ mN nО оP pQ qR rS sТ tU u
V vX xY yZ zOʻ oʻGʻ gʻSh shCh chNg ngʼ

Until 1992, Uzbek in the USSR continued to be written using a Cyrillic alphabet almost exclusively, but now in Uzbekistan the Latin script has been officially re-introduced, although the use of Cyrillic is still widespread. The deadline in Uzbekistan for making this transition has been repeatedly changed. In 1993, President of Uzbekistan at the time Islam Karimov proposed a new Uzbek alphabet with ⟨c⟩ /ts/, ⟨ç⟩, ⟨ğ⟩, ⟨ɉ⟩, ⟨ñ⟩, ⟨ö⟩, ⟨ş⟩, until it was replaced with the current 1995 alphabet. The letter J with stroke is said to have been the equivalent of Cyrillic letter Zhje.[8] The order of the first Latin alphabet post-independence was as follows: A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, X x, Y y, Z z, Ç ç, Ğ ğ, Ɉ ɉ, Ñ ñ, Ö ö, Ş ş, ʼ.[9]

Education in many areas of Uzbekistan is in the Latin script, and in 2001 the Latin script began to be used on coins. Since 2004, some official websites have switched over to using the Latin script when writing in Uzbek. Most street signs are also in the new Latin script. The main national TV channel of Uzbekistan, Oʻzbekiston Telekanali (owned by MTRK), has also switched to the Latin script when writing in Uzbek, although news programs are still broadcast in Cyrillic script (compare with another TV channel owned by the same company, Yoshlar, broadcasts news programs in Latin script). Additionally, in Afghanistan Uzbek continues to be written in the Arabic script.

In 2018, the Uzbek government launched another reform effort for the Uzbek Latin alphabet. The new proposal called for replacing some digraphs with diacritical signs.[10] In March 2021, the proposed changes were put up for public discussion and debate. They called for replacing Ch ch, Sh sh, Gʻ gʻ, Oʻ oʻ with Ç ç, Ş ş, Ḡ ḡ, Ō ō (and, in loans, Ts ts with C c).[11] [12] This would largely reverse the 1995 reform and bring the orthography closer to those of Turkish, Turkmen, Karakalpak, Kazakh (2018 version) and Azerbaijani.[13] This was met with mixed reactions from the citizens. The proposal was put up again for discussion in May of the same year, this time with a deadline of 1 November 2021.[14]

In February 2021, the Uzbek government announced that Uzbekistan plans to fully transition the Uzbek language from the Cyrillic script to a Latin-based alphabet by 1 January 2023.[15] [16] Similar deadlines had been extended several times.[17]

Generally the younger generation prefers to use the Latin alphabet, while the older generation, who grew up in the Soviet era, prefers the Cyrillic alphabet. The Latin alphabet is mainly used in business and tourism, and the Cyrillic alphabet is mainly used in official government documents.[18]

According to a report in 2023, Uzbek publishing houses still mostly used the Cyrillic alphabet.[19]

In September 2023, linguists proposed another project for reform of the Latin alphabet. Thus, in the new alphabet it is proposed to modify four letters: Ў/ў, Ғ/ғ, Ч/ч, & Ш/ш respectively to Õ/õ, Ğ/ğ, C/c, Ş/ş. This is the third attempt to reform the Uzbek alphabet since 2018.[20]

Alphabet reform projects between 2018 and 2023
SoundCurrent
alphabet 		November 2018[21] May 2019[22] [24] Note that in Arabic script, vowel-initial words begin with a silent ا (traditional alphabet; may be replaced with an etymological ع in loans) or with a silent ئ (Yangi Imlo alphabet).
Latin[25] Yañalif (1929 - 1934)Yañalif (1934 - 1940)Cyrillic equivalentName[26] Yangi ImloArabicIPAEnglish approximation
A aA a [a]A a [a], [æ]А аaعە,ئە and عا,ئا(final ه)pronounced as //æ//chai, cat
Ə ə [æ]
B bB ʙБ бbe ببpronounced as //b//bat
D dD dД дde ددpronounced as //d̪//den
E eE eЭ э / Е е e ېېpronounced as //e//[27] bet
F fF fФ ф efففpronounced as /link/fish
G gG gГ г ge گگpronounced as //ɡ//go
H hH hҲ ҳha ھ and حھ and حpronounced as //h//house
I iI i [i]I iИ иiئ,ى and يیpronounced as //i//me
Ь ь [ɨ]
J jÇ çЖ жje ججpronounced as //dʒ//joke
Ƶ ƶژژpronounced as //ʒ//[28] vision
K kK kК кka كکpronounced as //k//cold
L lL lЛ лel للpronounced as //l//list
M mM mМ мem ممpronounced as //m//man
N nN nН нen ننpronounced as //n//next
O oA aО оo ئاا (initial آ)pronounced as //ɔ//hot, call (Received Pronunciation)
P pP pП пpe پپpronounced as //p//pin
Q qQ qҚ қqa ققpronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/[29] like a "k", but further back in the throat
R rR rР рer ررpronounced as //r//(trilled) rat
S sS sС сes سث and س and صpronounced as //s//sick
T tT tТ тte تت and طpronounced as //t̪//toe
U uU u [u]U uУ уuۇوpronounced as //u//put, choose
Y y [ʉ]
V vV vВ вve ۋۋpronounced as //v~w//van
X xX xХ хxa خخpronounced as /link/"ch" as in German "Bach" or Scottish "loch"
Y yJ jЙ йye يیpronounced as //j//yes
Z zZ zЗ зze زذ and ز and ض and ظpronounced as //z//zebra
Oʻ oʻO o [o]O oЎ ўoʻوۉpronounced as //o//row
Ө ө [ɵ]
Gʻ gʻƢ ƣҒ ғgʻa غغpronounced as /link/like a French or German "r"
Sh shŞ şШ шsha ششpronounced as //ʃ//shoe
Ch chC cЧ чche چچpronounced as //tʃ//chew
Ng ngꞐ ꞑНг нгnge ڭ or نگنگpronounced as //ŋ//king
ʼ ʼ (məʼlym)ʼ (maʼlum)ъtutuq belgisi (ʼ) ("apostrophe"); ayirish/ajratish belgisi (ъ) عء / أ / ؤ / ئ and عpronounced as /link/Both "ʼ" (Uzbek: tutuq belgisi) and "ъ" (Uzbek: ayirish belgisi) are used either (1) to mark the phonetic glottal stop when put immediately before a vowel or (2) to mark a long vowel when placed immediately after a vowel [30]

The Cyrillic letters Ё ё, Ю ю, Я я correspond to the sound combinations yo, yu, ya.

The Cyrillic letters Ц ц and ь (capital Ь occurs only in all-capitals writing) are used only in loanwords. In the modern Uzbek Latin alphabet ц becomes ts after vowels, s otherwise; ь is omitted (except ье, ьи, ьо, that become ye, yi, yo).

The letters c (apart from the digraph ch) and w, not considered distinct letters of the Uzbek alphabet, are named Uzbek: tse and Uzbek: dubl-ve respectively. In mathematics, x, y, z are named Uzbek: iks, igrek, zet.

Notes

Distinct characters

When the Uzbek language is written using the Latin script, the letters Oʻ (Cyrillic Ў) and Gʻ (Cyrillic Ғ) are properly rendered using the character,[31] which is also known as the ʻokina. However, since this character is absent from most keyboard layouts (except for the Hawaiian keyboard in Windows 8, or above, computers) and many fonts, most Uzbek websites – including some operated by the Uzbek government[32] – use either or to represent these letters.

The character (tutuq belgisi) is used to mark the phonetic glottal stop when it is put immediately before a vowel in borrowed words, as in sanʼat (art). The modifier letter apostrophe is also used to mark a long vowel when placed immediately after a vowel, as in maʼno (meaning).[33] Since this character is also absent from most keyboard layouts, many Uzbek websites use or instead.

Currently most typists do not bother with the differentiation between the modifier letter turned comma and modifier letter apostrophe as their keyboard layouts likely accommodate only the straight apostrophe.

Sample of the scripts

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

Uzbek in Latin script
Uzbek in Cyrillic scriptUzbek in Arabic scriptUzbek in Yangi imlo
Uzbek: Barcha odamlar erkin, qadr-qimmat va huquqlarda teng boʻlib tugʻiladilar. Ular aql va vijdon sohibidirlar va bir-birlari ila birodarlarcha muomala qilishlari zarur.Uzbek: Барча одамлар эркин, қадр-қиммат ва ҳуқуқларда тенг бўлиб туғиладилар. Улар ақл ва виждон соҳибидирлар ва бир-бирлари ила биродарларча муомала қилишлари зарур.
Uzbek in Yangalif
Uzbek in Yangalif
English translationUzbek in International Phonetic Alphabet
Barca adamlar erkin, qadr-qьmmat və huquqlarda teꞑ ʙolьʙ tuƣьladьlar. Ular aql və vьçdan sahьʙьdьrlar və ʙir-ʙirləri ilə ʙiradərlərcə muamala qьlьşlarь zəryr.Uzbek: Barca adamlar erkin, qadr-qimmat va huquqlarda teꞑ ʙoliʙ tuƣiladilar. Ular aql va viçdan sahiʙidirlar va ʙir-ʙirlari ila ʙiradarlarca muamala qilişlari zarur.All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.[bærˈtʃæ ɒd̪æmˈlɑr erˈkin ǀ qɑd̪r̩ qɨmˈmɑt̪ ʋæ huqʉqlɑrˈd̪æ t̪eŋ‿bɵˈlɨp t̪uʁɨlɑd̪iˈlær ǁ uˈlær ɑql̩ ʋæ ʋɪdʒˈd̪ɒn sɒhibidɪrˈlær ǀ ʋæ bɪr bɪrlæˈri iˈlæ birɒdærlærˈtʃæ mu.ɒmæˈlæ qɨlɨʃlæˈri zæˈrur ǁ]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Uzbekistan’s Drawn-out Journey From Cyrillic to Latin Script . 2024-04-22 . thediplomat.com . en-US.
  2. Book: Khalid, Adeeb . Making Uzbekistan: Nation, Empire, and Revolution in the Early USSR . . 2019 . 9781501735851 . 264, 389 . Latinization had been mooted in the wider Turkic world, but in January 1921 was nowhere a serious proposition. It was voted off the agenda, but the orthography ultimately approved by the conference was quite radical. It contained six vowels and twenty-three consonants. There were to be special letters for /ŋ/ and /v/, but /f/ was excluded on the argument that it was not used in Uzbek speech; it was assimilated to /p/. (Botu’s proposition to exclude /h/ as well and thus to recognize the h —> x shift in many dialects as standard was defeated.) All Arabic-specific letters were excluded, and Fitrat’s arguments for spelling Arabic loanwords according to general rules won the day. (...) the rural, hyper-Turkic phonetics of the Uzbek literary language adopted in 1929 had already been abandoned in favor of a six-vowel standard without vowel harmony in 1934. . Adeeb Khalid . 12 January 2024 . Internet Archive.
  3. Uzbek Turki to Persian/Dari Dictionary, authored by D. Faizullah Aimaq (فرهنگ تورکی اوزبیکی به فارسی/ دری، تألیف داکتر فیض الله ایماق) https://www.kabulnath.de/Sal-e-Shanzdahoum/Shoumare-366/Farhang%20Vol%201.pdf (Archive)
  4. Web site: BBCPersian.com . 2024-04-22 . www.bbc.com.
  5. Book: S. I. Ibragimov. Узбекский алфавит и вопросы его совершенствования (Вопросы совершенствования алфавитов тюркских языков СССР). Наука. 1972. 157—173.
  6. Book: Fierman, William . Language Planning and National Development: The Uzbek . 1991 . Walter de Gruyter . 3-11-012454-8 . 75 .
  7. Book: S. Ibragimov. Орфография узбекского языка (Орфографии тюркских литературных языков СССР). «Наука». 1973. 218—227.
  8. Web site: Özbek Alifbosi.
  9. Web site: Özbekiston Respublikasiniñ Qonuni. Lotin yozuviga asoslañan özbek alifbosini joriy etiş töğrisida. 1993-02-09. uz. 2015-04-01. 2014-10-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20141016192914/http://www.evertype.com/standards/uz/uzlat.html. live.
  10. Web site: Лотин ёзувига асосланган ўзбек алифбоси ҳақида ишчи гуруҳнинг сўнгги хулосаси . UZ . Final conclusions of the working group on the Uzbek Latin alphabet . . 2018-11-06 . 2018-11-07 .
  11. News: Проект нового узбекского алфавита представлен для обсуждения. ru. Газета.uz. 2021-03-16. 2021-04-02.
  12. Web site: Uzbekistan unveils its latest bash at Latin alphabet . 2019-05-22 . 2019-05-23 .
  13. Web site: Uzbekistan Moves to Make Its Latin Script Closer to One Used in Turkey. Goble. Paul. 2019-05-27. Window on Eurasia – New Series. 2019-05-27.
  14. News: Проект закона о новом узбекском алфавите на латинской графике вновь опубликован для обсуждения . 30 October 2021 . Kun . 22 May 2012 . Russian.
  15. https://www.rferl.org/a/uzbekistan-aims-for-full-transition-to-latin-based-alphabet-by-2023/31099723.html Uzbekistan Aims For Full Transition To Latin-Based Alphabet By 2023
  16. Web site: В Узбекистане в 2023 году узбекский алфавит в делопроизводстве переведут с кириллицы на латинскую графику.
  17. Web site: Uzbekistan: Keeping the Karakalpak Language Alive . 2019-05-17 . 2019-05-20 . 2019-05-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190517114925/https://iwpr.net/global-voices/uzbekistan-keeping-karakalpak-language-alive . dead .
  18. Web site: Alphabet Transition in Uzbekistan: Political Implications and Influences on Uzbek Identity. Ryan Michael Schweitzer. Central Asia Program.
  19. Web site: Redeeming Book Culture in Uzbekistan. 2023-06-20. The Diplomat.
  20. Web site: Анонсирован очередной проект по изменению некоторых букв узбекского алфавита . Uznews.uz. 2023-09-22. 2023-10-01. ru.
  21. Web site: Лотин ёзувига асосланган ўзбек алифбоси ҳақида ишчи гуруҳнинг сўнгги хулосаси = Конечные итоги рабочей группы по узбекскому латинскому алфавиту. uz. Национальное информационное агентство Узбекистана. 2018-11-06. 2018-11-17. 2019-09-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20190915090754/http://uza.uz/oz/society/lotin-yezuviga-asoslangan-zbek-alifbosi-a-ida-ishchi-guru-ni-06-11-2018. live.
  22. Web site: Представлен новый вариант узбекского алфавита: без сочетаний sh и ch и с двумя буквами, как в казахском . 2022-09-20 . Настоящее Время . 22 May 2019 . ru.

  23. Alphabetical order

    The current (1995) Uzbek Latin alphabet has 29 letters:

    Uzbek alphabet
    1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829
    Majuscule forms (also called uppercase or capital letters)
    ABDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVXYZOʻGʻShChNg
    Minuscule forms (also called lowercase or small letters)
    abdefghijklmnopqrstuvxyzoʻgʻshchng

    The symbol ⟨‘⟩ does not constitute a separate letter.

    Correspondence chart

    Below is a table of Uzbek Cyrillic and Latin alphabets with represented sounds.[22]

  24. Web site: Transliteration of Non-Roman Scripts: Uzbek. Institute of the Estonian Language. 12 November 2015.
  25. 1995 orthography
  26. Book: Ismatullayev, Xayrulla. Teach-Yourself Uzbek Textbook. 1991. Oʻqituvchi. Tashkent. 5-645-01104-X. 4. uz.
  27. Cyrillic "Е е" at the beginning of a word and after a vowel is "Ye ye" in Latin.
  28. In Russian borrowings.
  29. In some words written with the letter "q", the sound has now changed to /χ/, such as oʻquvchi [oˈχuv.tʃi] "pupil" and haqiqiy [hæχiˈχiː] "real". There is no regular sound change law regarding when this process occurs.
  30. Uzbek: Tutuq belgisi (ʼ) is also used to indicate that the letters "s" and "h" should be pronounced separately, not as the digraph "sh" in Latin. For example, in the name Uzbek: Isʼhoq (Исҳоқ) "s" and "h" are pronounced separately.
  31. Web site: The Unicode Consortium. 13 January 2015. dead. 22 August 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140822032541/http://www.unicode.org/udhr/n/notes_uzn_latn.html.
  32. Web site: The Governmental Portal of the Republic of Uzbekistan. 6 December 2012. uz.
  33. "Principal Orthographic Rules For The Uzbek Language", the Uzbekistan Cabinet of Minister's Resolution No. 339. Adopted on August 24, 1995. Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

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