“No specific deadlines”: Science Ministry on Kazakh language’s transition to Latin script

Tengrinews.kz – There are currently no specific deadlines for the transition of the Kazakh language to the Latin script. Elmira Asan, deputy chair of the Language Policy Committee of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, said this at a government briefing.
At the briefing, she was asked whether the transition to Latin script would continue and whether specific deadlines had been set.
According to Elmira Asan, specialists are currently continuing to refine the draft of the new alphabet and spelling rules based on the Latin script.

“At the moment, the draft alphabet and spelling rules based on the Latin script are being improved. Until these drafts are approved by the relevant regulatory legal documents, the use of the Latin script in various versions is unjustified,” she said.

The ministry representative recalled that in 2022, linguists presented a new draft alphabet to the National Commission, after which it was sent back for revision.
When asked about specific deadlines for the transition to Latin script, Asan said there are none yet.

“There are no specific deadlines at the moment. The work is continuing; there are no deadlines yet — until a specific instruction from the government,” the deputy chair of the committee said.

Thus, work on the new alphabet is continuing, but the date of its approval, as well as the timeline for the transition to the Latin script, have not been determined as of today.
Transition to Latin script
The transition of the Kazakh alphabet to the Latin script has been discussed since 2012. In 2017, a decree was signed providing for a phased transition to the Latin script by 2025.
However, the timeline was effectively revised later. In 2023, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said that “many serious mistakes” had been made in preparing the transition to the Latin script and called for the reform not to be rushed, but for the new alphabet to be carefully refined.