Transition to Latin-based alphabet to facilitate study of Kazakh language

The transition to the Latin script will make it possible to integrate Kazakh language into the Turkic world and the global community. According to the well-known turkologist Uli Schamiloglu, this will also make it easier for foreign nationals to learn Kazakh.

“I think that for people who visiting Kazakhstan as tourists, for people who come as businessman from Turkey or Europe or the United States, and for students at the place like Nazarbayev University – not everybody knows Cyrillic. And I think it requires a certain time to learn a new alphabet. So I think one of the reasons is to make it is easier to visit Kazakhstan and to do business in Kazakhstan, and for the Kazakhstan to integrate business into the rest of the world,” said Uli Schamiloglu, Chairperson of the Department of Kazakh Language and Turkic Studies at Nazarbayev University.

Raquel Reinagel from the U.S. teaches English in Kazakhstan. She began learning Kazakh more than two years ago. It is the third foreign language for her after Russian and Korean, and she has already reached an intermediate level. The 26-year-old blogger shares her journey of learning the language on her Youtube channel.

The sooner Kazakhstan switches to the Latin script, the better, says Raquel. Given the rapid development of the Internet, this will be a useful tool for foreigners who want to learn Kazakh.

“Actually on the Internet a lot of people are using the Latin alphabet more and more these days just because the keyboard. When you are using the Internet for other places you have to use the English keyboard anyways for the Latin alphabet keyboard. So I guess it’s easier to switch. I think as soon as they approve the Latin alphabet is better because it’s been years and years since alphabet has been under construction,” noted Reinagel.

Translation by Assem Zhanmukhanova

Editing by Galiya Khassenkhanova