All Turkic-speaking countries begin transition to Latin alphabet

[Annihilus]

All Turkic-speaking countries began the transition to a unified Latin alphabet, Azerbaijani Parliamentary Culture Committee Chairman Nizami Jafarov told Trend.

The statement made by the President of Kazakhstan on the country's transition to the Latin alphabet will contribute to this process, he said.

"Kazakhstan has long been carrying out preparatory work for the transition to the Latin alphabet. Earlier a delegation arrived in Azerbaijan on behalf of the President of Kazakhstan, they were interested in our experience. Kazakhstan has some difficulties in carrying out this work, because there are many Russian-speaking people," he said.

Kazakhstan's transition to the Latin alphabet will play a crucial role in the use of the Latin alphabet in Central Asia, Jafarov said.

"Kyrgyz and Kazakh are similar. In addition, Kyrgyz, Tatars and Bashkirs are under the cultural influence of Kazakhstan, and this will speed up the transition to the Latin alphabet in the region," he stressed.

Uzbekistan was the quickest to move to Latin alphabet among the countries of Central Asia, and there's almost half of newspapers published using the Latin alphabet, the chairman of the committee said.

Kazakhstan intends to move from Cyrillic alphabet to Latin one by 2025, President Nursultan Nazarbayev said at a meeting dedicated to the 21st anniversary of independence on Friday.

http://en.trend.az/news/society/2099235.html

Nice development, this will make cultural and economical cooperation much easier. Maybe even an union one day?

[Hayalet]

All Turkic-speaking countries begin transition to Latin alphabet
Good call if they truly wish to be independent.

[TheMagnificent]

Next step is dropping the Russian/Slavic name suffixes?

[MfA_]

Next step is dropping the Russian/Slavic name suffixes?

I dont know what keeps them it havent happened already? it surely be easier than changing whole alphabet..

[Partizan]

We should also develop a common language. For interested Turkish users, there is a facebook page for that. (https://www.facebook.com/Uydurukca.degil.Turkce)

[Anatolian Eagle]

To be honest I actually don't care about the alphabet but about the language sense not only Russian but all foreign influence such as Arabic, Persian aswell as French shoud disappear as there still are many of them. It's saddening how people use these words more frenquently than their Turkic equilavents. Switching to Old Turkic alphabet would also be nice but that's too fantastic and far from reality so it would be fine to stick out with Latin since it's possibly most fitting alphabet for Turkic languages. :D

Here's a list of replaced loanwords in Turkish (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_replaced_loanwords_in_Turkish). I try to use words of Turkish origin as much as I can.

[TheMagnificent]

To be honest I actually don't care about the alphabet but about the language sense not only Russian but all foreign influence such as Arabic, Persian aswell as French shoud disappear as there still are many of them. It's saddening how people use these words more frenquently than their Turkic equilavents. Switching to Old Turkic alphabet would also be nice but that's too fantastic and far from reality so it would be fine to stick out with Latin since it's possibly most fitting alphabet for Turkic languages. :D

Here's a list of replaced loanwords in Turkish (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_replaced_loanwords_in_Turkish). I try to use words of Turkish origin as much as I can.

I'm not sure if further tinkering with the language is a good thing, because otherwise we will end up in a situation in which our youth will not be able to read its own literature from the past, like most people can't read Ottoman-Turkish script nowadays (something I regret). Language is a breathing, dynamic thing, not something to be imposed from above, in my opinion. But I would agree on preventing further degeneration of the language, of course.

[Cannabis Sativa]

If they don't get rid of their Russkie imitated dictators, change in their alphabets will not make any sense for them. Cyrillic Alphabet and -ov suffixes at the end of their family names comes to prove their so-called leaders' loyalty to mother Russia. The cunts like Kerimov and Nazarbayev should be like Assad. Those cunt Kerimov and Nazarbayev living in glass houses and somebody should break those glass houses. Anyway, after dealing with Syria we may count Kerimov as blacklisted.

[Anatolian Eagle]

I'm not sure if further tinkering with the language is a good thing, because otherwise we will end up in a situation in which our youth will not be able to read its own literature from the past, like most people can't read Ottoman-Turkish script nowadays (something I regret). Language is a breathing, dynamic thing, not something to be imposed from above, in my opinion. But I would agree on preventing further degeneration of the language, of course.

It would be all screwed up if you do all these change at once. People slowly accepting "new" words, would do the trick. Ottoman Turkish script was simply Arabic script with so many Arabic and Persian influence in language, and in my opinion was also far from Turkish itself. We're getting to what really belongs to us closer and closer this way.

[TheMagnificent]

It would be all screwed up if you do all these change at once. People slowly accepting "new" words, would do the trick. Ottoman Turkish script was simply Arabic script with so many Arabic and Persian influence in language, and in my opinion was also far from Turkish itself. We're getting to what really belongs to us closer and closer this way.

That sounds more plausible. And let there be no misunderstanding; I think the Latin alphabet fits the Turkish language better.

[Onur]

TheMagnificent, you can learn Ottoman script in 15-20 days and start to read pressed books from late 19th and 20th century by using a dictionary for some archaic words. It`s not that difficult. But it`s extremely difficult to read hand writing and older texts due to changing of writing styles in few decades of intervals.

If you learn Ottoman script, then you could see that how stupid and incompatible it was with Turkish language. The major dificulty is the Turkish language is heavily based on vowels but Arabic script has no letter for any vowel except A and E. Sometimes you need to read whole sentence to be able to understand which word is written in the text

[Su]

Turkic union sounds good to me, also economically it would help us a lot since most of the time we could trade with each other :cool:

[Cannabis Sativa]

Turkic union sounds good to me, also economically it would help us a lot since most of the time we could trade with each other :cool:

Sorry sweetheart, you gotta kick some ass and overthrow some dictators in order to boost economic relations. We invested into those shitholes(what Russians really turned them out) in the past and more we invested the more we gave bribe and moreover we've been heavily taxated although we employed over 20 people in Uzbekistan. Imagine half of your earnings going to officials in soviet mindset as bribe and at the end of the month you're having a big zero. I remember i used to bribe police officers twice a month.

[Midori]

Are Turkmen and Turkish language mutually intelligible? From what I can see, their wikipedia pages are quite similar.

[TheMagnificent]

Are Turkmen and Turkish language mutually intelligible? From what I can see, their wikipedia pages are quite similar.

They both belong to the Oghuz branch of the language family, so pretty mutually intelligible, I would say. Azerbaijani also belongs to the Oghuz branch.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oghuz_languages

[Anatolian Eagle]

Are Turkmen and Turkish language mutually intelligible? From what I can see, their wikipedia pages are quite similar.

I guess so, since I can understand most of Gagauz and Azeri which are also Oghuz languages like Turkmen although there are some difficulities. Didn't really try with other Oghuz languages though.

[Pecheneg]

I guess so, since I can understand most of Gagauz and Azeri which are also Oghuz languages like Turkmen although there are some difficulities. Didn't really try with other Oghuz languages though.

Turkmen langauge has significant Chagatai/Karluq influence unlike the other Oghuz languages such as Turkish, Qashqai, Azerbaijani, Gagauz etc. So this makes Turkmen less mutally intelligible with other Oghuz langauges, but still mutually intelligible to some degree.

[Piparskeggr]

I look forward to any ethnic group finding a way to protect, preserve and flourish its culture and heritage.

[Midori]

I look forward to any ethnic group finding a way to protect, preserve and flourish its culture and heritage.

Me too.

I can relate to this because it's quite similar to pan-Slavism.

[Partizan]

Me too.

I can relate to this because it's quite similar to pan-Slavism.

Why do you think I am a strict Titoist? :D

It is because of that I am a left-wing Nationalist who has pan-Turkist tendency :)

[Midori]

Why do you think I am a strict Titoist? :D

It is because of that I am a left-wing Nationalist who has pan-Turkist tendency :)

Tito was a great man, no doubt. And sure, I support you guys too, just...

leave Hungarians out of this please :D (they aren't really Turanic anyway)

[Anatolian Eagle]

leave Hungarians out of this please :D (they aren't really Turanic anyway)

Let them decide :D

[Kemalisté]

Good for 'em. I hope Japan does that soon as well.

[Annihilus]

Tito was a great man, no doubt. And sure, I support you guys too, just...

leave Hungarians out of this please :D (they aren't really Turanic anyway)

But if you look at Bulgaria and current political course, they shift away from Brussels and Moscow to Ankara and Washington. Future will tell about our brothers in Hungary. This is not about some neo-ottoman empire but about countries that work together and benefit.

[RussiaPrussia]

If they don't get rid of their Russkie imitated dictators, change in their alphabets will not make any sense for them. Cyrillic Alphabet and -ov suffixes at the end of their family names comes to prove their so-called leaders' loyalty to mother Russia. The cunts like Kerimov and Nazarbayev should be like Assad. Those cunt Kerimov and Nazarbayev living in glass houses and somebody should break those glass houses. Anyway, after dealing with Syria we may count Kerimov as blacklisted.

Fact is russian population together with other ethnics make 30% of the population thats why, kazakstan is a multi ethnic country unlike turkey where christians, kurds and Armenians getting killed daily.

[RussiaPrussia]

Turkic union sounds good to me, also economically it would help us a lot since most of the time we could trade with each other :cool:

thats why kazakstan and kygizstan joined the eurasian union because they want to trade with you bypassing Iran.

[Midori]

But if you look at Bulgaria and current political course, they shift away from Brussels and Moscow to Ankara and Washington. Future will tell about our brothers in Hungary. This is not about some neo-ottoman empire but about countries that work together and benefit.

Brothers? They're more similar to Germans than anything.

And idk about Bulgaria, but they're in the EU so..

[RussiaPrussia]

I look forward to any ethnic group finding a way to protect, preserve and flourish its culture and heritage.

where they are preserving their heiratege by using a foreign latin alphabet made by the west?? Instead an alphabet made by people who are culturally closer to them than Westerners.

Turkey decided to change their alphabet losing their islamic identity of course its the best ever what happened in western opinion. Turks are just american sheeps, Highlighting their anti oriantalisation.

However we gonna see if this will happen 2025 is a long time.

[Hayalet]

leave Hungarians out of this please :D (they aren't really Turanic anyway)
Agreed. I'm not sure if they are "Turanic" (I honestly don't know what that means), but they sure aren't Turkic.


Turks are just american sheeps
Few countries readily contradict America as often as Turkey and certainly none among the ones that are regarded as its allies.

http://americaintheworld.typepad.com/.a/6a00e553af4af188330120a52be33d970b-pi


Fact is russian population together with other ethnics make 30% of the population thats why, kazakstan is a multi ethnic country
Seems like that's fast changing: The percentage of Kazakhs has risen from 39.7% to 63.1% and that of Russians has shrunk from 37.8% to 23.7% between 1989 and 2009.

[RussiaPrussia]

Agreed. I'm not sure if they are "Turanic" (I honestly don't know what that means), but they sure aren't Turkic.


Few countries readily contradict America as often as Turkey and certainly none among the ones that are regarded as its allies.

http://americaintheworld.typepad.com/.a/6a00e553af4af188330120a52be33d970b-pi


Seems like that's fast changing: The percentage of Kazakhs has risen from 39.7% to 63.1% and that of Russians has shrunk from 37.8% to 23.7% between 1989 and 2009.

still its a lot, most russian went to russia, germans went to germany while kazakstan from russia came back to kazakstan. Same happened with korean in kazakstan and many other ethnics as borders were open. But russian population is still very high in the north. However Kazakh people are used to russian languages and media we will see what they will decide in the end, losing ability to read Cyrillic is hurting them as its easier to learn western alphabet these days as you come most of the times into contact with it, but its not so easy to learn different script in this time like chinese, japanese or russian even if you really want.

Everyone knows the experience if you want to play a japanese game or something it sucks you cant read. If you want to learn it you fail because you simple didnt grew up with. There are many russian websites and books i cant read that well. If you are used to using latin characters Cyrillic is very hard but its not the opposite as you come much more in contact with latin script. But it doesnt mean russians script is not important you will always find something that you would like to read how its pronounced at least since kazaks are living with russians, consuming russian products and media we will see how they will handle it buying the same stuff from the West who on the other hand doesnt give a f''## about them.

[Hayalet]

The question boils down to this: Do Kazakhs want to be truly independent of Russia? If they do, switching to a Latin-based alphabet is one of the things they must do. And doing so would not put Kazakhstan under any yoke. It would bring them closer to Turkey, yes, but the relations would be strictly on equal terms.

[Onur]

it doesnt mean russians script is not important you will always find something that you would like to read how its pronounced at least since kazaks are living with russians, consuming russian products and media we will see how they will handle it buying the same stuff from the West who on the other hand doesnt give a f''## about them.
That script has been imposed to them by Moscow in the recent past and it`s a symbol of the Russian commie oppression today. They should have been quit using it much earlier, like Azerbaijan did.

Btw stop calling it as "Russian script". The Cyrillic a script created by the eastern Romans to be used in the assimilation process of the Bulgars in Danube. After that, they imposed it to you central Asian and Ural slavs too.

It`s not a "Russian script" at all but it`s script created by the eastern Roman missioners, by inspiring from Latin, Phoenician and Bulgar Turkic runic letters.

[Yalquzaq]

Azerbaijan first adopted the Latin script in 1922. It was used alongside the Arabic script (which did not fit Azerbaijani Turkish at all mainly because of lack of vowel expressions in Arabic script) until 1929, in 1929 the Latin script was made the sole script, until 1939 when the Soviet leadership imposed Cryrillic script. So Azerbaijan's use of Latin script pre-dates dissolution of SSR. We immediately adopted Latin again after independence as Cryrillic was imposed on us, otherwise we would have continued with Latin anyway.

And just to be clear, the choice of Latin vs Arabic script were mainly connected to the fact that Arabic script are incompatible with the language. As a basic example, we have 9 vowels, whereas Arabic script expresses only 3. This rule includes Turkish and other Turkic languagues. Sometimes you come across wrong conclusions by others as if choice of Latin over Arabic script in Turkey itself was done for cultural reasons, that was not the case at all. Maybe to some degree, but there is no doubt that Latin script is the most suitable overall for the languague, and much more so in comparision to Arabic script.

[Partizan]

Azerbaijan first adopted the Latin script in 1922. It was used alongside the Arabic script (which did not fit Azerbaijani Turkish at all mainly because of lack of vowel expressions in Arabic script) until 1929, in 1929 it was made the sole script, until 1938 when the Soviet leadership imposed Crylic script. So Azerbaijan's use of Latin script pre-dates dissolution of SSR.

One of Atatürk's aims while changing script to Latin was establishing lingual connection with Turkic countries, primarily with Azerbaijan.

[RussiaPrussia]

That script has been imposed to them by Moscow in the recent past and it`s a symbol of the Russian commie oppression today. They should have been quit using it much earlier, like Azerbaijan did.

Btw stop calling it as "Russian script". The Cyrillic a script created by the eastern Romans to be used in the assimilation process of the Bulgars in Danube. After that, they imposed it to you central Asian and Ural slavs too.

It`s not a "Russian script" at all but it`s script created by the eastern Roman missioners, by inspiring from Latin, Phoenician and Bulgar Turkic runic letters.

you dont get my point, my point is economicly it doesnt make sense period. If know that your population can basically using both scripts, because they are used to Cyrillic and later the transition is easier for them to learn latin too why changing it??
It would damage the kazahks and make them dumber, regardless how good relations they would have with turkey, because turkey isnt bordering kazakstan but russia and china are. Russia has twice more people than turkey and the eurasian union would bring them more together. There are more people in the world using Cyrillic than people speak turk languages. Kazakhs now have no problem to read turkish but they would have problems to read russian or other Cyrillic script if this law would pass.
Russians have also no problem learning latin script even if they cant speak a foreign languages every Russian knows the latin alphabet and can read names, same it goes for Chinese, they would have an advantage in the future.
Kazakhstans anti russification makes them less and less more developed country same it goes for Azerbaijan.
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD/countries/1W-RU-KZ-AZ-CN?display=graph

If you think only russian economy is based on oil look aizerbaidjan or kazakstan, azeris and kazahks arent producing anything they import everything from china and russia.
http://stat.wto.org/CountryProfile/WSDBCountryPFView.aspx?Language=E&Country=KZ,RU
Aizerbaidjan is now as rich as an average chinese. Kazakstan situation is more good because they have many smart people there like russians, chinese, germans, koreans but so more these people will shrink and emigrate so more kazakstan will look like the nomadic country it once where. You can clearly see russia is richer than kazakstan has only like twice more oil reserves and like 10 times more people and its still richer than kazakstan. Just look at olympic games almost all of the gold winners from kazakstan where russians and chinese.

And who says turkey decision was right switching to latin alphabet from arabic, is turkey now in the eu?? Nop, is turkey in arabic league? Nop. Did it had anything to say in the arabic world before erdogan came into power? Nop.

[Vesuvian Sky]

All Turkic-speaking countries began the transition to a unified Latin alphabet, Azerbaijani Parliamentary Culture Committee Chairman Nizami Jafarov told Trend.

The statement made by the President of Kazakhstan on the country's transition to the Latin alphabet will contribute to this process, he said.

"Kazakhstan has long been carrying out preparatory work for the transition to the Latin alphabet. Earlier a delegation arrived in Azerbaijan on behalf of the President of Kazakhstan, they were interested in our experience. Kazakhstan has some difficulties in carrying out this work, because there are many Russian-speaking people," he said.

Kazakhstan's transition to the Latin alphabet will play a crucial role in the use of the Latin alphabet in Central Asia, Jafarov said.

"Kyrgyz and Kazakh are similar. In addition, Kyrgyz, Tatars and Bashkirs are under the cultural influence of Kazakhstan, and this will speed up the transition to the Latin alphabet in the region," he stressed.

Uzbekistan was the quickest to move to Latin alphabet among the countries of Central Asia, and there's almost half of newspapers published using the Latin alphabet, the chairman of the committee said.

Kazakhstan intends to move from Cyrillic alphabet to Latin one by 2025, President Nursultan Nazarbayev said at a meeting dedicated to the 21st anniversary of independence on Friday.

http://en.trend.az/news/society/2099235.html

Nice development, this will make cultural and economical cooperation much easier. Maybe even an union one day?


Whoa big news! So they're going to continue using Russian but convert Kazakh to Latin alphabet? Hmmm....

Kaz- stan I'm more convinced then before perhaps has one of the strongest western leanings of all former Soviet Central Asian countries and I can vouch for this from having been there. Its funny because this really wasn't my preconception of the country at all before visiting there.

Other thing that strikes me w/ this is that Russian is still used more frequenlty then Kazakh in the country and many prefer this since it keeps everyone w/ a common language. Some more nationalistic minded people prefer Kazakh but that's more in Almaty where you have the stronger ethno-Kazakh-nationalistic sentiments then say in Astana.

Regardless, Kaz-stan is a real mix ethnic-wise. Here's a breakdown:

Armenians
Azeri
Chechens
Georgians
Kazakhs (of course)
Kazan Tatars
Koreans (wound up there due to complicated circumstances)
Germans (from Ekentanburg originally)
Greeks (I know hard to believe)
Poles (yes! really!)
Russians
Ukranians

And I've probably missed a few but as you can see Russian language is what keeps them all communicating and reinforces some type of national unity.

Should be interesting to see all implications this move to latinize Kazakh alphabet will have.

[Lathander]

And who says turkey decision was right switching to latin alphabet from arabic, is turkey now in the eu?? Nop, is turkey in arabic league? Nop. Did it had anything to say in the arabic world before erdogan came into power? Nop.

I say.Latin is the language of science,english is the language of majority of the good essays that is published.I think this is fairly enough alone.