Turkic States Embrace Latin Alphabet to Preserve Linguistic Roots
The Organization of Turkic States (OTS) recently made history by approving a 34-letter Latin-based common alphabet on September 11 in Astana. This decision aims to promote linguistic unity among Turkic nations, enhance cultural ties, and simplify written communication across member countries.
The Turkic Academy, responsible for coordinating the Latin-based Common Turkic Alphabet project, published the Declaration on Common Turkic Alphabet on September 16. This declaration followed the Turkic World Common Alphabet Commission meeting that took place on September 9-11 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
To develop this unified alphabet, the OTS established a special commission with two representatives from each member country’s language policy department. The success of this initiative is significant and promotes mutual understanding and cooperation among Turkic peoples while preserving their linguistic heritage.
The Turkic Academy, established under the OTS in 2012, coordinates scientific research on the language, literature, culture, and history of Turkic people. Uniting countries like Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Türkiye, with Hungary and Uzbekistan as observers, the academy evaluates the contributions of Turkic civilization to humanity.
The commission reviewed the 34-letter Latin-based alphabet proposed in 1991, taking into account the phonetic diversity of Turkic languages. After meetings in Astana and Baku, the commission finalized the alphabet by incorporating special characters to represent sounds not present in the basic Latin alphabet.
In an interview with Tengrinews, Professor Kuralai Kuderinova highlighted that the Common Turkic Alphabet does not require all 34 letters to be used in all languages. Each country will utilize only the letters corresponding to the sounds in its language, adapting the alphabet to its national characteristics.
The history of the Kazakh language and alphabet is deeply rooted in the evolution of Turkic scripts. From the Old Turkic script to the Arabic script and later transitioning to Cyrillic under Soviet rule, the Kazakh language has undergone various changes. The revival of a common Turkic alphabet traces back to the 1991 Symposium in Istanbul, with several Turkic countries making strides towards reconnecting with their roots through a Latin-based alphabet.
Kazakhstan, in its attempt to modernize and align with global linguistic trends, initiated a transition to the Latin alphabet in 2017. Despite some public debate and criticism, Kazakhstan introduced a new version of the Latin-based alphabet consisting of 31 letters in 2021, with plans for a phased transition until 2031. This move reflects the country’s commitment to preserve its linguistic heritage while fostering unity and cooperation among Turkic-speaking nations.
