Uzbekistan’s parliament has finally approved a long-delayed overhaul of the Latin-based Uzbek alphabet, signaling a critical step forward in a linguistic reform process that critics argue was stalled for years by political hesitation.
The Legislative Chamber has forwarded a newly approved bill to the Senate, modifying the framework "On the introduction of the Uzbek alphabet based on the Latin script." The revised alphabet replaces the clunky 1995 system of 26 letters and 3 digraphs with a streamlined 28-letter and one-apostrophe structure. Crucially, the reform fixes problematic characters like O‘ and G‘—which required awkward, non-standard apostrophes—replacing them with distinct, diacritic letters that are fully optimized for modern digital keyboards.
While the press service of the lower house framed the update as a natural evolution driven by linguistic research, independent analysts point out that this step is decades overdue. Uzbekistan officially committed to transitioning away from the Soviet-imposed Cyrillic script back in 1993, yet a total shift was repeatedly delayed. For over thirty years, the country languished in an inefficient dual-script limbo, a stagnation widely blamed on a lack of political will.
The move directly aligns Uzbekistan with global technology standards, removing the digital barriers created by both Cyrillic and the flawed 1995 Latin iteration.
To prevent any immediate economic disruption or backlash, parliament has integrated a highly cautious, phased rollout. Existing identity documents, the national currency, and legal securities will retain full validity, while public signage and official stationery will be replaced gradually. By avoiding a sudden, costly shock to the state budget, Tashkent is ensuring a smooth, financially sustainable transition. Ultimately, this long-awaited legislative breakthrough is less about simple orthography and more about Uzbekistan finally asserting its cultural independence on the global stage.
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