13.04.2017, 20:25 22611

Expert opinion: Pros and cons of transition of Kazakh language to Latin alphabet

The expert believes that the state, when making a decision, certainly should consult the society with an expert community, weigh pros and cons, primarily financial investments and an effect that will be gained.

Astana. 13 April. Kazakhstan Today - As everyone knows, in Kazakhstan preparatory work on transition of the Kazakh alphabet to Latin one in 2025. About pros and cons of a reform told and shared her opinion Doctor of Law, Professor of the Department of business, financial and environmental law, Deputy Chairman of the Arbitration Court at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Bashkortostan Dinara Minnigulova in an exclusive interview with IA Strategy2050.kz.

"Every action, the event always has 2 sides. On the one hand, of course, the transition to the Latin script will require large financial investments. I can even measure this with the annual budget of the republic, if we count it on for 7 years. And this is the first limitation, the first minus. The second disadvantage is, of course, that people are already got used to, there is a tradition, a habit of reading the Cyrillic alphabet. And it is likely that this will hurt the feelings of individual citizens who are used to it, who are familiar with this. For example, a woman, a grandmother who doesnИt live in the city, may be not able to know English, Latin, it will be difficult for her to accept this. After all, you understand every decision made by the state bodies, requires acceptance by citizens", - D. Minnigulova considers.

The expert believes that the state, when making a decision, certainly should consult the society with an expert community, weigh pros and cons, primarily financial investments and an effect that will be gained.

"Actually, in fact, it doesnИt matter in what language it is written, the main thing is that it should be clear", - D. Minnigulova expressed her opinion.

She also noted that it takes some time, and 7 years, in her opinion, are not enough to switch to the Latin alphabet.

"Now it will be necessary to translate all the laws into the Latin alphabet, this is a huge complex. After all, you still need to rewrite all the textbooks, retrain at school, and much more. And this is not only the consolidated budget of the republic for the year, probably even large amounts will be required. In this case, you need to measure financial opportunities and needs. My opinion, of course, if the effect is higher and integration into the international European community will undoubtedly bring the powerful political effect, then this must be done. Nevertheless, I am a lawyer, I can only say about the legal technique. When we read the Law, and it is unclear to us, it arouses mistrust and doubts. You can also speak about the Latin alphabet. If, for example, all that is written in the Latin script will cause me to reject, then it wonИt make me to be happy, and I believe that here it is necessary to weigh the diantologic aspects of this issue, not just financial ones. It will also bring additional problems for civil servants. I live in Bashkortostan, and we actually faced this and it was a problem. The history of Bashkortostan shows that at first we had the inscriptions in Arabic, then they were translated into the Latin alphabet, and then into the Cyrillic alphabet. And this process took us not 7 years, but decades. Although it was imposed, the society didnИt accept it", - D. Minnigulova said.

She also noted the advantages of Kazakhstan's transition to the Latin alphabet.

"On the other hand, if we talk about positive features, then they certainly too are. Kazakhstan integrates into the international community very actively, it is the locomotive in Central Asia in this direction. Therefore, certainly the transition to the Latin alphabet has its pluses. Developing very dynamically, international relations require that more and more foreigners come to Kazakhstan and they do not always use the Cyrillic alphabet, the Latin one will be closer to them. Kazakhstan is the center of not only Central Asia, it is also the place where the Silk Road passes, along which not only Europeans go, but also we are - Russians. We are very warm to our friends, you are our brothers, close neighbors and I am very pleased when I come to Kazakhstan. I am absolutely sure that the management of the Republic of Kazakhstan knows what to do if parliamentarians make such a decision, this is political will, it is impossible not to comply with it", - the Professor concluded.

Recall that on April 12, 2017, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev instructed the Government to develop a standard of the Kazakh alphabet by the end of this year on the basis of the Latin graphics, having established deadline of full transition to the Latin alphabet till 2025.

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