PM chairs meeting of National Commission on switchover to Latinized Kazakh script
The National Commission is a consultative and advisory body under the Government that aims to prepare and approve the proposals for switching over the Kazakh language into the Latinized script, and coordinate and monitor the quality of work.
The commission chaired by Bakytzhan Sagintayev consists of Deputy Chairman - Deputy Prime Minister Yerbolat Dossayev, and the representatives of the Executive Office of the President of Kazakhstan, the Nur Otan Party, the Parliament, universities, mass media, NGOs, and well-known scientists and public figures. The commission's working body is the Ministry of Culture and Sports.
"The transition to the Latinized script is a landmark event for our country," said Bakytzhan Sagintayev. "As the Head of State emphasizes, for the first time in the centuries-old history, Kazakhstan, changes the alphabet on its own initiative and the will of the people without any external influences. The successful implementation of this target is of utmost importance and rests a wide responsibility on us", he added.
Vice-Minister of Culture and Sports Aktoty Raimkulova, Minister of Education and Science Yerlan Sagadiyev, and Minister of Finance Bakhyt Sultanov made their reports on the main areas of work on the Latin-based script transition. Moreover, Deputy Prime Minister Yerbolat Dossayev, First Deputy Chairman of the Nur Otan Party Mukhtar Kul-Mukhammed, Minister for Religious and Civil Society Affairs Nurlan Yermekbayev, Director of the Baitursynov Linguistics Institute Yermek Kazhybek, and Doctor of philological sciences Tanat Ayapova, a professor of the Kazakh National University named after Abai, also shared their opinions.
Till 2025, the transition of the Kazakh language to the Latin-based script is supposed to be carried out gradually: the 1st stage in 2018-2020, the 2nd stage in 2021-2023, and the 3rd one - in 2024-2025.
The National Commission will handle the issues of testing, training of the teaching staff, setting up the regulatory framework, and the process of introducing the new alphabet into practical application.
The attendees of the meeting made a decision to establish four special working groups to implement the goals set.
The first group is the spelling one (for the development of spelling and pronouncing systems of the Kazakh Latin-based script).
The second is the methodical group (for the development of methods of teaching and studying, and for a gradual introduction into the educational system).
The third one is the terminological one (for the systematization of the terminology resources of the Kazakh language based on the Latin script).
The fourth is the technical expert group (for adapting the Latin script to the IT technologies).
The above groups will involve professionals who specialize in the respective branches of linguistics.