>> It is a big change, that’s for sure, but it’s been talked about for years. Turkic languages also flow more naturally using the Latin alphabet. Cyrillic was forced on Kazakhstan by the Soviets. Kazakh was originally mainly an oral language spoken by the nomadic tribes of the steppe but as the people became more settled it adopted organised alphabets and scripts. This was, first, Arabic script when Islam was introduced into Central Asia during the time the region was the centre of the Silk Road. By the 19th century, the written form of Kazakh had grown in popularity, thanks mainly to the national poet Abai Qunanbaiuli, considered the father of the modern Kazakh language. He wrote in Arabic script. It was under the Soviet Union, though, with its sweeping collectivisation, that Kazakh was forced to adopt the Cyrillic alphabet.

>> Okay but if Nazarbayev isn’t trying to court the West with this move, why has he made it?

>> Latin has already been adopted by most other Turkic languages, including Turkish, Turkmen and Uzbek. Kyrgyz still uses Cyrillic. The switch to a Latin script makes sense for the Kazakh language in terms of ease of use and also matching up with the other main Turkic languages. It is not a geopolitical plot to move closer to the West.

>> Generally, they are positive about it. Kazakh has become more prevalent over the past 15 years or so. At the turn of the millennium, Russian was dominant in Almaty, now Kazakh is. By aligning Kazakh with other Turkic languages, Nazarbayev will be playing to this domestic audience.

ENDS