Kyrgyzstan intends switching to Latin alphabet

MPs of the Kyrgyz Parliament Emil Toktoshev and Kamila Talieva have proposed to switch the Kyrgyz language into Latin alphabet to preserve the language.

The lawmakers made the remarks during the discussion of the draft constitutional law “On the state language of the Kyrgyz Republic”, Lenta.ru reports.

“In order to carry out a real reform, in order to preserve our language, we need to switch to the Latin alphabet,” Toktoshev said. Taliyeva supported him, saying that the country's authorities should have done this a long time ago.

Kanybek Osmonaliyev, head of the State Language Commission, responded, saying that philologists are ready to start this transition if there is a corresponding political decision. He noted that today, of the six Turkic-speaking countries, only Kyrgyzstan uses the Cyrillic alphabet.