Majilis Deputy Proposes Removing Cyrillic from City Signage in Favor of Latin Script

At a Majilis meeting, Deputy Rinat Zaitov raised concerns about the widespread use of Cyrillic in city signage, Orda.kz reports.

Zaitov proposed a move towards minimalism, suggesting that non-governmental organizations should abandon Cyrillic inscriptions on their signboards and use only Latin script.

We’re all talking about the design code. Cities of national significance attract foreign tourists, but there’s one issue — our signboards feature three types of inscriptions: Russian in Cyrillic, Kazakh in Cyrillic and Latin. Now is the time for minimalism. Not everyone understands Cyrillic. If, at least for non-governmental organizations, signs were written only in Latin, in line with the design code, how would the government respond to such a proposal? Zaitov asked.

Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin expressed openness to discussing the idea but pointed out that Kazakhstan has yet to finalize an official Latin-based Kazakh alphabet.

Overall, it’s not a bad proposal, and it can be considered. However, there is currently no officially approved Kazakh alphabet in Latin. We are open to discussing this issue,Zhumangarin stated. 

Kazakhstan has long debated transitioning to the Latin alphabet, but a final version has yet to be adopted. Currently, businesses, including shops and restaurants, use the Latin script at their own discretion.

In September 2024, Orda.kz reported that Turkic-speaking countries had approved a unified Turkic alphabet based on 34 Latin letters. 

Original Author: Dilnaz Mamyrova