Shavkat Mirziyoyev sent congratulations to the people of Uzbekistan on the occasion of the Uzbek Language Festival. The President's press service reported this.
Dear compatriots!
I sincerely congratulate you, through you the whole of our people, and all the fans of our native language, on this glorious day – the Uzbek Language Festival and the 35th anniversary of granting the status of state language to the Uzbek language.
As known, the national language is an incomparable treasure that reflects the history and identity of every cultural nation, as well as its spiritual and moral world. Our native language, which has preserved our ancient values unaltered through the most difficult and challenging periods of our history, uniting us as a single nation, deserves our utmost respect and honor.
Currently, significant works are being carried out in our country aimed at developing the state language, enhancing its prestige and position, and broadening its promotion at the international level.
In particular, in recent years, a large number of institutional documents have been translated into the state language, more than 100,000 geographic object names have been entered into the state registry, and over 150,000 external inscriptions in regions have been harmonized according to the requirements of state language and advertising laws.
For systematic naming of newly emerging modern concepts and the official introduction of words and terms, the activities of the Terms Commission have been fundamentally improved, and clear scientific criteria have been developed.
Since last year, the system of conducting linguistic expertise of draft normative-legal documents has been created, contributing to the preparation of relevant documents in compliance with state language requirements and stylistic accuracy.
In order to determine the level of knowledge of candidates for leadership positions in the Uzbek language, a national testing system was introduced, and in a short period of time, certificates on knowledge of the state language were issued to nearly 1,500 out of more than 3 thousand applicants.
To ensure in-depth and comprehensive study of the foundations of the state language, the Fund for the Development of the Uzbek Language under the Cabinet of Ministers published 58 types of encyclopedias, dictionaries, and manuals in many thousands of copies.
Especially, in recent years, significant achievements have been made in digitizing the Uzbek language. An “intelligent” program designed to process Uzbek texts with the help of artificial intelligence and communicate in the Uzbek language was developed, and the website of the “Uzbek Language Explanatory Dictionary” was created.
At present, electronic programs designed to edit texts in Uzbek, convert them to Latin and Cyrillic scripts, and display the lexical meanings of words are also actively used in practice.
From January 1, 2025, an additional payment amounting to 50 percent of the salary will be paid to Uzbek language teachers in general education schools who have a national certificate, which will undoubtedly encourage the noble work of the devotees of our native language.
It is clear to all of us that literary translation plays a significant role in the development of language. We believe that the recent establishment of an international award in the name of Muhammad Rizo Ogahi in the field of literary translation in our country will also serve as an important factor in further enriching the Uzbek language and literature and promoting them worldwide.
Thanks to the potential of our patriotic boys and girls, through the Youth Affairs Agency, the volume of Uzbek-language information on the international internet encyclopedia “Wikipedia” has significantly increased, making Uzbekistan a leading country in Central Asia in terms of the volume of articles published in the state language.
In the past period, more than 33 thousand employees working in various organizations and institutions were trained at the Center for Teaching and Improving the Skills of Working in the State Language at the Alisher Navoi Tashkent State University of the Uzbek Language and Literature. Moreover, free courses were organized for our compatriots wishing to learn the Uzbek language at this center and its regional branches.
At this point, I would like to emphasize that important works are also being carried out to preserve the languages, traditions, and values of more than 130 nationalities and ethnic groups living in harmony in our hospitable land. In particular, the educational process in schools of our republic is organized in 7 languages, and about 160 national cultural centers and mass media in Karakalpak, Russian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Turkmen languages are actively operating.
Regular broadcasts and programs dedicated to learning the Uzbek language through central television and radio channels are making a significant contribution to the acquisition of the state language by representatives of other nationalities living in our country.
Dear friends!
We have many tasks ahead to uncover the unique opportunities of the Uzbek language and to enhance its prestige and attractiveness on the global stage.
First of all, as in highly developed democratic countries, the state language must serve to unite the entire society, regardless of language and nationality, as a single people. In this sensitive and influential matter of language, we all understand the need to act thoughtfully and with composure, without excessive emotion and feeling.
Indeed, the development of the state language is not only the task of specialists in the field but is achieved through the joint efforts, intelligence, spiritual and educational potential, and patriotic virtues of our multiethnic people.
Ensuring an atmosphere of respect and obedience to the law, including the consistent implementation of the “On the State Language” law in our lives, requires us to display high culture and mutual understanding.
In this regard, enhancing the quality of education by further improving the system of teaching the Uzbek language and literature subjects in all educational institutions is of great importance.
Increasing the number of programs and broadcast time on television, radio channels, and websites that help learn the state language, and publishing additional literature, dictionaries, and manuals for independent language learners will always be at the center of our attention.
Taking to a new level the efforts aimed at widely introducing the state language in the digital space and considering measures to include the Uzbek language among the major languages in the field of information technologies remains our pressing task.
Respected fellow countrymen!
I once again congratulate you on this glorious holiday, wishing you all strong health, new achievements in your work, and peace and prosperity to your homes.
May the richness and strength of our Uzbek language continue to grow!
