On October 17 of this year, with the participation of employees of the central office of the State Unitary Enterprise "Center for Electromagnetic Compatibility", the Electromagnetic Compatibility Services of the Republic of Karakalpakstan and the regions, an event dedicated to the 35th anniversary of assigning the Uzbek language the status of a state language was held.
Doctor of Philosophy, Professor B.R. Karimov was invited to the event.
At the beginning of the event, it was told about the new stages of the development of the Uzbek language in our country in recent years, the increase in its role and influence in our lives.
It was suggested that the Uzbek language has a unifying meaning in the formation of a multinational people on the way to a noble goal - building a highly educated society, instilling in the hearts of our compatriots a sense of a single Motherland, a common prosperous future.
The Law of Uzbekistan “On the State Language” was adopted 35 years ago, on October 21, 1989 – approximately two years before the proclamation of our independence. It was not easy to adopt this law, which would decide the fate and future of our people, in conditions when the previous regime in our country would still pass its verdict.
Indeed, during that period, the Uzbek language as the state language became a powerful force uniting our people, mobilizing our society to achieve great goals. At that time, it was the first bold step towards the state independence of Uzbekistan.
It should also be noted that the important legal provisions reflected in the Law “On the State Language” of 1989 were subsequently enshrined in Article 4 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan of 1992 as follows:
The state language of the Republic of Uzbekistan is the Uzbek language.
The Republic of Uzbekistan ensures a respectful attitude towards the languages, customs and traditions of the nations and peoples living on its territory and creates conditions for their development.
The Uzbek language is the native language of the Uzbek people, who constitute the absolute majority of the population of the Republic of Uzbekistan. It is also an important factor in the unity and integrity of Uzbekistan, the cohesion of society.
Today, there are 150 national cultural centers in our country, along with Uzbek, there are mass media in the Karakalpak, Russian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Turkmen languages, in our schools the educational process is conducted in 7 languages, which is a unique experience in world practice. The growing number of educational institutions specializing in foreign languages and teaching in foreign languages is also the result of significant changes in this area.
It is well known that the state language is a powerful means of uniting people in the political, social and cultural spheres. It is also gratifying that our native language is one of the 40 most widespread languages on the planet, judging by the number of speakers. The fact that the number of speakers of the Uzbek language on Earth is currently about 50 million people, indicates that it is becoming one of the largest languages in the world.
In recent years, in Uzbekistan, as in all spheres and industries, the policy and practical work on further increasing the value and prestige of the native language have reached a new level. Evidence of this is the adoption of historic decrees and decisions taken to radically increase the status and prestige of the Uzbek language as the state language.
Over the past short period, 16 books have been published, including 9 dictionaries, which serve for in-depth study and teaching of the Uzbek language. An online platform for teaching the Uzbek language to foreign citizens and compatriots, a mobile application with an explanatory dictionary of the Uzbek language, and a special website for our compatriots abroad have also been created.
Uzbekistan's membership in the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States serves to strengthen economic ties within the organization, as well as to enhance the international authority of Turkic languages, in particular the Uzbek language. At the initiative of our country, the International Prize of this organization named after Alisher Navoi was established.
In short, given that the native language is the soul of the nation, a symbol of our existence and unity, a symbol of the state, the preservation and development of which is the human duty of every citizen. Consequently, we are faced with great and responsible tasks for the further development of the Uzbek language, further strengthening its role and authority as the state language.
It is important that new initiatives are being put forward in the new Uzbekistan aimed at radically increasing the prestige of the Uzbek language in public life and at the international level, educating the younger generation in the spirit of patriotism, commitment to national traditions and values, preserving the rich heritage of our great ancestors, and ensuring the full implementation of the state language in the country.
What is even more important, efforts in this direction serve, on the one hand, to eliminate the problems and shortcomings that have accumulated in this area. On the other hand, new initiatives are extremely necessary for the effective implementation of important tasks for the development of the Uzbek language in our country in accordance with the requirements of the time, and further strengthening its role and authority as the state language.
