Editing Uzbekistan (section)

=== Languages ===
{{Main|Languages of Uzbekistan}}
[[File:Adib-i sani.jpg|thumb|upright|A page in [[Uzbek language]] written in [[Nastaʿlīq]] script printed in Tashkent in 1911]]
The Uzbek language is one of the [[Turkic languages]]. It belongs to the [[Karluk languages|Karluk]] branch of the Turkic language family, which also includes the [[Uyghur language]]. It is the only official national language and since 1992 is officially written in the [[Latin alphabet]].<ref>Anthony J. Liddicoat, "Uzbekistan", in Liddicoat and Andy Kirkpatrick, eds., ''The Routledge International Handbook of Language Education Policy in Asia'' (London: Routledge, 2019), 495. {{ISBN|9781317354499}}</ref>

Before the 1920s, the written language of Uzbeks was called Turki (known to Western scholars as [[Chagatai language|Chagatai]]) and used the [[Nastaʿlīq]] script. In 1926 the Latin alphabet was introduced and went through several revisions throughout the 1930s. Finally, in 1940, the [[Cyrillic alphabets|Cyrillic alphabet]] was introduced by Soviet authorities and was used until the fall of Soviet Union. In 1993 Uzbekistan shifted back to the Latin script ([[Uzbek alphabet]]), which was modified in 1996 and is being taught in schools since 2000. Educational establishments teach only the Latin notation. At the same time, the Cyrillic notation is common among the older generation.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XYZVvJSdLBkC&pg=PP14|title=The New Woman in Uzbekistan: Islam, Modernity, and Unveiling Under Communism|last=Kamp|first=Marianne|publisher=University of Washington Press|year=2008|isbn=978-0-295-98819-1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405011646/http://books.google.com/books?id=XYZVvJSdLBkC&pg=PP14|archive-date=5 April 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Even though the Cyrillic notation of Uzbek has now been abolished for official documents, it is still used by a number of some newspapers and websites.

[[Karakalpak language|Karakalpak]], belonging to the [[Kipchak languages|Kipchak]] branch of the Turkic language family and thus closer to [[Kazakh language|Kazakh]], is spoken by half a million people, primarily in the [[Karakalpakstan|Republic of Karakalpakstan]], and has an official status in that territory.

Although the [[Russian language]] is not an official language in the country, it is widely used in many fields as a second official de-facto language. Digital information from the government is bilingual.<ref>{{cite web |title=State Education Portal of Uzbekistan |url=http://ziyonet.uz/ru |website=Ziyonet |publisher=Government of Uzbekistan |access-date=26 August 2018 |archive-date=26 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180826065220/http://ziyonet.uz/ru |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="fbuz">{{cite web |title=President's FaceBook |url=https://www.facebook.com/Mirziyoyev |website=FaceBook |access-date=26 August 2018}}</ref><ref name="pres.uz">{{cite web |title=Presidential Site of Uzbekistan |url=http://www.president.uz/ru |website=President.uz |publisher=The Government of Uzbekistan |access-date=26 August 2018 |archive-date=2 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902221632/http://president.uz/ru |url-status=live }}</ref> The country is also home to approximately one million native Russian speakers. Signs throughout the country are both in Uzbek and Russian.<ref name="AA">{{cite web|author=Юрий Подпоренко|title=Бесправен, но востребован. Русский язык в Узбекистане|url=http://mytashkent.uz/2015/04/27/bespraven-no-vostrebovan-russkij-yazyk-v-uzbekistane/|date=2001|publisher=Дружба Народов|access-date=27 May 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513012627/http://mytashkent.uz/2015/04/27/bespraven-no-vostrebovan-russkij-yazyk-v-uzbekistane/|archive-date=13 May 2016}}</ref><ref name="Шухрат Хуррамов">{{cite web|author=Шухрат Хуррамов|title=Почему русский язык нужен узбекам?|url=http://365info.kz/2015/09/russkij-yazyk-v-uzbekistane/|date=11 September 2015|publisher=365info.kz|access-date=27 May 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701175737/http://365info.kz/2015/09/russkij-yazyk-v-uzbekistane/|archive-date=1 July 2016}}</ref><ref name="AB">{{cite web|author=Евгений Абдуллаев|title=Русский язык: жизнь после смерти. Язык, политика и общество в современном Узбекистане|url=http://magazines.russ.ru/nz/2009/4/ab21.html|date=2009|publisher=Неприкосновенный запас|access-date=27 May 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623201807/http://magazines.russ.ru/nz/2009/4/ab21.html|archive-date=23 June 2016}}</ref><ref name="AC">{{cite web|author=А. Е. Пьянов|title=СТАТУС РУССКОГО ЯЗЫКА В СТРАНАХ СНГ|url=http://www.philology.ru/linguistics2/pyanov-11.htm|publisher=2011|access-date=27 May 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160528192438/http://www.philology.ru/linguistics2/pyanov-11.htm|archive-date=28 May 2016}}</ref><ref name="FFF">[http://factsanddetails.com/central-asia/Uzbekistan/sub8_3d/entry-4699.html Languages in Uzbekistan] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911061953/http://factsanddetails.com/central-asia/Uzbekistan/sub8_3d/entry-4699.html |date=11 September 2016 }} – Facts and Details</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav091906.shtml |title=Uzbekistan's Russian-Language Conundrum |publisher=Eurasianet.org |date=19 September 2006 |access-date=2 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129214857/http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav091906.shtml |archive-date=29 November 2010 }}</ref>

The [[Tajik language]] (a variety of [[Persian language|Persian]]) is widespread in the cities of [[Bukhara]] and [[Samarkand]] because of their relatively large population of ethnic [[Tajik people|Tajiks]].{{sfnp|Foltz|1996|pp=213–6}}<ref name="Karl Cordell 1999. pg 201" /><ref name="Lena Jonson 2006. pg 108" /> It is also found in large pockets in the [[Tashkent]] region, and [[Kosonsoy|Kasansay]], [[Chust, Uzbekistan|Chust]], [[Rishton, Uzbekistan|Rishtan]] and [[Sokh District|Sokh]] in [[Fergana|Ferghana Valley]], as well as in [[Burchmulla]], [[Okhangaron District|Ahangaran]], Baghistan in the middle [[Syr Darya]] district, and finally in, [[Shahrisabz]], [[Qarshi]], [[Kitob District|Kitab]] and the river valleys of Kafiringan and Chaganian, forming altogether, approximately 25–30% of the population of Uzbekistan.<ref name="Karl Cordell 1999. pg 201">Cordell, Karl (1998) ''Ethnicity and Democratisation in the New Europe'', Routledge, {{ISBN|0415173124}}, p. 201: "Consequently, the number of citizens who regard themselves as Tajiks is difficult to determine. Tajikis within and outside of the republic, Samarkand State University (SamGU) academic and international commentators suggest that there may be between six and seven million Tajiks in Uzbekistan, constituting 30% of the republic's 22 million population, rather than the official figure of 4.7% ({{harvnb|Foltz|1996|p=213}}; Carlisle 1995:88{{Incomplete short citation|date=December 2023}}).</ref><ref name="Lena Jonson 2006. pg 108" />{{sfnp|Foltz|1996|pp=213–6}}

There are no language requirements to attain citizenship in Uzbekistan.<ref name="FFF"/>

In April 2020, a draft bill was introduced in Uzbekistan to regulate the exclusive use of the Uzbek language in government affairs. Under this legislation, government workers could incur fines for doing work in languages other than Uzbek. Though unsuccessful, it was met with criticism by the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia)|Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] spokeswoman, [[Maria Zakharova]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tolipov |first1=Farkhod |title=Soft or Hard Power? Russia Reacts to Uzbekistan's Draft Language Policy |url=https://www.cacianalyst.org/publications/analytical-articles/item/13623-soft-or-hard-power?-russia-reacts-to-uzbekistans-draft-language-policy.html |website=The Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst |publisher=CACI Analyst |access-date=1 September 2020 |archive-date=14 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814104221/https://cacianalyst.org/publications/analytical-articles/item/13623-soft-or-hard-power?-russia-reacts-to-uzbekistans-draft-language-policy.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In response, a group of Uzbek intellectuals signed an open letter arguing for the instatement of Russian as an official language alongside Uzbek, citing historical ties, the large Russian-speaking population in Uzbekistan, and the usefulness of Russian in higher education, together with the argument that only Russian language opened the communication with the other peoples of the region and the literature of the outside world.<ref>{{cite web |title=Russian is not foreign to us |url=https://vesti.uz/russkij-yazyk-nam-ne-chuzhoj/ |website=Vesti.uz |date=30 April 2019 |access-date=1 September 2020 |archive-date=3 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803142909/https://vesti.uz/russkij-yazyk-nam-ne-chuzhoj/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Cyrillic Uzbek alphabet is still widely used, and 862 Russian-language schools are functioning in the country, compared to 1,100 in 1991, despite the fact that the Russian minority there has decreased from 1,7 million in 1990 to nearly 700,000 in 2022. In business, the Russian language outpaces Uzbek. Many Uzbeks in urban areas, as of 2019, are feeling more comfortable to speak in Russian, while Uzbek is more present in the agricultural regions. Uzbek did not manage to become a state language, and many blame the [[intelligentsia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://eurasianet.org/uzbekistan-a-second-coming-for-the-russian-language|title=Uzbekistan: A second coming for the Russian language? {{!}} Eurasianet|website=eurasianet.org|language=en|access-date=1 August 2022|archive-date=1 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220801141112/https://eurasianet.org/uzbekistan-a-second-coming-for-the-russian-language|url-status=live}}</ref>