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A history of the Uzbek alphabet, up to 2026
In one century the Uzbek language changed script four times. The 2026 reform is not a fifth: it finishes what was started in 1993.
Arabic script — until 1929
Uzbek was written in Arabic script for over a thousand years. Navoiy wrote in it; so did Bobur.
1929: the first Latin alphabet
In 1929 the script was moved to Latin, as part of a process running across the Soviet east.
1940: Cyrillic
Eleven years later the script changed again, this time to Cyrillic. It remained the only script for more than half a century and is still widely used.
1993: Latin returns — with ö ğ ş ç
On 2 September 1993 the law "On introducing the Uzbek alphabet based on Latin script" was adopted.
Here is the curious part. That alphabet already had ç, ğ, ö and ş — precisely the letters being returned to in 2026.
1995: the letters were removed
Two years later the alphabet was amended: the letters with diacritics were dropped in favour of digraphs and a mark with a turned apostrophe. ö became oʻ, ğ became gʻ, ş became sh, ç became ch.
The stated reason was to make typing on an English keyboard easier. The press also names another — cooling relations with Turkey. The question is disputed, so we do not pick a side: both explanations appear in the sources.
The outcome is not disputed. Typing did not get easier: there is no apostrophe key either way, people began substituting ', ’ and `, and for twenty years one word was written five ways. And sh and ch created a new problem: words like Isʼhoq needed a separator.
2018–2023: attempts to fix it
Fixing the alphabet was discussed several times. In 2021 the Cabinet adopted a resolution on a gradual complete transition; in 2023 a working group proposed changing four letters. None of it was carried through.
2026: the return
On 7 July 2026 the bill passed the Legislative Chamber, and on 10 September the Senate approved it: 28 letters and the tutuq belgisi. oʻ → ö, gʻ → ğ, sh → ş, ch → ç.
The four letters go back exactly where they were taken from in 1995. We have a separate page on the deadlines and the state of the law.