REFORMING THE UZBEK LATIN ALPHABET: BALANCING PHONOLOGY AND GLOBAL USABILITY

Аннотация

This paper discusses the ongoing reform of the Uzbek Latin alphabet, examining its historical background, phonological principles, and the practical implications of adopting Latin-based letters to represent specific Uzbek phonemes such as қ (q), ғ (g‘), and ў (o‘). Drawing on phonological theories by Trubetzkoy (1960) and Martinet (1949), as well as practical observations of global digital communication systems, the article argues that a globally compatible and linguistically accurate Latin-based script best serves Uzbekistan’s modern linguistic and technological needs.