TASHKENT, October 22. /Dunyo IA/. On October 21^st, Uzbek Language Day, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed the law on the improvement of the Latin-based Uzbek alphabet, which introduces changes to four letters and letter combinations, reports Dunyo IA correspondent.

New alphabet will come into force on April 22^nd, 2027 - six months after the official publication of the law.

According to the document, the current characters will be replaced as follows: O‘ o‘ with Ö ö, G‘ g‘ with Ğ ğ, Sh sh with Ş ş and Ch ch with Ç ç. Letter combination Ng will cease to be considered an independent letter, while the apostrophe symbol will be retained.

As a result, the updated alphabet will consist of 28 letters and an apostrophe. The reform is aimed at eliminating inconveniences in the Uzbek script, simplifying spelling and expanding the language's capabilities within the digital environment.

Head of the Presidential Administration Saida Mirziyoyeva, called the reform the resolution of an issue discussed for many years, linking it with strengthening the status of the Uzbek language and improving youth literacy.

Entry of the law into force does not imply the simultaneous replacement of all documents and materials. Documents issued under the previous alphabet, as well as the national currency and securities, will retain their legal validity.

Textbooks, signs, road indicators and other materials will be replaced in stages, as their period of use expires or in accordance with established programs.

Latin-based Uzbek alphabet was introduced in 1993, and a number of changes were made to it in 1995. Since the complete transition to the Latin script did not take place within the scheduled timeframe, both the Latin and Cyrillic scripts are still used in the country.

New reform is designed to unify the Uzbek script and adapt it to modern digital conditions.