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President Shavkat Mirziyoyev used Uzbek Language Day on 21 October to set out an agenda for expanding the role of the state language across government, education, scientific research and digital technology, calling on institutions to treat the quality of their Uzbek as a measure of public service.
In a written message, Mirziyoyev said government agencies must lead by example. “Laws, decisions, instructions and responses to inquiries must be written in fluent, precise and understandable language. Citizens should not face unnecessary difficulties in understanding their rights and obligations,” he said, adding that respect for the state language should be visible in the quality of services the public receives.
Education and scientific publishing
On schooling, the president called for stronger reading comprehension, speaking and writing skills among students. He said teaching methods and textbooks should be designed to reflect a distinction that is often overlooked in practice: the different needs of children who speak Uzbek as their mother tongue and those who are learning it as the state language.
Mirziyoyev also pressed for wider access to scientific literature in Uzbek and more opportunities for researchers to present their findings in the language. He identified medicine, engineering and economics as fields where reliable reference materials, high-quality translations and digital resources are most urgently needed.
Digital tools and artificial intelligence
The president devoted considerable attention to the digital environment, calling for the development of electronic dictionaries, translation and editing tools, and curated collections of written and spoken Uzbek. He specifically highlighted speech-to-text and text-to-speech technologies as priorities, while stipulating that the creation of digital language resources must respect copyright and protect personal data.
Mirziyoyev set a clear standard for judging progress in artificial intelligence. “The quality of artificial intelligence tools in the state language should be assessed by how accurately and usefully they assist people,” he said.
Spelling standards and generational consistency
The president also weighed in on the politically sensitive question of spelling and writing norms, saying that user convenience should be the primary consideration in any reforms. He insisted that solutions must be grounded in scientific research, public consultation and practical preparation, and that whatever standards are adopted should be applied consistently across education, publishing and digital systems — while accounting for the needs of different generations.
International dimension
Mirziyoyev called for greater interest in Uzbek language study and research abroad, pointing to the Uzbek Studies Programme at the University of Oxford as one platform through which international exchange in language studies and translation could be deepened.
Uzbek Language Day is observed annually on 21 October, the date in 1989 when Uzbek was declared the state language of what was then the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic.