4
The Uzbek alphabet and spelling rules
Textbook: p. 7
GoalKnow the make-up of the Uzbek alphabet and explain why spelling rules are needed.
New words
alphabet · alifbospelling · imloapostrophe sign (’) · tutuq belgisicapital letter · bosh harf
Explanation
The law on the Latin-based Uzbek alphabet was adopted in 1993 and the alphabet was refined in 1995. Today’s alphabet has 29 letters and one apostrophe sign (’). The letters are: A, B, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, X, Y, Z, O‘, G‘, Sh, Ch, Ng. The combinations Sh, Ch and Ng count as one letter each. Spelling rules exist so that everyone writes the same way. For example, the apostrophe sign comes after a vowel: ma’no (meaning), she’r (poem), san’at (art), a’zo (member).
Worked examples
Alphabet order: ... X, Y, Z, O‘, G‘, Sh, Ch, Ng.
Apostrophe sign: ma’no (meaning), she’r (poem), san’at (art), a’zo (member), ta’lim (education).
Class activity
“Alphabet chain”: children take turns naming the next letter; whoever errs sits down. At the end they count O‘, G‘, Sh, Ch, Ng together.
Practice
1
How many letters are in the Uzbek alphabet?
29
2
Which letter combinations count as a single letter?
Sh, Ch, Ng (O‘ and G‘ are separate letters too).
3
Write with the apostrophe sign: mano, sher, sanat.
ma’no, she’r, san’at.
4
Why do we need spelling rules?
So that everyone writes in the same way and written texts are easy to understand.