Some of the Turkish Republics that gained independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union, such as Azerbaijan, switched from the Cyrillic alphabet to the Latin alphabet, while others, such as Kazakhstan, waited until 2017 and the transition period was extended until 2031. In this article, the reasons why Kazakhstan made the decision to change the alphabet so late and the difficulties it faced will be discussed. Difficulties in switching to the Latin alphabet are divided into two: general and specific reasons. In addition to the general reasons highlighted in the literature, such as converting all the publications to the new alphabet, being costly and difficult due to reasons such as the education of the older and younger generations, the fact that the Russian population is higher among all Turkish countries, their proximity to Russia, entering the Russian occupation early and staying under the Russian colony for a longer period of time, there are reasons specific to Kazakhstan, such as the pressure of the Russian Federation, the fact that Russian is spoken more by Kazakhs and other ethnic minorities, and the fact that it is a Lingua Franca, that is, the language used between different ethnic groups, were examined.
Change of Alphabet, Latin alphabet, History of the alphabet, Kazakhstan