Today, a scientific and practical conference titled “Issues of the State Language” was held at Abai University. The event brought together scholars from higher education institutions, specialists from the “Qaztest” center, language advocates, and young researchers. As part of the conference, the winners of competitions dedicated to the state language were awarded, and the monograph “The Linguistic Situation in the City of Almaty” was presented.
The meeting was moderated by Bakyt Kalymbet, Head of the Department for Language Development and Onomastics of the Almaty City Department of Internal Policy, who highlighted the language policy and the current state of the state language in the metropolis. Associate Professor and Candidate of Philology Aman Abasilov delivered a report on the implementation of the 2023–2029 State Language Policy Concept in Almaty in 2025.
“The study of the linguistic situation in Kazakhstan is largest metropolis, Almaty, in comparison with global megacities, carries significant scientific and social importance. The state’s demand for language arises not from political slogans, but from internal needs. Statistical data show that 60% of Almaty residents actively use the Kazakh language. Additionally, research was conducted on the compliance with state language norms on the city is advertising and visual materials,” noted Aman Mädelkhanuly.
Director of the Institute for the Development of the State Language, Bizhomart Qapalbek, delivered a report titled “The Importance of Shifting the Existing Eurocentric Script toward a Nationally Oriented One” encouraging the use of Kazakh equivalents for a number of words widely adopted by the youth. Legal responsibility for non-compliance with language norms was addressed by Dinara Meirambekkyzy, a researcher at the Institute for the Development of the State Language.
The conference also featured the presentation of the monograph “The Linguistic Situation in the City of Almaty”. This is the second publication examining the state of language policy implementation in the metropolis. The book explores Almaty is administrative and territorial structure, its historical development, and its role in the current linguistic landscape. It also includes studies on the functioning and use of the state language in the education sector, as well as research on language proficiency and teaching in higher education institutions. Furthermore, the event honored the winners of the competitions “Let the Little Ones Speak” and “Best Kazakh Language Teacher,” aimed at strengthening the status of the native language in 2025 and improving the quality of Kazakh-language children is content on social networks and digital platforms.
Language is the soul and spirit of a nation, the foundation of the state. Akhmet Baitursynuly expressed the significance of language for our nation in a single phrase: “A people who lose their language, lose themselves.” Therefore, raising the status of the state language, expanding its use, and adhering to language norms is a shared responsibility for all of us.
