Kazakh Language and Arabic Alphabet

Abstract

The sounds in the word must be indicated by certain letters so that they are displayed in the written language and, accordingly, read. The sounds of the language are indicated in the text by certain graphic letters. A set of letters arranged one after another is called an alphabet. There are a certain number of alphabetic systems in the world. Because cultural and religious factors often play a role in place of phonological criteria as historical fact, spelling problems arise when there is an imbalance between certain scripts and the languages of the societies that use them. To date, the issue of the alphabet is one of the most discussed and still relevant in the Turkic world and in Turkic studies. Beginning in the 10th century, the rapid spread of Islam among the Turks made the Arabic script the common script of all Turkic countries. The Kazakh language is the most common among the Turkic languages. In addition to the Kazakh alphabet, a lot of research has been done on spelling. In this regard, the work of the Kazakh intellectual A. Baitursynov can be cited as an example. Baitursynov's Kazakh alphabet based on Arabic graphics was used until 1929 under the name «tote zhazu». Today, this alphabet is used by Kazakhs living in China. This study will consider the period of use of the Arabic alphabet by the Kazakhs, as well as the important questions and problems that have arisen in this.