1. Introduction
We paid attention to the wider coverage of the second part of the article. Scientific articles by Uzbek linguists on language policy published in journals were thoroughly studied and analyzed. Also, taking into account a large number of Uzbek migrants in Russia in recent years, attention will be paid to the development of the Russian language in the relations between Uzbekistan and Russia, signed agreements in the field of education, goals and tasks, and revealing the conflicts that may arise in the future. And the same aspects of the issue determine the relevance and actuality of the article.
Electronic resource articles published on the Uzbek language channels, interview-conversation, comparative, analysis-synthesis, telegram channels, articles published on the pages of Thought journal (Tafakkur), and scientific works of the authors determine the method of the article.
2. Actual Problems of Uzbek Linguistics
During the collapse of the USSR, the idea of national language independence formed the basis of the movement towards national independence in the former Soviet republics. It was an understandable idea for the general public. At the same time, it entered into the secret of very sensitive, passionate ideas. Taking into account that passionate ideas are an important component of power of any revolutionary idea, it is not difficult to understand how powerful the idea of national language independence was. Politicians also understood the technological value and potential of this passionate idea and made good use of it. Laws on the state language have been adopted in a number of republics, and measures aimed at changing the status of the national language and expanding the scope of its functional use which have been implemented. Naturally, Uzbekistan also followed this path.
Today’s experiences show that there are a number of problems that need to be solved in front of the Uzbek language, these are: 1) problems related to theoretical-methodological knowledge; 2) problems related to the current state of the Uzbek language; 3) changes occurring with the socio-political text; 4) The control of literary speech by intellectuals is weakening; 5) degradation of the literary text; 6) Problems related to changes in the demographic situation in large cities of Uzbekistan. In the same conditions, the change of the rules of writing and spelling caused the breaking of textual traditions, the decline of the intellectuals’ speech potential, which defines the problem of the decline of the text as the most urgent problem of modern Uzbek studies and forces specialists to deal with this complex problem in one way or another in all researches related to the text.
2.1. Opinions on the Issue of the Uzbek Language
Abdulla Avloni (1878-1934), one of the representatives of the Jadidchilik school, is the life-language and literature of every nation, which shows its existence in the world. Losing the national language means losing the spirit of the nation (Avloni, 1913) . This definition of language remains relevant over the years. Today, in the process of globalization of the world, the issue of the survival of some regional languages has become serious. A nation without national pride has no language. Loyalty to oneself begins with the respect and loyalty of one or another nation to its own language. Unfortunately, as Murtaza Karshiboy said: “Our language has lost many of its unique features due to the ruling ideology and foreign language policy in the former Soviet era.” (Karshiboy, 2023) In this regard, the great Uzbek sociolinguist A. Djuraev’s ideas put forward in the concluding part of the treatise “Uzbek Standard Language” are still relevant today: “Living side by side with foreign texts that are not fully understood for a long time (street signs, service, education, communication with authorities and religion not in the mother tongue) is incomplete understanding and led to tentative understandings. Immature perception and guesswork introduced many irrational elements into the linguistic thinking of Uzbeks. The reasons for the lack of development of philosophical and legal terminology in the Uzbek language, limitations in the development of legal consciousness, historical distrust of authority and the law, and the need to look for the reasons for this. In addition, during the 20th century, the unsuccessful change of Uzbek writing and spelling created a feeling of public dissatisfaction with the text. Conscious and spontaneous standardization of a written language is a component of cultural development. Standardization of the language has an effect on the literate person and his mental work, because the standardization of the language is aimed at regulating the mental activity of the text creator” (Djuraev, 2017) .
Temur Abdulakhadovich Joraev, Ph.D., professor of the Department of Social and Political Sciences of the Renaissance Educational University, expressed his opinion about the prospects of small languages: “in today’s globalization process, small languages face the inevitable risk of disappearing behind the problems.” For example:
Is it possible to say that the Uzbek language, which has 35 million speakers in Uzbekistan and more than 45 million people speak in Uzbek language in the world, belongs to the language of small nations? No, of course. Murtaza Karshiboy is right when he says, “Our language policy has completely changed” (Karshiboy, 2023) . What is important is that the attitude towards language is changing in society. In today’s era of globalization, every nation, every independent state puts priority on the issue of securing its national interests, in this regard, first of all, on the preservation and development of its culture, ancient values, and mother tongue. According to A. Khojaev, orientalist-historical scientist, Ph.D., the pressure on the Uzbek language is increasing against the background of Arabism in Uzbekistan on the one hand, and the promotion of the Russian language from the north (Russia) on the other. This is also an obstacle to the development of the Uzbek language.
Based on his observations specialist in Uzbek language Ph.D., associate professor U.P. Lafasov expresses the following opinion: compared to 10 - 15 years ago, the position of the Uzbek language has risen significantly. The fact that the head of state gave a speech in our mother tongue on the world stage also increased the political status of our language (Lafasov, 2021) . In this matter, the society and the state should work together. How do you see the future of the Uzbek language, will globalization swallow this language, what do you think needs to be done for this? to the next question , Associate Professor U.P. Lafasov answered like this: Knowledge of the Uzbek language should be a mandatory requirement for every citizen of Uzbekistan; implementation of scientific-practical actions on standardization and unification of various field terms in the Uzbek language; restoration of the Terminology Committee, which operated for a certain period after Uzbekistan’s independence, and effective organization of its activities; quality organization of education in the Uzbek language; promoting the Uzbek language on a large scale; delivering examples of fiction to the general public, with literate editing in the Uzbek language. To encourage those who organize education in Uzbek among private kindergartens and schools. The main thing is that every citizen should feel that language is the future of the nation, that freedom of language is the main condition for freedom of thought, and that he should be responsible for the future of his mother tongue.
Today, the uncertainty of the dialects that are the basis of the Uzbek literary language remains the main obstacle to the creation of the corpus of the Uzbek language. Only when it is recognized that the Uzbek literary language is based on the real Uzbek (the former Soviet Union called it Kipchak) and mixed Oghuz dialects, the original prestige of the Uzbek language will return. Then there will be an opportunity to create a real Uzbek language corpus and a computer version of the Uzbek language [author’s opinion January 12, 2024. Telegram channel].
Associate Professor, Department of Chinese Philology, Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies, Ph.D. S.T. Mustafaeva finds the Uzbek language problem as an objective assessment in her views: In the process of globalization, the preservation of the national language and national culture is in the hands of each nation and society.
1) It is necessary to instill a sense of pride in the nation for its language, so that this nation does not feel ashamed when it speaks its mother tongue. To do this, spread the masterpieces of Chagatai literature, which is the basis of Turkish and Uzbek languages, to strengthen the propaganda in this regard, to deepen the efforts started today to assimilate the ideas of the enlightenment of the beginning of the 20th century, especially modern literature into the society;
2) Improving the quality of education. It is necessary to improve the quality of education in the Uzbek language. For this, it is not necessary to take a model from developed countries and inculcate national education in it, but to determine the path of national development and reform the field from within, studying the world experience;
3) Formation of an institute working with terms and toponyms, standardizing, scientifically and practically dealing with this issue and organizing its effective activity;
4) To teach the young generation that learning foreign languages is the key to the doors to other knowledge. Achieving a conscious feeling of the importance of preserving one’s identity while learning a foreign language;
5) Production and presentation of films, music and songs in the Uzbek language, ensuring nationalism, linguistic purity, and ideological completeness;
6) Of course, it is necessary to ensure the support of the state in order to maintain and improve the position of the Uzbek language in every aspect. [Interview on January 12, 2024, Tashkent].
Associate Professor of the Department of Uzbek Literature, Faculty of Uzbek Philology, Doctor of Philology Jalaliddin Joraev said, “The language of manuscript sources related to medicine, exact sciences and social sciences, the language and lexical layer of archival documents, historical and literary works of the period up to the first quarter of the 20th century, Manuscript sources related to literary studies and linguistics have not been sufficiently studied from the point of view of linguistics. There are not enough scientists working on manuscript sources.” [Interview on January 11, 2024, Tashkent].
Acting associate professor of the Department of Social and Political Sciences of the Renaissance Educational University, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in political sciences, Akbar Eshmurodov expresses his opinion about the Uzbek language today:
Language is a national code that defines the nationality of a nation. In fact, it embodies the culture and spirituality of the nation from the distant past to the present day. In addition, it is the spiritual foundation that introduces the nation to the world, its important sign, an integral and inseparable part.
Being a national code, language is also a means of political communication of the state. In 1989, the granting of the status of the state language to the Uzbek language is a historical event. The Uzbek language must become the main means of communication and value for representatives of every nation and people living in our country. Therefore, it is necessary to make and implement historical decisions about language today, tomorrow will be too late. Language is a national political issue. [Interview on January 13, 2024 12: 41].
According to the senior teacher of the department of history and anthropology of Eastern countries, Sh. Yodgorov, during the Soviet period, libraries were established in the most rural areas of Uzbekistan, where there were translations and works of his era, magazines and newspapers, and various scientific and popular books. Today, due to financial difficulties, those libraries established in the villages have been destroyed or turned into barns. Intellectual property accumulated over 10 years lost its value in a short period of time. As a result, literature, which serves to shape the nation’s thinking for today’s youth, has begun to be accepted as an unnecessary science. Meanwhile, literature has given way to cell phones that glorify life without content. Today’s textbooks should be saturated with examples of modern literary works that can interest young people. Another shortcoming in teaching native language and literature in schools is the quality of textbooks and the level of experts in the field of native language and literature, methodical approaches have led to a decline in the level of the Uzbek language in Uzbekistan. As a result of this, generations of the people who have produced great thinkers for centuries have become distant from literature.
2.2. Language Policy and Features in Uzbekistan
Language plays an important role in uniting people, nations, and peoples who speak it, in determining the directions of their goals, actions, and interests in various situations. The continuous and strict attention paid to language in Uzbekistan is not observed even in some developed countries. In the state policy of Uzbekistan, language and literature, spirituality and enlightenment are considered as the mirror of the nation and the spirit of the people.
As a means of social communication, language helps people understand each other and exchange information. During the conversation, social relations are formed (Hasanov, 2021) . On the contrary, political scientist A.A. As Sharapov said, “who needs to learn a language if the learned language is not used in practice.”
Empirical research of the problem made it possible to see the reaction of regional variability to the normative requirements regarding the provision of the right to learn the mother tongue. In recent years, the Uzbek diaspora (in Russia) has been growing significantly (Borisova, 2020) . The strengthening of such factors puts the necessity of reading and learning the Russian language on the mandatory agenda in Uzbekistan.
Linguist scientist Murad Hoshimov said, “However, the warm attitude towards the state language did not continue evenly.” Continuing in his opinion, he points out the following four reasons related to the development of the Uzbek language. These are: firstly, the transition from the first to a new alphabet based on the Latin script, the full transition was too long. Secondly, the central state agencies continued to receive documents in Russian and send them to the regions for execution. Thirdly, the experience of first preparing draft laws in Russian and then translating them into the state language was not completely abandoned. Fourthly, the work of the Academy of Sciences has moved towards closure rather than development; Both the Institute of Language and the Institute of Literature were shortened, shortened, and merged again. Only by 2017, the Institute was returned to the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Hoshimov, 2021) .
In 1990, the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers “On the state program for the implementation of the law on the state language”, in 1993 the law “On the introduction of the Uzbek alphabet based on the Latin script”, in 1995 the new version of the law “On the state language”, in 1996 this the adoption of the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers on making relevant changes to the state program aimed at the implementation of the law and other similar documents became important in this regard.
The policy on the development of language and literature foresees a number of issues that still need to be implemented in this area. In particular, it is necessary to expand the scope of use of our native language, to study its historical roots in depth and to develop it on a scientific basis, to have a good understanding of the innovative technologies that are spreading among the peoples of the world, to be able to read the news in Uzbek in order to use it effectively, to program modern technologies in Uzbek, fundamental sciences, modern information and communication technologies, industry, banking and financial system, jurisprudence, diplomacy, military work and other very important sectors are putting on the agenda the issues of achieving the Uzbek language’s real place on the agenda, so that on the way to our goal of becoming a highly developed country, not only the world’s positive news of our country acceptance and understanding, but also related to the solution of presenting Uzbek innovations to the world.
In the years of independence, many studies have been carried out that prove the error of a number of views in the linguistics of the ex-Soviet era, including many evidences that the Turkic peoples and peoples who lived in the territory of modern Uzbekistan played a major role in the formation of the Uzbek language. But these results are not being conveyed to the scientific thinking of foreign countries (Abdushukurov, 2021) .
Today, the study of Uzbek language and literature has been started in universities of many countries such as the USA, Russia, China, Germany, England, France, Turkey, India, Sweden, Azerbaijan, Japan, and Korea. Today, there is no need for an intermediary language in the process of mutual communication between Turkic languages. “Even knowing the Uzbek language is enough in some cases. Because there are many Azerbaijanis in Tehran (the capital of Iran) and they understand the Uzbek language well” (Darakchi.uz, 2024) . Turkic languages living in Central Asia and Russia easily understand each other. So, there is no need to give a political tone in this place.
1) Media, Internet, private entertainment publications, TV and radio channels, non-compliance with state language rules in some offices and organizations, coffee shops, wedding halls, shops, various companies and limited liability companies, service stations, although they do not work with foreign funds. naming them in a foreign language, modern information and communication technologies, industry, banking and financial system, jurisprudence, diplomacy, military work, medicine and other sectors, lack of full use of the state language, working in the state language, standardization of writing, creation of terminological and explanatory dictionaries related to the field, There are a number of problems related to the teaching of the Uzbek language, the teaching of the mother tongue, and the acceleration of research into the dialects of the Uzbek language.
2) There is an invisible aspect of the matter, that you cannot find a job in Uzbekistan only with the Uzbek language. In Uzbekistan, it is not necessary to know the Uzbek language, the main thing is to know the Russian language. These unwritten language laws are strictly followed in the actual language policy of this country, which is not written in the language policy law.
3) However, due to our lack of determination and neglect of our own language, we have not been able to turn the Uzbek language into the main language of communication, respect, or value for the representatives of the nationalities and peoples living in our country.
4) Today, a whole generation cannot clearly express their thoughts in their mother tongue, and those who teach their children in Russian repeat two old sayings:
a) It is good to know many languages.
b) He learns the Uzbek language on the street and in the market. As a result, over the years, the Uzbek language is falling to the level of a street language, not a state language.
Russian researcher N. Starikov writes: “But Paris was then Paris, and educated people, nobles in Russia for more than a hundred years in everyday life will speak French, and not English. And what’s most offensive and terrible is that it’s not Russian” (Starikov, 2022) . This quote was not simply quoted, because the political elite in Uzbekistan and the country’s upper classes and nobles still speak Russian today. Official dialogues, signing of contracts of state importance are still conducted in Russian today. And they close it with the words “the Russian language is very rich”. 63% of schools in the country are taught in Russian. “Today, according to data from the Ministry of Preschool and School Education in Uzbekistan, out of 10,130 secondary schools, 899 schools (8.8%) teach in Russian” (gazeta.uz, 2019) .
According to Norma.uz, on October 19, 2018, an agreement between the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Government of the Russian Federation on the establishment and operation of branches of higher education institution of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Uzbekistan was approved (lex.uz, 2018) . It is noted that the agreement was concluded in Tashkent on October 19, 2018 in two copies, each in the Uzbek and Russian languages, both texts having the same force (yuz.uz, 2018) . Validity period is five years. On January 12, 2021, the president’s decision to establish a branch of the Russian University in Tashkent was adopted (sputniknews.uz, 2023) . In accordance with this, the Parties also agreed to consider the possibilities of developing cooperation on improving the qualifications of Russian language teachers in Uzbekistan, introducing the “TRKI” system (“Test in Russian as a foreign language”) developed by St. Petersburg State University in Uzbekistan (sputniknews.uz, 2023) .
According to monitoring data, 82% of branches of Russian higher education institutions are located in CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries: Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Moldova. Currently, 53,000 Uzbeks are studying in Russian higher education institutions and their branches.
Uzbekistan is the leader in the CIS in terms of the number of branches of Russian higher educational institutions, and today 17 branches of Russian higher educational institutions are operating in Uzbekistan. It is planned to increase it by 7 more. In a short time, the number of branches increased to 13. A small conclusion is that there is nothing but increasing the status and prestige of the Russian language in Uzbekistan, and this is the serious aspect of the matter. “Scientific studies show that every person needs the native language genetically. Only if we know it perfectly, we will have no difficulty in acquiring other knowledge and languages. Without knowing and developing our language, we will never be able to respect our culture and values enough. The negative consequences of this cannot be measured” (gazeta.uz, 2022) .
The list of branches of some Russian Universities: Moscow State University named after M. Lomonosov, Russian University of Economics named after Plekhanov, Russian State Oil and Gas University named after Gubkin, Russian Chemical and Technological University named after Mendeleev, State Pedagogical University after named Gertsen, VGIK, MISIS, MIFI, MGIMO and others are operating in Uzbekistan. Today, Uzbekistan is the leader in the CIS in terms of the number of branches of Russian higher education institutions. 17 branches of Russian higher education institutions are operating in Uzbekistan. It is planned to increase their number by 7 in the near future. In a short time, the number of branches increased to 13.
A small conclusion is that there is nothing but increasing the status and prestige of the Russian language in Uzbekistan, and this is the serious aspect of the matter. “Scientific studies show that every person needs the native language genetically. Only if we know it perfectly, we will have no difficulty in acquiring other knowledge and languages. Without knowing and developing our language, we will never be able to respect our culture and values enough. The negative consequences of this cannot be measured” (Makhmudov, 2021) .
Today, the Uzbek language is experiencing a difficult period of survival in its history of development. The decrees and decisions adopted for the development of the Uzbek language are not implemented in practice in the centers and localities. “Language cannot be set against language, nation against nation. Neither the language nor the nation is guilty or responsible for the barbarities of the invaders represented by a language and nation, the atrocities of such a handful of gangs; not understanding this is the result of working with the philosophy of the crowd!” (uzanalytics.com, 2021) .
Since the law “On State Language” is incomplete, it has been more than thirty years, and it is not working as fully as we expected. Poet and translator Fakhriddin Nizam is right when he says that the project of the Uzbek alphabet, which has been discussed for several years, sometimes rising and sometimes declining, seems to be prepared in such a way as to leave more work for the next generations.
Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor Q. Yoldoshev said cheerfully: “Some people may say that language should not be mixed with politics. However, precisely because language does not become politics, politics cannot rise to the level of real politics. In terms of language policy, our work that does not depend on external influence is also on the way. All this is related to the lack of a mechanism to control the fulfillment of the requirements of the law on the state language, to regulate the use of dozens and hundreds of terms entering our language every day” (Yoldoshev, 2021) . In this sense, Professor Nizomiddin Makhmudov expressed the following: “Disrespecting the language means disrespecting the identity of humanity. Respect and attention to the language is recognition of the respectability of the human child in this world” (Makhmudov, 2021) seems to justify itself at Ph.D., Professor B. Abdushukurov’s article: It is mentioned that the State Language Development Department consisting of 9 staff personnel was established in the structure of the Cabinet of Ministers (Abdushukurov, 2021) .
In accordance with the decree “On measures to further develop the Uzbek language and improve the language policy in our country” signed on October 20, 2020, the concept and main directions of the development of the Uzbek language and the improvement of the language policy in 2020-2030 were approved. According to the decree, it was established that the management staff must know the Uzbek language. At the same time, in the decree, the coverage of Uzbek-speaking groups in the state preschool education system should be increased to 72% by 2025, and to 80% by 2030, and the scope of teaching the mother tongue subject in the basic curricula for academic years in general education schools should be increased from the current 84 hours to 110 hours per week by 2030,to increase the number of Uzbek language departments in higher education institutions to 120 by 2025, and to 140 by 2030, to increase the number of Uzbek language teaching centers in foreign higher education institutions from the current 17 to 60 by 2030, to increase the number of “Friends of the Uzbek language” clubs to 30 by 2025, and it is planned to reach 40 by 2030. In 2020, the creation of 15 linguistic, field-terminological, explanatory dictionaries that increase the vocabulary of the Uzbek language is among the main directions (ndpi.uz, 2020) .
The native language and literature of any nation is the basis of its national spirit and identity, cultural and educational world, national idea. That is why, when the occupying forces want to subjugate our country, first of all, they try to separate it from its language and religion, history and culture, and national pride. Against the background of language, culture acquires new concepts (Abdushukurov, 2021) .
3. Conclusion
In particular, the following factors can be a long-term obstacle in the development of the Uzbek language: geographical factor; national identity; the Russified layer of a certain part of the population (mainly characteristic of the population of central large cities); The Sunni views that it is almost impossible to achieve the achievements of world culture through the Uzbek language are instilled into the public mind; the lack of specialized dictionaries in the Uzbek language is a particularly sad situation, which casts a serious shadow on the development of the Uzbek language. To preserve the fact that the Uzbek language is the official language of the state of Uzbekistan, regardless of the social and political situation in the country, the following should be the main ones for the development of the Uzbek language in the future:
1) Support of the Uzbek language by education and the state: development of the educational system in the Uzbek language, training of professional teachers, development of textbooks that meet the requirements of the time, and quality educational programs. Providing funding for programs and projects aimed at the development of the Uzbek language by the state.
2) Media and culture: Increasing the use of the Uzbek language in television and radio, media programs, establishing support for art, literature, and various cultural activities in the Uzbek language.
3) Language policy: Increasing the status of the Uzbek language in practice in state agencies, administrative structures, courts and prosecutor’s offices, ensuring citizens’ freedom to use their language rights and focusing on providing services in the Uzbek language.
4) Information technologies: widespread use of technologies and Internet resources
5) Development of computer programs in the Uzbek language, development of business cards, booklets, tabloids and commercial products in the Uzbek language.
6) The role of language policy in education: comprehensive promotion of the use of the Uzbek language in scientific research and higher education institutions; increasing the status of the Uzbek language in international scientific circles.
7) Cooperation with the public: establishing cooperation with the public based on the language requirements of the population; calling the public to increase their activity for the development of the Uzbek language. These strategies serve as a decisive factor for the communication-relations, cultural growth and intellectual development of the Uzbek language in Uzbekistan.
8) The time has already come to develop the language of natural and exact sciences, to pay serious attention to it.
According to Iroda Azimova, head of the Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, Faculty of Uzbek Philology, Tashkent State University of Uzbek Language and Literature: 1) The lack of children’s literature and scientific-popular works is one of the problems facing the Uzbek language today. 2) The issue of language development depends primarily on the economic power of the existing state. [Interview on January 14, 2024, Tashkent].
“The social institution that unites Uzbeks in a multilingual, multicultural and multilingual environment is, first of all, the Uzbek school, or rather, the standard Uzbek language that lives in that school. The communication needs of the society require mastering the standard language, through the standard language it is possible to get information, to be socially understandable, to actively participate in the life of society and, finally, to rise from the service ladder” (Djuraev, 2017) .
But studies show that the situation has not changed: in most state organizations at the republican level, work, Laws and legal documents, projects of regulatory legal documents of some organizations, major events begin and end in Russian. Organizations write letters to each other in Russia. He also wants to get the answer in Russian. The streets and the Internet are full of advertising banners in Russian. It is customary to place Russian banners in regions and remote districts.
This is the picture of language situation and politics in Uzbekistan. Here again, it is impossible not to agree with the following comments of the great Uzbek sociolinguist, Doctor of Philological Sciences, A. B. Djuraev (1961-2014). “The era is putting new tasks before our linguistics. Most of these tasks lie at the level of ‘man and society’, and to solve them, it is necessary to start theoretical and methodological research, and change the subject repertoire and directions. The main obstacles to the implementation of these conditions are: the absence of scientific studies in the republic, the absence of methodological reflection, the fact that personnel are theoretically not ready for such research, the fact that science has been on the path of decline for ten years, the boundaries of science and non-science are increasingly being washed away, the journalistic nature of humanities the existence of dogmatism in science, the unreadability of scientific works, the development of plagiarism and compilation, and finally, the fact that Uzbek linguistics has become an ‘island’ linguistics” (Djuraev, 2017) . In the words of sociologists, this shows that Uzbek society today is infected with paranoia in all areas, starting with language. If these situations are not corrected in the near future, it can be considered as a sad event for the future of the nation and its gene pool.
NOTES
*The article is devoted to the memory of outstanding Uzbek linguist Dr. Aziz Djuraev.