Question: Where in the world may you soon be advised to not take a “selfie”? Answer: In Uzbekistan, where the Terminology Commission would like to see you take an “özchekim” (literally “self-shot”), the native-language alternative.

In fact the language regulators have announced a list of 30 foreign loanwords that they say Uzbeks should be saying in Uzbek. It also includes “cashback”, “svetofor” (Russian for “traffic light”) and “challenge”.

The Terminology Commission, which works under the Cabinet of Ministers, is promoting Uzbek alternatives to borrowed words from a range of languages. But critics argue that certain loanwords are already so ingrained in everyday speech that attempting to replace them would be futile.

Education expert Komil Dzhalilov pointed out that language evolution is a natural process, highlighting how Uzbek has absorbed numerous words from Arabic and Persian. "If we fight for the purity of the language, then should these words also be changed to purely Uzbek ones?" he asked. 

Instead of focusing on widely accepted loanwords, Dzhalilov argued, the commission should address challenges in scientific terminology.

Shokir Tursun, an author of Uzbek language textbooks, supported the initiative, dismissing the criticism as amounting to only temporary resistance to change. 

"Use these words a few times, hear them a few times, and they won’t seem ugly or unfamiliar," he wrote.

Tursun urged sceptics to contribute suggestions rather than reject the commission's work outright. 

The commission’s working group consists of linguists from the Institute of Uzbek Language, Literature and Folklore. 

The Terminology Commission says its proposals are not final and remain open to public input.

Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev (right) seen with Uzbek and foreign bloggers at an international music festival (Credit: Khushnud.Khudayberdiev).