Abstract
The Latinization of the Kazakh language is one of the most difficult to implement, controversial and so far postponed projects of the «Rukhani Zhangyru» Program. This chapter proposes to study the historical stages of the development of the Kazakh language and the factors that led to the idea of its Latinization. The question of the Latinization of the Kazakh language and its possible consequences, raised in the «Rukhani Zhangyru» Program, as well as the pros and cons that itentails, are analyzed from a historical-cultural and sociolinguistic point of view. The paradox is designated as an integral characteristic of the functioning of the Kazakh language -historically multicultural, simultaneously associated with completely different worlds. Reflections on ways to solve this socio-cultural and linguistic problem are presented. Following the concept of F. de Saussure, the Kazakh language and the problem of its Latinization are considered as a sociocultural process that primarily affects Kazakhstani society. In this regard, this study uses methods such as structuralism and cognitive linguistics, which define language concepts as a group of relationships between its elements, each of which has a particular function (both at the general and individual levels). It also uses approaches to the analysis of linguistic factors such as pragmatics and sociolinguistics, which assert that language is a pragmatic act that develops according to the requirements of its speakers, taking into account a wide variety of historical contexts and situations.