For now, we have only issued guidelines.

The Atameken Regional Chamber of Entrepreneurs is closely monitoring compliance with language legislation. At the end of December, the focus of a meeting was the requirements for producing advertising and visual information. According to the chamber's press service, representatives from authorized bodies conducted inspections and identified several violations in the Glubokoe, Shemonaiha, and Samara districts, as well as in Ridder and Ust-Kamenogorsk.

https://kazpravda.kz/n/poka-ogranichilis-predpisaniyami/2025-01-17 07:11:51

– In some cases, information was missing in the state language, – said Gulzhan Kazimova, head of the department for language development, onomastics, and cultural heritage of the regional culture administration. – There were also recorded grammatical and stylistic errors that distort the meaning and content of the texts.

According to Irina Smith, the deputy akim of Ust-Kamenogorsk, the regional center has accumulated positive experience where specialists monitor signs, advertisements, and announcements together with community activists. If errors are identified, they advise entrepreneurs on what and how to correct them.

– In 2024, specialists visited over 400 business sites and provided more than 200 methodological recommendations for correcting errors, – explains Irina Smith. – Additionally, we regularly conduct free Kazakh language courses for entrepreneurs, seminars, and distribute phrasebooks. We provide recommendations for the design and content of visual advertising in accordance with the legislation.

Participants of the meeting noted that public organizations, such as “Tіl qorğandarı,” take an active stance in Ust-Kamenogorsk. They also assist cafe, restaurant, store, and other business owners in correcting errors found, for instance, in menus written in Kazakh.

– According to the legislation, forms, signs, announcements, advertisements, price lists, and other visual information must be in the state language, – emphasized Gulzhan Kazimova. – Additionally, the Russian language is used, and if necessary, other languages as well.

The texts in visual information are arranged in the following order: on the left or at the top – in the state language, on the right or at the bottom – in Russian. The font size must be the same.

Representatives of the executive bodies stated that as a result of raids in 2024, entrepreneurs were only issued warnings. The executive authority preferred to avoid punitive measures but reminded business community representatives of their responsibility in case of repeated violations. The law “On Languages in the Republic of Kazakhstan” stipulates an administrative fine for such entities ranging from 5 to 25 monthly calculation indicators, or from 19.6 thousand to 98.3 thousand tenge.

During the meeting, the business community raised the issue of using the Latin script alongside Cyrillic for advertising and signage. Representatives of the regional culture administration clarified that the Latin script is used in visual design only in a trial format.

Moreover, during the meeting, it was noted that there are distorted Kazakh words present in the official toponymy of the region. As the head of the department for language development, onomastics, and cultural heritage pointed out, this concerns distorted street names, village names, settlements, etc. Here, questions arise for local executive bodies.

The regional administration of construction, architecture, and urban planning agreed with the criticism and promised to engage the district and city maslikhats – as it is the deputies who can make changes to the register of names through their decisions.