Uzbek Authors and U.S. Embassy Collaborate on Uzbek-English English-Uzbek Dictionary Project

On January 31, Uzbek scholars and journalists joined U.S. Ambassador George Krol at the Ambassador’s Residence in Tashkent for a presentation of a new Uzbek-English / English-Uzbek dictionary, published with the financial support of the United States government.

The dictionary’s author, Shavkat Butaev, and other experts at the Uzbek World Languages University and the Uzbek Academy of Sciences collaborated on the project with the support of the U.S. Embassy. The dictionary was published at the “O’qituvchi” Publishing House in the capital. The publication, containing 80,000 words and expressions, will be useful for students learning English at secondary schools and universities, as well as in many other spheres, including in the military and journalism.

“The English-Uzbek Uzbek-English dictionary, the largest of its kind to date, is a momentous achievement in the history of languages and in relations between the cultures of the United States of America and Uzbekistan.  While this dictionary will make the universal language of English more easily accessible to speakers of Uzbek, it will also make the rich and beautiful Uzbek language accessible to English speakers,” U.S. Ambassador George A. Krol noted during the presentation.

The U.S. Embassy’s grant covers a total of about 1,000 copies of the dictionary, which will be distributed to the Ministries of Public and Higher Education, universities, and public libraries throughout the country.  The U.S. Embassy in Tashkent will also send dictionaries to universities and institutions in the United States teaching the Uzbek language to English speakers.

two men showing a book
The dictionary’s author Shavkat Butaev and U.S. Ambassador George Krol. (U.S. Embassy photo)