https://ijmri.de/index.php/jmsi
volume 4, issue 3, 2025
650
THE IMPORTANCE OF VOWELS IN THE MOTHER LANGUAGE
Samadova Dildora G`ayriddin kizi
Samarkand State University
Urgut Branch Faculty of Pedagogy and Language Teaching
Department of Uzbek Language and Literature
2nd Stage 205 Group A Student
Annotation:
This article attempts to touch upon the spelling of vowels based on spelling rules,
the similarity and differentiation of vowels in pronunciation, spelling in dialects - the
characteristics of vowels in dialects.
Keywords:
letter, sound, vowels, Uzbek language, literacy teaching, phoneme, primary school,
method, education.
In order to ensure the implementation of the Decree of the President of the Republic of
Uzbekistan dated October 21, 2019 “On measures to radically increase the prestige and status of
the Uzbek language as the state language”, the “Concept for the development of the Uzbek
language and the improvement of language policy in 2020-2030”[4] was adopted. This serves to
improve the legislation on the state language in our republic and increase the international
prestige of the Uzbek language. Vowels determine the tone, rhythm and conciseness of speech.
Incorrectly pronounced vowels lead to incomprehensibility of the word. In the process of
teaching literacy, when introducing students to sounds and letters, and teaching them to
synthesize and read, the teacher must take into account the phonetic features of the Uzbek
language. Literacy teaching is carried out based on the analytical-synthetic sound method. The
word is divided into syllables, the necessary sound being studied is separated from the syllable,
analyzed, synthesized with the letter being studied, and on this basis the letter and the entire
reading process are mastered. This takes into account the graphic system of the Uzbek language
and the features of marking sounds in writing.
During the period of literacy training, familiarization with sound-letters begins with vowels.
There are 6 vowel phonemes in the current Uzbek language: a, o, i, e, u, oʻ.
The letter e is mainly used at the beginning of words and syllables (ekin, ezki, aeroplan), and
after a consonant it is read as a medium-wide, unlabial vowel (kel, tez). During the period of
literacy training, first the e at the beginning of a word is introduced, and then the e after a
consonant is introduced.
The letter Oo in Uzbek and Turkic words represents the low, wide, labial Oо sound, and in
Russian-international words it is pronounced in an unstressed syllable as a (zoology), as an o
sound (tonna), and as a short i (elektor). Therefore, Russian-international words containing this
vowel are introduced into the learning process after the literacy period.
Work on the sound composition of words for primary school students begins from the first days
of literacy teaching. During this period, students learn the structure of their sounds from the
words they pronounce or hear. They learn to analyze words by sound, and say the sounds in the
word in order. In this case, special importance is attached to not confusing analysis by sound
with analysis by letter.
Correctly imagining the sound composition of a word is also of great importance for developing
the ability to write without omitting or replacing the letters in it. Therefore, even after teaching
literacy, it is necessary to work on improving the skill of determining the composition of sounds
https://ijmri.de/index.php/jmsi
volume 4, issue 3, 2025
651
in a word using exercises on analyzing words by sound.
When teaching words and syllables to read, it is necessary to pronounce sounds-letters separately,
take into account the sounds of the Uzbek language and the specific aspects of the expression of
these sounds in writing. Words are taught to be read as a whole, observing the harmony of
sounds, as in oral speech. In this case, special attention should be paid to the combination of
sounds (letters) and syllables.
The Uzbek language belongs to the Turkic language family, and vowels and consonants play an
important role in its phonetic system. Vowels have a great influence on the structure,
pronunciation and meaning of words in the speech process.
Vowel Sounds and their characteristics are as follows:
There are 6 main vowels in the Uzbek language: a, o, u, i, e, o. They differ in the following
aspects:
- Oral and nasal vowels - in the Uzbek language, mainly oral vowels are used, but nasal vowels
are also found in some dialects.
- Front and back vowels - vowels such as i, e are considered front, and those such as a, o, u, o are
considered back vowels.
- Light and hard vowels - a, o, u, o are hard, i, e are light vowels.
The importance of vowels:
1. Differentiating the meaning of a word.
In some words, changing the vowel sound completely changes the meaning of the word. For
example, alma (fruit) - ulma (to die), eshik (window) - ishik (an ancient Turkic word).
2. Participation in word formation.
Vowels play an important role in the addition of suffixes. For example, - uy + -im = uyum (under
the influence of the u in uy, the i sound in the suffix -im changed to u), bola + -lar = bolalar (the
a sound was preserved).
3. Differentiation in dialects and dialects.
Vowels are pronounced differently in different dialects of the Uzbek language. For example, the
word "girl" can be pronounced as qez, qoz in some places.
4. Melodiousness and naturalness of speech.
5. Morphological role of vowels.
In the Uzbek language, vowels perform the following functions in the process of word formation:
- Adaptation of suffixes: uy + -im = uyim (under the influence of the vowel u in uy, the suffix -
um takes the form), kitob + -lar = kitob (under the influence of the back vowel o, the suffix -lar
is used).
- Changes in the root of the word:
In some verbs, vowel alternation (ablaut) is observed:
- yor- / yar- (light / shine).
6. Dialectal differences in vowels.
There are significant differences in the pronunciation of vowels in Uzbek dialects:
- Tashkent dialect: "oʻt" → ut, "oʻgʻil" → oʻgʻil.
- Kashkadarya dialect: "eshik" → ishik, "yetti" → yetti (the sound e is more pronounced).
- Surkhandarya dialect: "qiz" → qəz (a nasalized variant of e).
7. Historical Evolution of Vowels.
- In the ancient Turkic language, there were 9 vowels (for example, ä, ï).
- In the Uzbek language, these sounds were simplified and reduced to 6.
- In some words, historical vowels have been preserved: suv (old Turkic sub) = modern suv.
8. Vowels and spelling rules.
- The correct spelling of vowels in writing is important for preserving the meaning of the word:
apple (fruit) and olmoq (buy).
- Vowel harmony in suffixes: -lik suffix: beauty (under the influence of the vowel a), statehood
(under the influence of the vowel i).
9. The importance of vowels in speech culture.
https://ijmri.de/index.php/jmsi
volume 4, issue 3, 2025
652
- In poetry: Vocal intonation (repetition of vowels) gives the poem musicality. For example, “A
gentle breeze over the flower, Yelginar, yelginar..." (Alisher Navoi).
- In speech: The long/short pronunciation of vowels affects the meaning:
- Short: bor (seller) – long: boor (departure).
10. Influence of Foreign Languages
- In Russian words: Vowels are adapted to the laws of the Uzbek language. theater - theater (a
combination of e and a).
- In Arabic words: The article ـلْاَ (al-) begins with the vowel a: book (Arabic بٌااَكِ).
In the Uzbek language, vowels not only form the basis of the word, but also serve to make
speech clear, beautiful and understandable. In linguistics, the study of vowels is important in
understanding word structure, morphology and phonetic laws. Therefore, mastering vowels is the
main step in the correct and high-quality study of the Uzbek language.
References:
1. Rahmatullayev Sh. Current Uzbek literary language. – T.: 1978.
2. Boronov J. Grammar of the Uzbek language. – T.: 2020.
3. Kongurov T. Phonetics of the Uzbek language. – T.: 1995.
4. Johanson Lars. Turkic Languages. – Newcastle: 1998.
5. Spelling rules of the Uzbek language. – T.: 2021.
