• Standartization Name: English as the Primary Language for Formal Communication and Technical Standardization

  • Start Date: 2025-10-31

  • RFC PR: N/A

  • STD Issue: N/A

  • Severity: MUST

Summary

This RFC mandates the use of English as the Primary Language for all formal communication, technical documentation, and code contributions within the FLOSS Uzbekistan network. This policy aligns the community with global open-source standards, ensuring maximum accessibility to international contributors and tools. Furthermore, all Uzbek technical communication MUST standardize on the Latin alphabet, deprecating the use of Cyrillic script.

Motivation

While promoting the Uzbek language is important for local empowerment, mandating English for formal technical communication provides critical benefits for the long-term sustainability and quality of FLOSS Uzbekistan projects:

  1. Maximizing Global Contribution: English is the lingua franca of software development. Standardizing on English immediately lowers the barrier to entry for international contributors, users, and reviewers, directly increasing the talent pool and external feedback loop.

  2. Tooling Compatibility: English simplifies interaction with essential global tools (GitHub, automated translation services, static analysis tools) which are primarily designed around Latin-based languages.

  3. Professional Readiness: Mandating English prepares Uzbek developers for global careers and high-level international collaboration, reinforcing the community's role in professional development.

  4. Uzbek Script Standardization: Deprecating the Cyrillic alphabet for technical writing eliminates internal confusion and aligns with the widely recognized Latin script used in modern coding environments and data processing.

I. Detailed Design and Language Mandates

All technology-specific communities (e.g., Rust, Haskell, DevOps) and their members MUST adhere to the following language requirements:

A. Formal Communication (MUST be English)

All official and formal communications channels MUST use English exclusively:

  • RFCs and Standards: All new RFCs and proposed standards MUST be written in English.

  • Code Review: All Pull Request (PR) titles, descriptions, and review comments MUST be in English.

  • Issue Tracking: All GitHub issues, bug reports, feature requests, and issue comments MUST be in English.

  • Official Announcements: Major announcements, official blog posts MUST be delivered in English.

B. Technical Documentation and Readmes

English MUST be the source of truth for all technical documentation.

  • Documentation Priority (MUST): Project documentation (e.g., reference guides, API documentation, tutorials) MUST be authored in English first. The English version serves as the canonical source.

  • Uzbek Documentation (SHOULD): An Uzbek version of documentation is strongly encouraged as a secondary resource but is not mandatory unless specified by a separate localization standard.

  • Project Readmes (MUST): Every repository MUST provide an English version of the README.md. An Uzbek version may be provided alongside it (e.g., in the same file or a separate README_uz.md).

C. Uzbek Script Standardization (MUST)

When writing technical content in the Uzbek language (e.g., in documentation, readmes, or internal code comments):

  • Latin Alphabet Only: Only the Latin alphabet MUST be used.

  • Cyrillic Deprecation: The use of the Cyrillic alphabet for all official FLOSS Uzbekistan technical communications, repositories, and documentation is deprecated and MUST be phased out.

II. Guide-Level Explanation

For community members and contributors:

  • English is the Default: When you open a PR, write an RFC, or report a bug on GitHub, use clear, concise English. This is non-negotiable for formal submissions.

  • Prioritize English Docs: If you are a technical writer or contributor to documentation, create and maintain the English version first.

  • Use Latin for Uzbek: When you switch to Uzbek for a piece of documentation or a comment, only use the Latin alphabet.

For community leaders and maintainers:

  • Active Enforcement: Politely but firmly reject PRs and RFCs submitted in non-English languages, asking the contributor to resubmit in English.

  • Migration Plan: For existing documentation that uses Cyrillic Uzbek, establish a plan to migrate the content to the Latin script within six (6) months of this standard's adoption.

III. Unresolved Questions

  • Will the FLOSS Uzbekistan council provide automated tooling or resources to help communities migrate existing Cyrillic-based documentation to the Latin alphabet?

IV. Future Possibilities