Shymkent

Shymkent (.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}Kazakh pronunciation: [ʃɯmˈkʲent] ⓘ; Шымкент, Şymkent, شىمكەنت) is a city in Kazakhstan, near the border with Uzbekistan. It is one of three Kazakh cities that have the status of a city of republican significance that of a region.[5] It is the third-most populous city in Kazakhstan, behind Almaty and Astana, with an estimated population of 1,002,291 as of 1 June 2018[update].[6] According to regional and city officials, the millionth resident of Shymkent was born on 17 May 2018.[7] It is a regional cultural centre. Shymkent is situated 690 kilometres (430 mi) west of Almaty and 1,483 kilometres (920 mi) south of Astana. It is also 120 kilometres (75 mi) to the north of Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The name Chimkent comes from two Sogdian words, chim (meaning 'turf') and kent (or kand) (meaning 'city') (also found in the name of nearby Toshkent); thus, it literally means "the city in the grass/turf." After Kazakhstan gained independence, the spelling was changed to Shymkent in 1993 as part of the government's campaign to apply Kazakh names to cities. The formal spelling of Shymkent, as codified in Kazakhstan's Constitution, goes against the original Uzbek spelling rules of never having the letter "ы" follow the letter "ш". (Uzbek itself has no letter ы. Furthermore, what is spelled as ш in Kazakh is spelled as ч in Uzbek.) As a result, the new name Шымкент (Shymkent) is used only in Kazakhstan, while other countries continue to use the original spelling Чимкент (Chimkent).