Cyrillic alphabet

The Cyrillic alphabet (or azbuka, from the old name of the first letters) is an alphabet used to write six natural Slavic languages (Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Serbian, and Ukrainian) and many other languages of the former Soviet Union, Asia and Eastern Europe.

As used in various languages

Sounds are indicated using IPA.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

These are only approximate indicators.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

While these languages by and large have a phonemic orthography, there are occasional exceptions—for example, Russian ЕГО (meaning him/his), which is pronounced {{IPA|/jevɔ/}} instead of {{IPA|/jeɡɔ/}}.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Note that spellings of names may vary, especially Y/J/I, but also GH/G/H and ZH/J.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Slavic languages

Old Church Slavonic

Main article: early Cyrillic alphabet

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Old Church Slavonic is the first literary and liturgical Slavic language developed from the native language of the 9th century missionaries, Saints Cyril and Methodius. It is not the same as the modern Church Slavonic language, which is still used in some Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic church services.

Related Topics:
Old Church Slavonic - Liturgical - Slavic language - 9th century - Missionaries - Church Slavonic language - Eastern Orthodox - Eastern Catholic

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As the Cyrillic alphabet spread throughout the Slavic world, it was adopted for writing local languages, such as Old Ruthenian. Its adaptation to the characteristics of local languages led to the development of its many modern variants, below.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Yeri (ЪІ) was originally a ligature of Yer and I. Ya (Я) was written in an archaic form called A iotified. Capital and lowercase letters were not distinguished in old manuscripts.

Related Topics:
Ligature - A iotified

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The early Cyrillic alphabet is difficult to represent on computers. Many of the letterforms differed from modern Cyrillic and varied a great deal in manuscripts, and changed over time. Few fonts include adequate glyphs to reproduce the alphabet. Some characters are missing from the current Unicode standard altogether, including Cyrillic dotless I, iotified Yat, abbreviated Yer ("Yerok"), and many ligatures.

Related Topics:
Manuscript - Glyph - Unicode - Yat - Yer - Ligatures

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

See also: Glagolitic alphabet.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Russian

Main article: Russian alphabet

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Notes:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• In the pre-reform Russian orthography, in Old Russian and in Old Church Slavonic the letter is called yer. Historically, the "hard sign" takes the place of a now-absent vowel, still preserved in Bulgarian. See the notes for Bulgarian.
• When an iotated vowel (vowel whose sound begins with {{IPA|/j/}}) follows a consonant, the consonant will become palatalised (the {{IPA|/j/}} sound will mix with the consonant), and the vowel’s {{IPA|/j/}} sound will not be heard independently. The Hard Sign will indicate that this does not happen, and the {{IPA|/j/}} sound will appear only in front of the vowel. The Soft Sign will indicate the consonant should be palatised, but the vowel’s {{IPA|/j/}} sound will not mix with the palatalization of the consonant. The Soft Sign will also indicate that a consonant before another consonant or at the end of a word is palatised. Examples: та ({{IPA|ta}}); тя ({{IPA|tʲa}}); тья ({{IPA|tʲja}}); тъя ({{IPA|tja}}); т ({{IPA|t}}); ть ({{IPA|tʲ}}).

Historical letters: before 1918, there were four extra letters in use: {{CYchar|Іі}} (replaced by Ии), {{CYchar|Ѳѳ}} (Фита "Fita", replaced by Фф), {{CYchar|Ѣѣ}} (Ять "Yat", replaced by Ее), and {{CYchar|Ѵѵ}} (ижица "Izhitsa", replaced by Ии); these were eliminated by reforms of Russian orthography.

Related Topics:
1918 - Fita - Yat - Izhitsa - Reforms of Russian orthography

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ukrainian

Main article: Ukrainian alphabet.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ukrainian differs from Russian in the following ways:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• He (?, ?) is a voiced fricative consonant, pronounced {{IPA |/?/}}.
• Ge (?, ?) appears after He, pronounced {{IPA|/g/}}, i.e., like a Russian ?. It looks like He with an "upturn" pointing up from the right side of the top bar. (This letter was not officially used in the Soviet Union after 1933, so it is missing from older Cyrillic fonts.)
• E (?, ?) is pronounced {{IPA|/e/}} .
• Ye (?, ?) appears after E, pronounced {{IPA|/je/}}. It looks like a mirrored Russian letter E.
• Y (?, ?) is pronounced {{IPA|/?/}} (similar to Russian Yery).
• I (?, ?) appears after Y, pronounced {{IPA|/i/}}. It looks like the Latin letter I.
• Yi (?, ?) appears after I, pronounced {{IPA|/ji/}}. It looks like I with a diaeresis above it (the same two dots that appear over the Russian letter Yo).
• Yot (?, ?) is the equivalent of Russian Short I.
• Shcha (?, ?) is pronounced {{IPA|??}}.
• An apostrophe (?) serves the purpose of the Russian Hard Sign.
• Yo does not appear.

Belarusian

Belarusian is also written in a Belarusian Latin alphabet (Łacinka). Historically, Belarusian Tatars have written the language in the Arabic alphabet (Arabica), and Belarusian Jews in the Hebrew alphabet.

Related Topics:
Belarusian - Latin alphabet - Łacinka - Tatars - Arabic alphabet - Jew - Hebrew alphabet

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

NB: Before 1933, Ґ ({{IPA|/g/}}) was also present. Some linguists call for restoring the letter.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Belarusian differs from Russian in the following ways:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• I looks like the Latin letter I (І, і). (But non-syllable short I looks the same as in Russian.)
• Between U and Ef is the letter U short (Ў, ў), which looks like U (У) with a breve and pronounced {{IPA|/w/}}, or like the "u" part in diphthongs in "now", "low".
• Shcha (Щщ) does not appear. A combination of sh and ch (ШЧ/шч) is typically used instead where "щ" would be expected in other Slavic languages.
• The Hard Sign is not used. Its purpose (removing of palatalisation) is served by an apostrophe.
• The letter combinations "ДЖ дж" and "ДЗ дз" appear after "Д д" in the Belarusian alphabet in some publications. Although they are two-letter combinations, they each represent one sound: "Дз" corresponds to Macedonian "S", and "Дж" corresponds to Serbian and Macedonian "Џ".
• Г represents a voiced fricative consonant.

External Links

• Introduction to Belarusian Alphabet
• Introduction to Belarusian Latin Script
• Belarusian language using Arabic script
• Letter Frequency in Belarusian and Russian
• Converter from Latin "Translit" into Cyrillics

Bulgarian

Bulgarian differs from Russian in the following ways:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• Ye (?) is pronounced {{IPA|/ɛ/}} and is called "E".
• Yo (?) does not appear.
• The Russian letter ? does not appear.
• Shcha (?) is pronounced {{IPA|/ʃt/}} and is called "Shta".
• The Hard Sign (?) is used for a vowel, {{IPA|/ə/}} (Schwa).
• Yery (?) does not appear.

Modern Serbian since the 19th century

Serbian can also be written with the Latin alphabet. See Serbo-Croatian language.

Related Topics:
Serbian - Serbo-Croatian language

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Serbian differs from Russian in the following ways:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• Ye is pronounced {{IPA|/ɛ/}}. Yo does not appear. The Russian letter E does not appear.
• Between D and E is the letter Djə (Ђ, ђ), which is pronounced {{IPA|/dʲ/}}, and looks like Tjerv, except that the loop of the H curls farther and dips downwards.
• Short I does not appear. Between I and K is the letter Jə (Ј, ј), pronounced {{IPA|/j/}}, which looks like the Latin letter J.
• Between L and M is the letter Ljə (Љ, љ), pronounced {{IPA|/lʲ/}}, which looks like L and the Soft Sign smashed together.
• Between N and O is the letter Njə (Њ, њ), pronounced {{IPA|/nʲ/}}, which looks like N and the Soft Sign smashed together.
• Between T and U is the letter Tjə (Ћ, ћ), which is pronounced {{IPA|/tʲ/}} and looks like a lowercase Latin letter h with a bar. On the uppercase letter, the bar appears at the top; on the lowercase letter, the bar crosses the top half of the vertical line.
• Between Ch and Sh is the letter Dzhə (Џ, џ), pronounced {{IPA|/dʒ/}}, which looks like Ts but with the downturn moved from the right side of the bottom bar to the middle of the bottom bar.
• Sh is the last letter; the rest do not appear.

Macedonian

Macedonian differs from Serbian in the following ways:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• Between Ze and I is the letter Dze (Ѕ, ѕ), pronounced {{IPA|/dz/}}, which looks like the Latin letter S.
• Djerv is replaced by Gje (Ѓ, ѓ), pronounced {{IPA|/gʲ/}}, which looks like Ghe with an acute accent (´).
• Tjerv is replaced by Kja (Ќ, ќ), pronounced {{IPA|/kʲ/}}, which looks like Ka with an acute accent (´).

Non-Slavic languages

These alphabets are generally modelled after Russian, but often bear striking differences, particularly when adapted for Caucasian languages. The first few of them were generated by Orthodox missionaries for the Finnic and Turkic peoples of Idel-Ural (Mari, Udmurt, Mordva, Chuvash, Kerashen Tatars) in 1870s. Later such alphabets were created for some of the Siberian and Caucasus peoples who had recently converted to Christianity. In the 1930s, some of those alphabets were switched to the Uniform Turkic Alphabet. All of the peoples who had been using an Arabic or other Asian script (Mongolian script, etc.) also adopted Cyrillic alphabets, and during the Great Purge, all of the Roman-based alphabets were switched over to Cyrillic as well, except for Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian. The Abkhazian alphabet was switched to Georgian script, but after the death of Stalin Abkhaz also adopted Cyrillic. The last language to adopt Cyrillic was the Gagauz language, which had used Greek script before.

Related Topics:
Caucasian languages - Idel-Ural - Mari - Udmurt - Mordva - Chuvash - Kerashen Tatars - 1870s - Siberia - Caucasus - 1930s - Uniform Turkic Alphabet - Mongolian script - Great Purge - Estonian - Latvian - Lithuanian - Georgian script - Stalin - Gagauz language - Greek script

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, the use of Cyrillic to represent local languages has often been a politically controversial issue after the collapse of the Soviet Union, as it evokes the era of Soviet rule (see Russification). Some of Russia’s languages have also tried to drop Cyrillic, but the move was halted under Russian law (see Tatar alphabet). A number of languages have switched from Cyrillic to other orthographies—either Roman-based or returning to a former script.

Related Topics:
Uzbekistan - Azerbaijan - Turkmenistan - Soviet Union - Russification - Tatar alphabet

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Unlike the Roman alphabet, which is usually adapted to different languages by using additions to existing letters such as accents, umlauts, tildes and cedillas, the Cyrillic alphabet is usually adapted by the creation of entirely new letter shapes. In some alphabets invented in the 19th century, such as Mari, Udmurt and Chuvash, umlauts and breves also were used.

Related Topics:
Mari - Udmurt - Chuvash

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Abkhaz

Abkhaz is a Caucasian language, spoken in the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia, Georgia. See Abkhaz alphabet.

Related Topics:
Abkhaz - Caucasian language - Abkhazia - Georgia - Abkhaz alphabet

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Chuvash

The Cyrillic alphabet is used for the Chuvash language since the late 19th century, with some changes in 1938.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kazakh

Kazakh is also written with the Latin alphabet (in Turkey and now in Kazakhstan as well), and modified Arabic alphabet (in China, Iran and Afghanistan).

Related Topics:
Kazakh - Turkey - Kazakhstan - Arabic alphabet - China - Iran - Afghanistan

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• Ә ә = {{IPA|/æ/}}
• Ғ ғ = {{IPA|/ʁ/ }} (uvular fricative)
• Қ қ = {{IPA|/q/}} (uvular plosive)
• Ң ң = {{IPA|/ŋ/}}
• Ө ө = {{IPA|/œ/}}
• У у = {{IPA|/uw/}}, {{IPA|/yw/}},{{IPA|/w/}}
• Ұ ұ = {{IPA|/u/}}
• Ү ү = {{IPA|/y/}}
• Һ һ = {{IPA| /h/}}
• İ і = {{IPA|/i/}}

The Cyrillic letters Вв, Ёё, Цц, Чч, Щщ, Ъъ, Ьь and Ээ are not used in native Kazakh words, but only for Russian loans.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kyrgyz

Kyrgyz has also been written in Latin and in Arabic.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• ? ? = {{IPA|/?/}}
• ? ? = {{IPA|/y/}}
• ? ? = {{IPA|/?/}}

Moldovan

The Moldovan language used the Cyrillic alphabet between 1946 and 1989. Nowadays, this alphabet is still official in the breakaway republic of Transnistria.

Related Topics:
Moldovan language - Transnistria

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mongolian

The Mongolic languages include Khalkha (in Mongolia), Buryat (around Lake Baikal) and Kalmyk (northwest of the Caspian Sea). Khalkha Mongolian is also written with the Mongol vertical alphabet, which is being slowly reintroduced in Mongolia.

Related Topics:
Mongolic - Khalkha - Mongolia - Buryat - Lake Baikal - Kalmyk - Caspian Sea - Mongol vertical alphabet

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• В в = {{IPA|/w/}}
• Е е = {{IPA|/jɛ/}}, {{IPA|/jœ/}}
• Ё ё = {{IPA|/jo/}}
• Ж ж = {{IPA|/ʤ/}}
• З з = {{IPA|/dz/}}
• Н н = {{IPA|/n-/}}, {{IPA|/-ŋ/}}
• Ө ө = {{IPA|/œ/}}
• Ү ү = {{IPA|/y/}}
• Ы ы = {{IPA|/ī/}} (after a hard consonant)
• Ь ь = {{IPA|/ĭ/}} (extra short)
• Ю ю = {{IPA|/ju/}}, {{IPA|/jy/}}

The Cyrillic letters Кк, Фф and Щщ are not used in native Mongolian words, but only for Russian loans.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Buryat (буряад) Cyrillic alphabet is similar to the Khalkha above, but Ьь indicates palatalization as in Russian. Buryat does not use Вв, Кк, Фф, Цц, Чч, Щщ or Ъъ in its native words.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• Е е = {{IPA|/jɛ/}}, {{IPA|/jœ/}}
• Ё ё = {{IPA|/jo/}}
• Ж ж = {{IPA|/ʤ/}}
• Н н = {{IPA|/n-/}}, {{IPA|/-ŋ/}}
• Ө ө = {{IPA|/œ/}}
• Ү ү = {{IPA|/y/}}
• Һ һ = {{IPA|/h/}}
• Ы ы = {{IPA|/ei/}}, {{IPA|/ī/}}
• Ю ю = {{IPA|/ju/}}, {{IPA|/jy/}}

The Kalmyk (хальмг) Cyrillic alphabet is similar to the Khalkha, but the letters Ээ, Юю and Яя appear only word-initially. In Kalmyk, long vowels are written double in the first syllable (нөөрин), but single in syllables after the first. Short vowels are omitted altogether in syllables after the first syllable (хальмг = xaʎmag).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• Ә ә = {{IPA|/æ/}}
• В в = {{IPA|/w/}}
• Һ һ = {{IPA|/γ/}}
• Е е = {{IPA|/ɛ/}}, {{IPA|/jɛ-/}}
• Җ җ = {{IPA|/ʤ/}}
• Ң ң = {{IPA|/ŋ/}}
• Ө ө = {{IPA|/œ/}}
• Ү ү = {{IPA|/y/}}