The Dobrujan Tatar alphabet is the writing system of Dobrujan Tatar. [1] Before 1956 only Perso-Arabic script was used and after 1956, Latin alphabet was also adopted. [2] [3] [4]
The children in Romania learn Tatar with Latin alphabet in the school. Also in public they use Latin alphabet. Many Tatars, who migrated to Turkey, use the Latin-based Turkish alphabet or the Crimean Tatar alphabet.
In 1 June 1956, Latin alphabet for Dobrujan Tatar was accepted [2] and it was used in University of Bucharest, the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures. [3] The alphabet is to found in a grammatic book of Dobrujan Tatar by University of Bucharest. [5] [6] This alphabet was redesigned after communist period. [7] It was designed by some writers and Prof. Doctors, including the general secretary of UDTTMR. [8]
Tatar spoken in Romania has two distinct facets existing, interweaving and forming together the literary Tatar language "edebiy Tatarşa". One of these aspects is the authentic Tatar called "calpı Tatarşa" or "calpaq Tatarşa" and the other is the academic Tatar language called "muwallimatşa". [6]
Naturalization is shifting the spelling of academic speech sounds to authentic sounds following the patterns below, where a greater-than sign indicates that one sound changes to another. [6]
f > p
v > w
v > b
ç > ş
ç > j
h > (skip over)
h > k
h > y
h > w
ţ > s
There is a total of 10 letters used to represent determinant sounds of which 9 mark authentic determinant sounds: a, e, ı, ĭ, i, o, ö, u, ü while the letter á is used for an academic vowel. The writing system registers authentic consonants with 19 letters: b, c, ç, d, g, ğ, j, k, l, m, n, ñ, p, q, r, s, ş, t, z and has four signs standing for the academic consonants: f, h, ţ, v. There are also two authentic semivowels: y, w. An old authentic Turkic consonant, the sound /ç/ represented by the letter ⟨Ç⟩ is rarely heard because authentic speakers of Tatar spoken in Dobruja spell it /ş/ as letter ⟨Ş⟩. As the written language most often follows the spoken language shifting ⟨Ç⟩ to ⟨Ş⟩, the result is that in Tatar spoken in Romania letter ⟨Ç⟩ and sound /ç/ are often treated as academic. [6]
Latin character | Name | Sound description and pronunciation |
---|---|---|
A a | a | This letter represents the low unrounded RTR or hard vowel /ɑ/ as in ana [ɑṉɑ] 'mother'. |
Á á | á | This letter represents the near-low unrounded ATR or soft vowel not belonging to authentic Tatar language /æ/ as in sáát [s̶ææt̶] 'hour', 'clock'. The phoneme, that is, the sound that determines the meaning of the word, is only found in the words "sár" and "şáş". Apart from these, in words such as "had" or "hal" and their derivatives, after the h sounds are dropped, the a sounds become lower and become "had" → "ád" or "hal" → "ál". However, the á sounds in these words are not phonemes, but they are only a sounds with a reading sign. When the rule of vowel harmony, which is one of the basic laws of Turkic dialects, shows its effect on words taken from foreign languages during speech, example they are called "ádem" or "álem", but their meaning does not change even if they say "adem" or "alem". In this case, the letter á may not be used. The same is true for the Tatar compound words "alıp kelmek" → "ákelmek" / "akelmek" or "alıp ketmek" → "áketmek" / "aketmek". [9] Also used for indicate that the consonant before á is palatalised, wich occurs only in Arabic and Persian loanwords, like in "lále". [3] |
B b | be | This letter represents two distinctive consonantal sounds: the hard voiced bilabial stop /ḇ/ as in bal [ḇaḻ] 'honey' and the soft voiced bilabial stop /b̶/ as in bel [b̶el̶] 'waist'. |
C c | ce | The letter represents two distinctive consonantal sounds: the hard voiced palato-alveolar affricate/ḏ͡ʒ̱/ as in car [ḏ͡ʒ̱ɑṟ] 'abyss' and the soft voiced palato-alveolar affricate/d̶͡ʒ̶/ as in cer [d̶͡ʒ̶er̶] 'place', 'ground'. |
Ç ç | çe | This letter represents two distinctive consonantal sounds: the hard voiceless palato-alveolar affricate /ṯ͡ʃ̱/ as in ça-ça [ṯ͡ʃ̱ɑṯ͡ʃ̱ɑ] 'cha-cha' and the soft voiceless palato-alveolar affricate /t̶͡ʃ̶/ as in çeçen [t̶͡ʃ̶et̶͡ʃ̶en̶] 'chechen'. Common to Turkic languages, these sounds are quasi non-existent in Tatar spoken in Dobruja where they have shifted from «Ç» to «Ş». Therefore, although authentic, these sounds could be equally treated as academic. |
D d | de | This letter represents two distinctive consonantal sounds: hard voiced dental stop /ḏ/ as in dal [ḏɑḻ] 'branch' and the soft voiced dental stop/d̶/ as in deren [d̶er̶en̶] 'deep'. |
E e | e | This letter represents the mid unrounded ATR or soft vowel /e/ as in sen [s̶en̶] 'you'. |
F f | fe | This letter occurs only in loanwords for it represents sounds that do not belong to authentic Tatar language. In authentic reading the foreign sound is naturalized and the letter reads as letter «P». In academic reading it represents two distinctive consonantal sounds: the hard voiceless labio-dental fricative [f̱] as in fal [f̱ɑḻ] 'destiny' and the soft voiceless labio-dental fricative [f̶] as in fen [f̶en̶] 'technics'. |
G g | ge | This letter represents the soft voiced palatal stop [ɟ̱] as in gene [ɟ̱en̶e] 'again', 'still' with its allophone the soft voiced velar stop /g/ as in gül [gu̶l̶] 'flower', 'rose'. |
Ğ ğ | ğa | This letter represents the hard voiced uvular fricative /ʁ/ as in ğam [ʁɑm] 'grief'. |
H h | he | Representing sounds that do not belong to authentic Tatar language this letter occurs only in loanwords. Most often, in authentic reading, when it reproduces the Arabic or Persian ه it is a silent letter or, if it is located at the beginning or end of the word, the sound is usually naturalized and the letter reads as letter «Q». When it reproduces ح or خ the sound is usually naturalized as /q/. In academic reading it represents two distinctive consonantal sounds: the hard voiceless glottal fricative /h/ as in taht [ṯɑhṯ] 'throne' and the soft voiceless uvular fricative /χ/ as in heşt [χeʃ̶t̶] 'eight'. |
I ı | ı | This letter represents the hight unrounded RTR or hard vowel /ɯ/ as in ışan [ɯʃ̱ɑṉ] 'mouse'. At the end of the word it is pronounced with half open mouth shifting through dilatation to mid unrounded RTR or hard /ɤ/, close to schwa, as in şılapşı [ʃ̱ɯḻɑp̱ʃ̱ɤ] 'trough'. |
Ĭ ĭ | ĭ | This letter represents the hight unrounded half-advanced ATR or soft vowel /ɨ/ as in bĭr [b̶ɨr̶] 'one' is specific to Tatar. At the end of the word it is pronounced with half open mouth undergoing dilatation and becoming mid unrounded half-advanced ATR or soft /ə/, also known as schwa, as in tĭlĭ [t̶ɨl̶ə] 'his tongue'. |
İ i | i | The letter represents the hight unrounded ATR or soft vowel /i/ as in biñ [b̶iŋ] 'thousand'. |
J j | je | This letter represents two distinctive consonantal sounds: the hard voiced palato-alveolar affricate /ʒ̱/ as in taj [ṯɑʒ̱] 'crown' and the soft voiced palato-alveolar affricate /ʒ̶/ as in bej [b̶eʒ̶] 'beige'. |
K k | ke | This letter represents the soft voiceless palatal stop /c/ as in kel [cel̶] 'come!' and its allophone the soft voiceless velar stop /k/ as in köl [kɵl̶] 'lake'. |
L l | le | This letter represents two distinctive consonantal sounds: the hard alveolar lateral aproximant /ḻ/ as in bal [ḇɑḻ] 'honey' and the soft alveolar lateral aproximant /l̶/ as in bel [b̶el̶] 'waist'. |
M m | me | This letter represents two distinctive consonantal sounds: the hard bilabial nasal /m̱/ as in mağa [m̱ɑʁɑ] 'to me' and the soft bilabial nasal /m̶/ as in men [m̶en̶] 'I'. |
N n | ne | This letter represents two distinctive consonantal sounds: the hard dental nasal /ṉ/ as in ana [ɑṉɑ] 'mother' and the soft dental nasal /n̶/ as in ne [n̶e] 'what'. |
Ñ ñ | ñe | This letter represents two distinctive consonantal sounds: the hard uvular nasal /ɴ/ as in añ [ɑɴ] 'conscience' and the soft velar nasal /ŋ/ as in eñ [eŋ] 'most'. |
O o | o | This letter represents the mid rounded RTR or hard vowel /o/ as in bo [ḇo] 'this'. |
Ö ö | ö | This letter represents the mid rounded half-advanced ATR or soft vowel /ɵ/ as in tör [t̶ɵr̶] 'background'. |
P p | pe | This letter represents two distinctive consonantal sounds: the hard voiceless bilabial stap /p̱/ as in cap [ḏ͡ʒ̱ɑp̱] 'close!' and the soft voiceless bilabial stop /p̶/ as in cep [d̶͡ʒ̶ep̶] 'pocket'. |
Q q | qa | This letter represents the hard voiceless uvular stop /q/ as in qal [qɑḻ] 'stay!'. |
R r | re | This letter represents two distinctive consonantal sounds: the hard alveolar trill /ṟ/ as in tar [ṯɑṟ] 'narrow' and the soft alveolar trill /r̶/ as in ter [t̶er̶] 'sweat'. |
S s | se | This letter represents two distinctive consonantal sounds: the hard voiceless alveolar fricative /s̱/ as in sal [s̱ɑḻ] 'raft' and the soft voiceless alveolar fricative /s̶/ as in sel [s̶el̶] 'flood'. |
Ş ş | şe | This letter represents two distinctive consonantal sounds: the hard voiceless palato-alveolar fricative /ʃ̱/ as in şaş [ʃ̱ɑʃ̱] 'spread!' and the soft voiceless palato-alveolar fricative /ʃ̶/ as in şeş [ʃ̶eʃ̶] 'untie'. |
T t | te | This letter represents two distinctive consonantal sounds: the hard voiceless dental stop /ṯ/ as in tar [ṯɑṟ] 'tight', 'narrow' and the soft voiceless dental stop /t̶/ as in ter [t̶er̶] 'sweat'. |
Ţ ţ | ţe | This letter occurs only in loanwords for it represents sounds that do not belong to authentic Tatar spoken in Romania. In authentic reading the foreign sound is naturalized and the letter reads as «S». In academic it represents two distinctive consonantal sounds: the hard voiceless alveolar affricate /t̠͡s̠/ as in ţar [t̠͡s̠ɑr̠] 'tsar' and the soft voiceless alveolar affricate /t̶͡s̶/ as in injekţiya [in̶ʒ̶ect̶͡s̶ij̠ɑ] 'injection'. |
U u | u | This letter represents the hight rounded RTR or hard vowel /u/ as in un [uṉ] 'flour'. |
Ü ü | ü | This letter represents the hight rounded half-advanced ATR or soft vowel /ʉ/ as in süt [s̶ʉt̶] 'milk'. In the vicinity of semivowel y, which occurs rarely, its articulation shifts to high rounded ATR or soft /y/, close to Turkish pronunciation, as in süymek [s̶yj̶m̶ec] 'to love'. |
V v | ve | This letter occurs only in loanwords for it represents sounds that do not belong to authentic Tatar spoken in Romania. In authentic reading the foreign sound is naturalized and the letter reads sometimes as «W», sometimes as «B». In academic it represents two distinctive consonantal sounds: the hard voiced labio-dental fricative /v̱/ as in vals [v̱ɑḻs̱] 'waltz' and the soft voiced labio-dental fricative /v̶/ as in ve [v̶e] 'and'. |
W w | we | This letter represents two distinctive consonantal sounds: the hard labio-velar semivowel /w̱/ as in taw [ṯɑw̱] 'forest', 'mountain' and the soft labio-velar semivowel /w̶/ as in tew [t̶ew̶] 'central', 'fundamental'. |
Y y | ye | This letter represents two distinctive consonantal sounds: the hard palatal semivowel /j̠/ as in tay [ṯɑj̠] 'foal' and the soft palatal semivowel /j̶/ as in yer [j̶er̶] 'place', 'ground'. |
Z z | ze | This letter represents two distinctive consonantal sounds: the hard voiced alveolar fricative /ẕ/ as in taz [ṯɑẕ] 'bald' and the soft voiced alveolar fricative /z̶/ as in tez [t̶ez̶] 'quick'. |
This version was used in Tatar language section of University of Bucharest the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, between 1957-1977. Some writers, like Taner Murat, did also use this orthography.
A a | Á á | B b | Ç ç | D d | E e | F f | G g | Ğ ğ |
H h | I i | Î î | Í í | J j | K k | L l | M m | N n |
Ñ ñ | O o | Ó ó | P p | R r | S s | Ş ş | T t | Ţ ţ |
U u | Ú ú | V v | W w | Y y | Z z |
Arabic script for Turkic languages is used since the 10th century by Kara Khanids. Dobrujan Tatar uses a variant of Chagatai alphabet. Nowadays, the writer Taner Murat, along with some others, revived the Arabic script, he did use it in some translations and did also make transliterations to Arabic script. He did marked the vowels all the time by Arabic diacritics, [11] like Xiao'erjing.
Isolated | Final | Medial | Initial | Latin |
---|---|---|---|---|
ﺍ | ﺎ | — | a, á | |
ﺏ | ﺐ | ﺒ | ﺑ | b |
ﭖ | ﭗ | ﭙ | ﭘ | p |
ﺕ | ﺖ | ﺘ | ﺗ | t |
ﺝ | ﺞ | ﺠ | ﺟ | c |
ﭺ | ﭻ | ﭽ | ﭼ | ç |
ﺩ | ﺪ | — | d | |
ﺭ | ﺮ | — | r | |
ﺯ | ﺰ | — | z | |
ﮊ | ﮋ | — | j | |
ﺱ | ﺲ | ﺴ | ﺳ | s |
ﺵ | ﺶ | ﺸ | ﺷ | ş |
ﻍ | ﻎ | ﻐ | ﻏ | ğ |
ﻑ | ﻒ | ﻔ | ﻓ | f |
ﻕ | ﻖ | ﻘ | ﻗ | q |
ﻙ | ﻚ | ﻜ | ﻛ | k |
ﮒ | ﮓ | ﮕ | ﮔ | g |
ﯓ | ﯔ | ﯖ | ﯕ | ñ |
ﻝ | ﻞ | ﻠ | ﻟ | l |
ﻡ | ﻢ | ﻤ | ﻣ | m |
ﻥ | ﻦ | ﻨ | ﻧ | n |
ﻭ | ﻮ | — | v, w | |
ﻩ | ﻪ | ﻬ | ﻫ | h |
ى | ﻰ | ﻴ | ﻳ | y |
ء | — | - |
The letters in this list are either lesser used alternatives or they are common Arabic or Persian letters that are exclusively used for writing loan words.
Isolated | Final | Medial | Initial | Latin |
---|---|---|---|---|
ث | ـث | ـثـ | ثـ | s |
ح | ـح | ـحـ | حـ | h, - |
خ | ـخ | ـخـ | خـ | k, h, - |
ذ | ـذ | — | z | |
ص | ـص | ـصـ | صـ | s |
ض | ـض | ـضـ | ضـ | d, z |
ط | ـط | ـطـ | طـ | t |
ظ | ـظ | ـظـ | ظـ | z |
ع | ـع | ـعـ | عـ | - |
Vowels as a first letter of the word
Character | Vowel |
---|---|
اَ / ءَ | a, á, e |
اِ / ءِ | ı, ĭ, i |
اُ / ءُ | o, u, ö, ü |
Vowels in middle and end of the word
Character | Vowel |
---|---|
ـَا / ـَى / ـَو / ـٰ | a, á |
ـَ | e, a, á |
ـِ | ı, ĭ, i |
ـُ | o, u, ö, ü |
Long vowels
Character | Long vowel |
---|---|
ـَآ | aa, ee |
ـَ / ـَا / ـٰ | aá, áa, áá |
ـِىٓ | ii |
ـِى | iy |
ـُو | uw, üw |
Character | Vowel |
---|---|
ـً | an/añ, en/eñ, - |
ـٍ | ın/ıñ, ĭn/ĭñ, in/iñ, - |
ـٌ | un/uñ, ün/ün, - |
Some scripts have Dobrujan Tatar versions, but are actually not used or were just designed to create connection with Turkic languages.
There is a Cyrillic alphabet designed for Dobrujan Tatar. [4] There are one [12] or two [13] books in Cyrillic script, it appears also in some translated books with transliteration. [4]
Cyrillic | Name | Latin | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
А а | а | A a | |
Ә ә | ә | Á á | |
Б б | бэ | B b | |
В в | вэ | V v | |
Г г | гэ | G g/Ğ ğ | There is an alternative letter for "Ğ ğ": Ғ ғ |
Д д | дэ | D d | |
Э э | э | E e | |
Ж ж | жэ | J j | |
Җ җ | җэ | C c | |
З з | зэ | Z z | |
И и | и | İ i | |
Й й | йэ | Y y | |
К к | кэ | K k/Q q | There is an alternative letter for "Q q": Қ қ |
Л л | лэ | L l | |
М м | мэ | M m | |
Н н | нэ | N n | |
Ң ң | ңэ | Ñ ñ | |
О о | о | O o | |
Ө ө | ө | Ö ö | |
П п | пэ | P p | |
Р р | рэ | R r | |
С с | сэ | S s | |
Т т | тэ | T t | |
У у | у | U u | |
Ү ү | ү | Ü ü | |
Ў ў | ўэ | W w | |
Ф ф | фэ | F f | |
Х х | хэ | H h | |
Ц ц | цэ | Ts ts/Ţ ţ | Is used when "t" follows "s" or for "Ţ ţ". |
Ч ч | чэ | Ç ç | |
Ш ш | шэ | Ş ş | |
Щ щ | щэ | Şç şç | Is used when "ş" follows "ç". |
Ы ы | ы | I ı | |
І і | і | Ĭ ĭ | |
Ю ю | ю | Yu yu, Yü yü | Is used when "y" follows "u" or "ü". |
Я я | я | Ya ya | Is used when "y" follows "a". |
The Old Turkic script was used in one book, but like Cyrillic script, it appears also in some translated books with transliteration. [4]
Vowels
Orkhon | Yenisei variants | Trans- literation | IPA | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Image | Text | |||
𐰀 | 𐰁 𐰂 | a, ä | /ɑ/, /æ/ | |
𐰃 | 𐰄 | ı, i | /ɯ/, /i/ | |
𐰅 | 𐰅 | e | /e/ | |
𐰆 | 𐰆 | o, u | /o/, /u/ | |
𐰇 | 𐰈 | ö, ü | /ø/, /y/ |
Consonants
Back vowel | Front vowel | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Orkhon | Yenisei variant | Trans- literation | IPA | Orkhon | Yenisei variant | Trans- literation | IPA | ||
Image | Text | Image | Text | ||||||
𐰉 | 𐰊 | b¹ | /b/ | 𐰋 | 𐰌 | b² | /b/ | ||
𐰑 | 𐰒 | d¹ | /d/ | 𐰓 | d² | /d/ | |||
𐰍 | 𐰎 | g¹ | /ɡ/ | 𐰏 | 𐰐 | g² | /ɡ/ | ||
𐰞 | 𐰟 | l¹ | /l/ | 𐰠 | l² | /l/ | |||
𐰣 | n¹ | /n/ | 𐰤 | 𐰥 | n² | /n/ | |||
𐰺 | 𐰻 | r¹ | /r/ | 𐰼 | r² | /r/ | |||
𐰽 | s¹ | /s/ | 𐰾 | s² | /s/ | ||||
𐱃 | 𐱄 | t¹ | /t/ | 𐱅 | 𐱆 | t² | /t/ | ||
𐰖 | 𐰗 | j¹ | /j/ | 𐰘 | 𐰙 | j² | /j/ | ||
𐰴 | 𐰵 | q | /q/ | 𐰚 | 𐰛 | k | /k/ | ||
𐰸 | 𐰹 | oq, uq, qo, qu, q | /oq/,/uq/,/qo/,/qu/,/q/ | 𐰜 | 𐰝 | ök, ük, kö, kü, k | /øk/,/yk/,/kø/,/ky/,/k/ |
Orkhon | Yenisei variants | Trans- literation | IPA | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Image | Text | |||
𐰲 | 𐰳 | č | /tʃ/ | |
𐰢 | m | /m/ | ||
𐰯 | p | /p/ | ||
𐱁 | 𐱀 𐱂 [14] | š | /ʃ/ | |
𐰔 | 𐰕 | z | /z/ | |
𐰭 | 𐰮 𐰬 | ñ | /ŋ/ | |
𐰱 | ič, či, č | /itʃ/,/tʃi/,/tʃ/ | ||
𐰶 | 𐰷 | ıq, qı, q | /ɯq/,/qɯ/,/q/ | |
𐰨 | 𐰩 | -nč | /ntʃ/ | |
𐰪 | 𐰫 | -nj | /ɲ/ | |
𐰡 | -lt | /lt/,/ld/ | ||
𐰦 | 𐰧 | -nt | /nt/,/nd/ | |
𐰿 | aš | /aʃ/ | ||
𐱇 | ot, ut [15] | /ot/,/ut/ | ||
𐱈 | baš [16] | /baʃ/ |
A colon-like symbol (U+205A⁚TWO DOT PUNCTUATION) is sometimes used as a word separator. [17] In some cases a ring (U+2E30⸰RING POINT) is used instead. [17]
A reading example (right to left): 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃 transliterated t²ñr²i, this spells the name of the Turkic sky god, Täñri (/tæŋri/).
A diacritic is a glyph added to a letter or to a basic glyph. The term derives from the Ancient Greek διακριτικός, from διακρίνω. The word diacritic is a noun, though it is sometimes used in an attributive sense, whereas diacritical is only an adjective. Some diacritics, such as the acute ⟨á⟩, grave ⟨à⟩, and circumflex ⟨â⟩, are often called accents. Diacritics may appear above or below a letter or in some other position such as within the letter or between two letters.
Kazakh or Qazaq is a Turkic language of the Kipchak branch spoken in Central Asia by Kazakhs. It is closely related to Nogai, Kyrgyz and Karakalpak. It is the official language of Kazakhstan and a significant minority language in the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang, north-western China, and in the Bayan-Ölgii Province of western Mongolia. The language is also spoken by many ethnic Kazakhs throughout the former Soviet Union, Germany, and Turkey.
A breve is the diacritic mark ◌̆, shaped like the bottom half of a circle. As used in Ancient Greek, it is also called brachy, βραχύ. It resembles the caron but is rounded, in contrast to the angular tip of the caron. In many forms of Latin, ◌̆ is used for a shorter, softer variant of a vowel, such as "Ĭ", where the sound is nearly identical to the English /i/.
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Uyghur is a Turkic language with a long literary tradition spoken in Xinjiang, China by the Uyghurs. Today, the Uyghur Arabic alphabet is the official writing system used for Uyghur in Xinjiang, whereas other alphabets like the Uyghur Latin and Uyghur Cyrillic alphabets are still in use outside China, especially in Central Asia.
Adyghe is a Northwest Caucasian language spoken by the western subgroups of Circassians. It is spoken mainly in Russia, as well as in Turkey, Jordan, Syria and Israel, where Circassians settled after the Circassian genocide by the Russian Empire. It is closely related to the Kabardian language, though some reject the distinction between the two languages in favor of both being dialects of a unitary Circassian language.
Three scripts are currently used for the Tatar language: Arabic, Cyrillic and Latin.
Crimean Tatar, also called Crimean, is a moribund Kipchak Turkic language spoken in Crimea and the Crimean Tatar diasporas of Uzbekistan, Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria, as well as small communities in the United States and Canada. It should not be confused with Tatar, spoken in Tatarstan and adjacent regions in Russia; the two languages are related, but belong to different subgroups of the Kipchak languages, while maintaining a significant degree of mutual intelligibility. Crimean Tatar has been extensively influenced by nearby Oghuz dialects and is also mutually intelligible with them to varying degrees.
Jaꞑalif, Yangalif or Yañalif is the first Latin alphabet used during the latinisation in the Soviet Union in the 1930s for the Turkic languages. It replaced the Yaña imlâ Arabic script-based alphabet in 1928, and was replaced by the Cyrillic alphabet in 1938–1940. After their respective independence in 1991, several former Soviet states in Central Asia switched back to Latin script, with slight modifications to the original Jaꞑalif.
Karakalpak is a Turkic language spoken by Karakalpaks in Karakalpakstan. It is divided into two dialects, Northeastern Karakalpak and Southwestern Karakalpak. It developed alongside Nogai and neighbouring Kazakh languages, being markedly influenced by both. Typologically, Karakalpak belongs to the Kipchak branch of the Turkic languages, thus being closely related to and highly mutually intelligible with Kazakh and Nogai.
Schwa is a letter of the Cyrillic script, derived from the Latin letter schwa. It is currently used in Abkhaz, Bashkir, Dungan, Itelmen, Kalmyk, Kazakh, Kurdish, Uyghur and Tatar. It was also used in Azeri, Karakalpak, and Turkmen before those languages switched to the Latin alphabet. The Azeri and some other Latin-derived alphabets contain a letter of identical appearance (Ə/ə).
The Common Turkic alphabet is a project of a single Latin alphabet for all Turkic languages based on a slightly modified Turkish alphabet, with 34 letters recognised by the Organization of Turkic States. Its letters are as follows:
The Ottoman Turkish alphabet is a version of the Perso-Arabic script used to write Ottoman Turkish until 1928, when it was replaced by the Latin-based modern Turkish alphabet.
The Latin script, also known as the Roman script, and technically Latin writing system is an alphabetic writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae, in southern Italy. The Greek alphabet was altered by the Etruscans, and subsequently their alphabet was altered by the Romans. Several Latin-script alphabets exist, which differ in graphemes, collation and phonetic values from the classical Latin alphabet.
The Arabic script is the writing system used for Arabic and several other languages of Asia and Africa. It is the second-most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world, the second-most widely used writing system in the world by number of countries using it, and the third-most by number of users.
The Latin script is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world. It is the standard script of the English language and is often referred to simply as "the alphabet" in English. It is a true alphabet which originated in the 7th century BC in Italy and has changed continually over the last 2,500 years. It has roots in the Semitic alphabet and its offshoot alphabets, the Phoenician, Greek, and Etruscan. The phonetic values of some letters changed, some letters were lost and gained, and several writing styles ("hands") developed. Two such styles, the minuscule and majuscule hands, were combined into one script with alternate forms for the lower and upper case letters. Modern uppercase letters differ only slightly from their classical counterparts, and there are few regional variants.
Numerous Cyrillic alphabets are based on the Cyrillic script. The early Cyrillic alphabet was developed in the 9th century AD and replaced the earlier Glagolitic script developed by the Bulgarian theologians Cyril and Methodius. It is the basis of alphabets used in various languages, past and present, Slavic origin, and non-Slavic languages influenced by Russian. As of 2011, around 252 million people in Eurasia use it as the official alphabet for their national languages. About half of them are in Russia. Cyrillic is one of the most-used writing systems in the world. The creator is Saint Clement of Ohrid from the Preslav literary school in the First Bulgarian Empire.
Crimean Tatar is written in both Latin and Cyrillic. Historically, the Arabic script was also used.
Dobrujan Tatar is the Tatar language of Romania. It includes Kipchak dialects, but today there is no longer a sharp distinction between the dialects and it is mostly seen as one language. This language belongs to the Kipchak Turkic languages, specifically to Kipchak-Nogai.