Evenki orthography

Last updated • 5 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Evenki orthography is the orthography of the Evenki language.

Contents

Multiple alphabets based on three different scripts have been and are currently being used, depending on the region. In Russia, a Cyrillic-based alphabet enjoys official status, while in China two scripts are used: Latin script (multiple versions) and the Mongolian script (experimentally).

Preliterate period

Before the 20th century, the Evenki language had no orthography of its own. Material regarding the language was recorded in the 18th and 19th centuries repeatedly by various investigators, who used various orthographical systems in their writings.

The first Evenki texts were published in 1705 in a second edition of a book by Nicolaes Witsen "Noord en Oost Tartarye," which contains a translation of a prayer into Evenki, written in the Latin alphabet. Earlier, Evenki words were documented by Philip Johan von Strahlenberg, Peter Simon Pallas, Daniel Gottlieb Messerschmidt and other investigators. For their notes they used both the Latin alphabet and various Cyrillic alphabets. In 1865 the first scientific grammar of the Evenki language, written by Matthias Castrén, was published. [1]

The first attempts to create an Evenki orthography were made by missionaries of the Bible Society in Russia. In 1818 they translated excerpts of the New Testament. The Cyrillic alphabet was used in the translations, which were never published after all. [2] [3] Some publications claim that "Тунгусский букварь" (in English, "Tungus language children's primer (or ABC-book), written 1858), as well as the dictionary and translation of the Gospel of Matthew that followed it, were in the Evenki language. However, in reality, these books were written in the Ola dialect of the Even language. [1] [4]

Latin alphabets

The creation of Evenki orthography began in the 1920s. In May 1928, researcher Glafira Makar'yevna Vasilyevich wrote «Памятку тунгусам-отпускникам» (lit. Memo to Tungus vacationers) for Evenks studying in Leningrad. It was small textbook, duplicated on glass. [5] In it was the Evenki Latin-based alphabet created by Vasilyevich. A year later she compiled the book «Первая книга для чтения на тунгусском языке,» or «Әwәnkil dukuwuntin,» lit. "First book for reading in the Tungus language." [6] This alphabet had the following letters: Aa Bb Чч Dd Ӡӡ Ee Әә Gg Hh Ii Kk Ll Mm Nn Ŋŋ Oo Pp Rr Ss Tt Uu Ww Yy; it also included diacritic marks: a macron, to indicate a lengthened vowel and a sub-letter comma (modernist cedilla), to indicate palatalization. [7]

In 1930 a decision was made to create writing systems for the majority of the peoples of the Northern USSR. The Latin alphabet was chosen as a graphic basis. In the same year Y. P Al'kor suggested the Evenki alphabet project. This project differed from the alphabet created by Vasilyevich only in the inclusion of letters used only in Russian loanwords (C c, F f, J j, Ш ш, Z z), and also the usage of the letter V v instead of W w, Ç ç instead of Ч ч, as well as the exclusion of the letter Y y. [7] In May 1931 the Evenki Latin-based alphabet was officially confirmed, and in 1932 regular book publishing began, using the alphabet. [2] The basis of the literary language was the more thoroughly researched Nepsky dialect (north of Irkutsk Oblast'). [8]

The official Latin-based alphabet, which was used in book publishing and school education, was thus: [9]

A aB вC cD dƷ ʒE eƏ əƏ̄ ə̄F f
G gH hI iJ jK kL lM mN nŅ ņ
Ŋ ŋO oP pR rS sT tU uW wZ z

Cyrillic

In 1937, like many other alphabets used by peoples of the USSR, the Evenki alphabet was changed to a Cyrillic-based one. Initially, it had the 33 letters of the Russian alphabet, plus the digraph Нг нг. [10] In the 1950s this digraph was replaced by the letter Ӈ ӈ. At the same time the base of Evenki literature was translated to the Poligusov dialect. [8]

The modern Evenki Cyillic-based alphabet contains 34 letters:

А аБ бВ вГ гД дЕ еЁ ёЖ жЗ зИ иЙ йК к
/a//b//v//ɡ/,/ɣ//d/,/dʒ//je//jo//ʒ//z~dz//i//j//k/
Л лМ мН нӇ ӈО оП пР рС сТ тУ уФ фХ х
/l//m//n//ŋ//ɔ//p//r//s//t//ʊ/, /u//f//x/, /h/
Ц цЧ чШ шЩ щЪ ъЫ ыЬ ьЭ эЮ юЯ я
/ts//tʃ//ʃ//ʃtʃ//.//ə/, /ɨ//ʲ//e//ju//ja/

China

In China there is no standard orthography for the Evenki language. Various main systems are used to document Evenki texts: a Latin-based, pinyin-like alphabet; Mongolian orthography [11] (experimentally); as well as Chinese hieroglyphics.

Latin alphabets

There are a few variations of Latin spelling for Evenki. E.g., in the Evenki-Chinese dictionary "Ewengki nihang bilehu biteg," published in 1998, [12] the following variant is used, proposed by Do Dōrji: A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, Ē ē, F f, G g, Ḡ ḡ, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, Ng ng, Ɵ ō, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z. In another textbook of the Evenki language, a standard alphabet, with the addition of the letter Ө ө. [13] There are also other variants of Latin spelling, based on the IPA.

Mongolian script

The Mongolian script is used experimentally.

Comparison chart of Evenki alphabets

Compiled using: [13] [14]

Cyrillic Latin

(USSR)

Latin

(PRC)

Mongolian

Script

IPA
А аA aА а/a/
Б бB вB b, W wᠪ, ᠸ/b/, /w/
В вW wV vᠣᠸ/v/
Г гG gG g/ɡ/
Ḡ ḡ/ɣ/
Д дD dD d/d/
Ʒ ʒJ j/dʒ/
Е еE e--/je/
Ё ё(Jo jo)--/jo/
Ж жZ z--/ʒ/
З зZ zZ z/z~dz/
И иI iI i/i/
Й йJ jY y/j/
К кK kK k/k/
Л лL lL l/l/
М мM mM m/m/
Н нN nN n/n/
Ӈ ӈŊ ŋNg ng/ŋ/
О оO oƟ ō/ɔ/
П пP pP p/p/
Р рR rR r/r/
С сS sS s/s/
Т тT tT t/t/
У уU uO o, U u/ʊ/, /u/
Ф фF fF f/f/
Х хH hH hᠾ, ᠬ/x/, /h/
Ц цC cC c/ts/
Ч чC cQ q/tʃ/
Ш шS sX x/ʃ/
Щ щS s--/ʃtʃ/
Ъ ъ----
Ы ы-E e/ə/, /ɨ/
Ь ь----
Э эƏ əĒ ē/e/
Ю ю{Ju ju}--/ju/
Я я(Ja ja)--/ja/

Notes

  1. 1 2 Я. П. Алькор (Кошкин). Проект алфавита эвенкийского (тунгусского) языка. — Л.: Изд-во АН СССР, 1930. — 14 с. — 650 экз.
  2. 1 2 Книжная культура эвенков / Л. Н. Потапова. — Якутск, 2008. — С. 6—14.
  3. Б. Даниленко. Перевод и интерпретация Священного Писания в этнокультурах Дальнего Востока. Информационно-просветительский портал Хабаровской епархии (15.11.2006).
  4. А. А. Бурыкин. Изучение фонетики языков малочисленных народов Севера России и проблемы развития их письменности (обзор) // Язык и речевая деятельность. — СПб, 2000. — Т. 3, вып. 1. — С. 150—180.
  5. Г. М. Василевич. Памятка тунгусам-отпукникам. — Л., 1928.
  6. Эвенкийская литература / В. Огрызко. — М.: Литературная Россия, 2006. — С. 10—12. — 320 с. — 1000 экз. — ISBN 5-7809-0094-9.
  7. 1 2 Я. П. Алькор (Кошкин). Письменность народов Севера // Культура и письменность востока. — М.: ВЦК НА, 1931. — Вып. X. — С. 12—31.
  8. 1 2 Письменные языки мира: Языки Российской Федерации. — М.: Academia, 2003. — Т. 2. — С. 648—649. — 848 с. — 1000 экз. — ISBN 5-87444-191-3.
  9. Г. М. Василевич. Учебник эвенкийского (тунгусского) языка. — М.-Л.: Гос. уч.-пед. изд-во, 1934. — С. 14. — 160 с. — 5200 экз.
  10. Г. М. Василевич. Очерк грамматики эвенкийского (тунгусского) языка. — Л.: Гос. уч.-пед. изд-во, 1940. — С. 13—14. — 133 с. — 1100 экз.
  11. Кэ Чао и др. Эвенкийские народные сказки. — Хайлар: Культурное издательство Внутренней Монголии, 1988. — 528 с. — ISBN 7-80506-038-X.
  12. Do Dōrji, Banjibomi Johiḡasa. Ewengki nihang bilehu biteḡ. — 海拉尔, 1998. — 796 p. — ISBN 7-80506-704-X.
  13. 1 2 Ewengki gisөng. — 2011. — 102 p. — ISBN 978-7-5311-8257-3.
  14. Г. М. Василевич. Эвенкийско-русский словарь. — М.: Гос. изд-во иностранных и национальных словарей, 1958. — С. 652—653. — 802 с. — 3000 экз.

Related Research Articles

Evenkiay-VEN-kee (Ewenkī), formerly known as Tungus or Solon, is the largest member of the northern group of Tungusic languages, a group which also includes Even, Negidal, and the more closely related Oroqen language. The name is sometimes wrongly given as "Evenks". It is spoken by Evenks or Ewenkī(s) in Russia and China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalmyk Oirat</span> Oirat register spoken in Kalmykia, Russia

Kalmyk Oirat, commonly known as the Kalmyk language, is a variety of the Oirat language, natively spoken by the Kalmyk people of Kalmykia, a federal subject of Russia. In Russia, it is the standard form of the Oirat language, which belongs to the Mongolic language family. The Kalmyk people of the Northwest Caspian Sea of Russia claim descent from the Oirats from Eurasia, who have also historically settled in Mongolia and Northwest China. According to UNESCO, the language is "Definitely endangered". According to the Russian census of 2010, there are 80,500 speakers of an ethnic population consisting of 183,000 people.

Three scripts are currently used for the Tatar language: Arabic, Cyrillic and Latin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yakut scripts</span> Scripts used to write the Yakut language

There are 4 stages in the history of Yakut writing systems:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C with bar</span> Modified letter of Latin alphabet

The C with bar, also known as barred C, is a modified letter of the Latin alphabet, formed from C with the addition of a bar. It was used in the final version of the Unified Northern Alphabet, approved in 1932, for Saami, Selkup, Khanty, Evenki, Even, Nanai, Udege, Chukchi, Koryak and Nivkh languages to denote the sound IPA:[t͡ʃ], although in some of these languages in practice, several other alphabets were used. Also, this letter was used in the Latinized Shugnan alphabet (1931-1939) to denote the sound IPA:[t͡s].

The Bashkir alphabet is a writing system used for the Bashkir language. Until the mid-19th century, Bashkir speakers wrote in the Türki literary language using the Arabic script. In 1869, Russian linguist Mirsalikh Bekchurin published the first guide to Bashkir grammar, and the first Cyrillic Bashkir introductory book was published by Vasily Katarinsky in Orenburg in 1892. Latinisation was first discussed in June 1924, when the first draft of the Bashkir alphabet using the Latin script was created. More reforms followed, culminating in the final version in 1938.

Valery Semenovich Durov is a Russian antiquarian, philologist, and academic. From 1992 until 2013, he was head of the Department of Classical Philology at St. Petersburg State University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dolgan language</span> Northern Turkic language

The Dolgan language is a Turkic language with 930 speakers, spoken in the Taymyr Peninsula in Russia. The speakers are known as the Dolgans. The word "Dolgan" means 'tribe living on the middle reaches of the river'. This is most likely signifying the geographical location of the Dolgan tribe. Its closest relative is Sakha.

Latin-script German words are transcribed into Cyrillic-script languages according to rules based on pronunciation. Because German orthography is largely phonemic, transcription into Cyrillic follows relatively simple rules.

Tyurya, sometimes known as murtsovka, is a traditional bread soup in the Russian cuisine, sometimes considered a variant of okroshka. It consists of chunks of bread, often stale or semi-stale, or dried/baked into sukhari biscuits/hardtack, soaked in a flavorful liquid or, alternatively, plain water, with some vegetables and vegetable oil added and flavored with salt and pepper. The base liquid could be anything that can be consumed cold, because unlike most other bread soups, tyurya was prepared and consumed without heat. Kvass was historically the most popular base for tyurya, due to it being cheap, plentiful and flavorful enough. A dairy base, like plain or sour milk, whey or kefir was considered fancy and was generally prepared for children, the elderly or the infirm. It is, along with pokhlyobka, a traditional Lenten soup.

Semyon Alekseyevich Kamenev was an educator, professor, writer, and Soviet propagandist of atheism.

The Komi language, a Uralic language spoken in the north-eastern part of European Russia, has been written in several different alphabets. Currently, Komi writing uses letters from the Cyrillic script. There have been five distinct stages in the history of Komi writing:

Since its inception in the 18th century and up to the present, it is based on the Cyrillic alphabet to write the Udmurt language. Attempts were also made to use the Latin alphabet to write the Udmurt language. In its modern form, the Udmurt alphabet was approved in 1937.

Mordvinic alphabets is a writing system used to write Mordovian languages. From its inception in the 18th century to the present, it has been based on the Cyrillic alphabet. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the alphabet did not have a stable norm and was often changed. The modern alphabet has been in operation since the late 1920s.

Nogai writing is a script used to write the Nogai language. During its existence, it has changed its graphic basis several times. Currently, the Nogai script functions in the Cyrillic alphabet. There are 3 stages in the history of Nogai writing:

Mansi alphabets is a writing system used to write Mansi language. During its existence, it functioned on different graphic bases and was repeatedly reformed. At present day, the Mansi writing functions in Cyrillic. There are 3 stages in the history of Mansi writing:

Khakass alphabets are the alphabets used to write the Khakas language.

Even alphabets are the alphabets used to write the Even language. During its existence, it functioned on different graphic bases and was repeatedly reformed. At present, Even writing functions in Cyrillic. There are three stages in the history of Even writing:

Udege alphabets are the alphabets used to write the Udege language. During its existence, it functioned on different graphic bases and was repeatedly reformed. Currently, the Udege script functions on two versions of the Cyrillic alphabet for two emerging literary languages, but does not have a generally accepted norm. There are 2 stages in the history of Udege writing:

Nivkh alphabets are the alphabets used to write the Nivkh language. During its existence, it functioned on different graphic bases and was reformed several times. Currently, Nivkh writing functions in Cyrillic. There are 3 stages in the history of Nivkh writing: