Official script

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The letters of the Indic official scripts of the Indian Republic used by the official languages of India -
(top row: Tamil, Malayalam, Odia, Gujarati, Meitei
bottom row:Bengali/Assamese, Kannada/Telugu, Ol Chiki, Devanagari, Gurmukhi), Urdu alphabet
These are the examples of the official scripts. "a" in official Indian-language scripts (serif).svg
The letters of the Indic official scripts of the Indian Republic used by the official languages of India
(top row: Tamil, Malayalam, Odia, Gujarati, Meitei
bottom row:Bengali/Assamese, Kannada/Telugu, Ol Chiki, Devanagari, Gurmukhi), Urdu alphabet

These are the examples of the official scripts.

An official script is a writing system that is specifically designated to be official in the constitutions or other applicable laws of countries, states, and other jurisdictions. Akin to an official language, an official script is much rarer. It is used primarily where an official language is in practice written with two or more scripts. As, in these languages, use of script often has cultural or political connotations, proclamation of an official script is sometimes criticized as having a goal of influencing culture or politics or both. Desired effects also may include easing education, communication and some other aspects of life.

Contents

List of official scripts

Below is a partial list of official scripts used in different countries. Those in italics are states that have limited international recognition.

This list does not cover local variations of international scripts, such as which diacritics are used.

Historical

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyrillic script</span> Writing system used for various Eurasian languages

The Cyrillic script, Slavonic script or simply Slavic script is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, North Asia, and East Asia, and used by many other minority languages.

Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters in predictable ways, such as Greek ⟨α⟩⟨a⟩, Cyrillic ⟨д⟩⟨d⟩, Greek ⟨χ⟩ → the digraph ⟨ch⟩, Armenian ⟨ն⟩⟨n⟩ or Latin ⟨æ⟩⟨ae⟩.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mongolian writing systems</span> Writing systems devised for the Mongolian language

Various Mongolian writing systems have been devised for the Mongolian language over the centuries, and from a variety of scripts. The oldest and native script, called simply the Mongolian script, has been the predominant script during most of Mongolian history, and is still in active use today in the Inner Mongolia region of China and has de facto use in Mongolia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serbian language</span> South Slavic language of the Balkans

Serbian is the standardized variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs. It is the official and national language of Serbia, one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina and co-official in Montenegro and Kosovo. It is a recognized minority language in Croatia, North Macedonia, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romanization</span> Transliteration or transcription to Latin letters

In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, for representing the spoken word, and combinations of both. Transcription methods can be subdivided into phonemic transcription, which records the phonemes or units of semantic meaning in speech, and more strict phonetic transcription, which records speech sounds with precision.

An official language is a language having certain rights to be used in defined situations. These rights can be created in written form or by historic usage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kha (Cyrillic)</span> Letter in the Cyrillic script

Kha, Khe, Xe or Ha is a letter of the Cyrillic script. It looks the same as the Latin letter X, in both uppercase and lowercase, both roman and italic forms, and was derived from the Greek letter Chi, which also bears a resemblance to both the Latin X and Kha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hindi–Urdu controversy</span> Linguistic Dispute

The Hindi–Urdu controversy arose in 19th century colonial India out of the debate over whether Modern Standard Hindi or Standard Urdu should be chosen as a national language.

Latinisation or Latinization can refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latin script</span> Writing system based on the alphabet used by the Romans

The Latin script, also known as the Roman script, is a 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 Magna Graecia. The Greek alphabet was altered by the Etruscans, and subsequently their alphabet was altered by the Ancient Romans. Several Latin-script alphabets exist, which differ in graphemes, collation and phonetic values from the classical Latin alphabet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arabic script</span> Writing system for Arabic and several other languages

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Languages of the Soviet Union</span>

The languages of the Soviet Union consist of hundreds of different languages and dialects from several different language groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serbian Cyrillic alphabet</span> Official script of the Serbian language

The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet is a variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language that originated in medieval Serbia. Reformed in 19th century by the Serbian philologist and linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two alphabets used to write modern standard Serbian, the other being Gaj's Latin alphabet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digraphia</span> Using multiple writing system for a language

In sociolinguistics, digraphia refers to the use of more than one writing system for the same language. Synchronic digraphia is the coexistence of two or more writing systems for the same language, while diachronic digraphia is the replacement of one writing system by another for a particular language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyrillic alphabets</span> Related alphabets based on Cyrillic scripts

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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latinisation in the Soviet Union</span> 1920s–1930s campaign to develop Latin alphabets for the languages of the Soviet Union

Latinisation or latinization was a campaign in the Soviet Union to adopt the Latin script during the 1920s and 1930s. Latinisation aimed to replace Cyrillic and traditional writing systems for all languages of the Soviet Union with Latin or Latin-based systems, or introduce them for languages that did not have a writing system. Latinisation began to slow in the Soviet Union during the 1930s and a Cyrillisation campaign was launched instead. Latinization had effectively ended by the 1940s. Most of these Latin alphabets are defunct and several contain multiple letters that do not have Unicode support as of 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romanization of Serbian</span> Use of Latin in the Serbian language

The romanization or Latinization of Serbian is the representation of the Serbian language using Latin letters. Serbian is written in two alphabets, Serbian Cyrillic, a variation of the Cyrillic alphabet, and Gaj's Latin, or latinica, a variation of the Latin alphabet. Both are widely used in Serbia. The Serbian language is thus an example of digraphia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spread of the Latin script</span> Geographic history of the Latin script

The spread of the Latin script has a long history, from its archaic beginnings in Latium to its rise as the dominant writing system in modernity. The ancestors of Latin letters are found in the Phoenician, Greek, and Etruscan alphabets. As the Roman Empire expanded in classical antiquity, the Latin script and language spread along with its conquests, and remained in use in Italy, Iberia, and Western Europe after the Western Roman Empire's disappearance. During the early and high Middle Ages, the script was spread by Christian missionaries and rulers, replacing the indigenous writing systems of Central Europe, Northern Europe, and the British Isles.

References

  1. "Alphabet Transitions: Chronology of the New Latin Script". www.azer.com. Archived from the original on 1 December 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  2. Staff (2 August 2001). "A-Z back in Azerbaijan". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 19 March 2024. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  3. Constitution of Republika Srpska Archived 22 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine , Article 7.
  4. Constitution of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Archived 12 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine , Part I, Article 6.
  5. National People's Congress of China, "The law of national all-purpose language and character in the People's Republic of China". Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  6. After the announcement of Simplified Chinese in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau didn't follow the change, making Traditional Chinese the de facto official script. (Hong Kong and Macau were still colonies at that time, and their current constitutions don't state whether Tradition Chinese or Simplified Chinese is to be used. Both places continued to use Traditional Chinese after handover.see List of languages written in Chinese characters and derivatives of Chinese characters )
  7. Xinjiang Languages and characters, "Uyghur Language and characters".[ permanent dead link ]
  8. Constitution of Croatia, Article 12: "Basic Provisions". Croatian Parliament. Archived from the original on 9 September 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2011. The Croatian language and the Latin script shall be in official use in the Republic of Croatia.
  9. "Official Language Act - Official Language: Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India". socialjustice.nic.in. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  10. Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Official Language, Script, Calendar, and Flag of the Country Archived 5 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine .
  11. Alton, David; Chidley, Rob (2013). Building Bridges: Is There Hope for North Korea?. Oxford: Lion Books. p. 89. ISBN   978-0-7459-5598-8.
  12. Article 14 of the Framework Act on Korean Language Archived 24 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine prefers hangul but also allows hanja in parentheses, in cases prescribed by South Korean Presidential Decree.
  13. "National Language Acts 1963/67". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. The script of the national language shall be the Rumi script: provided that this shall not prohibit the use of the Malay script, more commonly known as the Jawi script, of the national language.
  14. Constitution of Moldova, Article 13: "Title I. General Principles". Official Website of the President of Moldavia. Archived from the original on 29 August 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2011. (1) The national language of the Republic of Moldova is Moldovan, and its writing is based on the Latin alphabet.
  15. "Official Documents to be in Mongolian Script". UB Post (in Chinese). 21 June 2011. Archived from the original on 1 November 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
  16. "Влада Црне Горе". vlada.me. Archived from the original on 16 August 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  17. Constitution of Macedonia, Article 7: "Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia". Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2011. The Macedonian language, written using its Cyrillic alphabet, is the official language in the Republic of Macedonia.
  18. In Russian, the designation of Cyrillic as an official script (2001) has the consequence that the official languages of national Republics of Russia have to be written in the Cyrillic script in all official institutions and education. The passing of the law was met with particular resistance and criticism in the Republic of Tatarstan, as it replaced the Turkish Latin alphabet which the local government tried to promote in education after the dissolution of USSR.see List of languages in Russia
  19. Constitution of Serbia, Article 10: "I Constitution Principles". Government of Serbia. Archived from the original on 2 May 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2011. Serbian language and Cyrillic script shall be in official use in the Republic of Serbia.
  20. Control by Republic of China
  21. Chapter I - Decree 5 - Section 3 of the current Constitution (2013) states that Vietnamese language is the National language of Vietnam, but nothing states the Vietnamese Latin Alphabet (called as chữ Quốc ngữ) is the official script de jure. Archived 15 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine chữ Hán (Chinese characters) and chữ Nôm sometime can be used, most in activities about the traditional cultural in Vietnam (e.g. Vietnamese calligraphy).