Abkhaz alphabet
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The Abkhaz alphabet is a Cyrillic alphabet used for the Abkhaz language.
Abkhaz did not become a written language until the 19th century. Up until then, Abkhazians, especially princes, had been using Greek (up to c. 9th century), Georgian (9–19th centuries), and partially Turkish (18th century) languages.<ref>Бгажба Х. С. Из истории письменности в Абхазии. — Тбилиси. 1967. С. 34</ref> The Abkhaz word for alphabet is анбан (anban), which was borrowed from Georgian ანბანი (anbani).
History
The first Abkhaz alphabet was created in 1862 by Peter von Uslar. It had 55 letters and was based on the Cyrillic script. Another version, having 51 letters, was used in 1892 by Dimitry Gulia and K. Machavariani.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1909, the alphabet was again expanded to 55 letters by Andria Tchotchua to adjust to the extensive consonantal inventory of Abkhaz.
In 1926, during the korenizatsiya policy in the Soviet Union, the Cyrillic alphabet was replaced by a Latin alphabet devised by Nikolay Marr. It featured 76 letters and was called the "Abkhaz analytical alphabet". In 1928, this was replaced by another Latin alphabet. (See illustration at right.) From 1938 to 1954 the Abkhaz language was written in Georgian Mkhedruli script.
Since 1954, the Abkhaz language has been written in a new 58-letter (now 64-letter) Cyrillic alphabet (see chart below). Of these, 38 are graphically distinct; the rest are digraphs with Template:Angle bracket and Template:Angle bracket which indicate palatalization and labialization, respectively. In 1996, the most recent reform of the alphabet was implemented: while labialization had hitherto been marked with two additional letters, ә and у (у was used in the digraphs гу, ҕу, ку, қу, ҟу, and ху, which were not considered separate letters), since then only ә was retained in this function. Unusually, the Cyrillic plosive letters К П Т represent ejective consonants; the non-ejectives (pulmonic consonants) are derived from these by means of a descender at the bottom of the letter. In the case of the affricates, however, the plain letters are pulmonic, and the derived letters ejective.
The modern Abkhaz orthography gives preference to the letters Г К П Т Х Ч with descender (Ӷ Қ Ԥ Ҭ Ҳ Ҷ). The letters (Ҕ Ҧ) had previously (before 1996) had a hook, which Ҕ still does in Yakut.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> In pre-Soviet alphabets the hook was also used in Ӄ Ꚋ, see above.
The letters ь and ә are used as parts of digraphs, but are listed separately in the alphabet.<ref name = chirikba> Template:Cite book</ref> Besides the digraphs listed in the alphabet, the letter ь occurs in ль Template:IPA, which is used in some loanwords.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Comparison table
Letters or digraphs in brackets are not part of the alphabet.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref> Letters without a modern equivalent represent phonemes only present in the Bzyb dialect, as the literary standard dialect switched from Bzyb to Abzhywa.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
| Modern Cyrillic<ref>The letters are listed per Template:Cite book. In Template:Cite book "Ь" and "Ә" are included as separate letters.</ref> | Name | Georgian script | Soviet Latin script | Analytical alphabet | Translation committee | Uslar alphabet | ISO<ref name="pedersen">Template:Cite web</ref> | TITUS<ref name="pedersen" /> (Chirikba,
where different<ref name="chirikba2">Template:Cite book</ref>) |
IPA Value<ref>The IPA transcriptions are given per Template:Cite book, but the labialisation is represented by Template:IPA as in Template:Cite journal. The transcription of vowels is not consistent in the scholarly literature, see Abkhaz phonology#Vowels for details.</ref> |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| А/а | А | ა | a | a | а | а | a | а | Template:IPA |
| Б/б | Бы | ბ | b | b | б | б | b | b | Template:IPA |
| В/в | Вы | ვ | v | v | в | в | v | v | Template:IPA |
| Г/г | Гы | გ | g | g | г | г | g | g | Template:IPA |
| Гь/гь | Гьы | გჲ | (gı) | gˌ | г̆ | (гј) | gʹ | gʹ | Template:IPA |
| Гә/гә (pre-1996: Гу/гу) | Гәы | (გუ) | (gu) | g˚ | (гу) | (гу) | ga̋<ref name="missing1" /> | gᵒ<ref name="missing1" /> | Template:IPA |
| Ӷ/ӷ (pre-1996: Ҕ/ҕ) | Ӷы | ღ | ƣ | ǧ | ҕ | г̓ | ğ | ɣ | Template:IPA |
| Ӷь/ӷь (pre-1996: Ҕь/ҕь) | Ӷьы | ღჲ | (ƣı) | ǧˌ | ҕ̆ | (г̓ј) | ğʹ | ɣʹ | Template:IPA |
| Ӷә/ӷә (pre-1996: Ҕу/ҕу) | Ӷәы | (ღუ) | (ƣu) | ǧ˚ | (ҕу) | (г̓у) | ğa̋ <ref name="missing1" /> | ɣᵒ <ref name="missing1" /> | Template:IPA |
| Д/д | Ды | დ | d | d | д | д | d | d | Template:IPA |
| Дә/дә | Дәы | დჿ | đ | d˚ | ꚁ | д̓ | da̋ | dᵒ | Template:IPA |
| Е/е | Е | ე | e | e | е | е | e | e | Template:IPA |
| Ж/ж | Жы | ჟჾ | ƶ | ȷ | ж | ж | ž | ž | Template:IPA |
| Жь/жь | Жьы | ჟ | ȷˌ | ӂ | (жј) | žʹ | žʹ | Template:IPA | |
| Жә/жә | Жәы | ჟჿ | j | ȷ˚ | ꚅ | ꚅ | ža̋ | žᵒ | Template:IPA |
| ȷˌ˚ | ꚅ̆ | ꚅ̓ | Template:IPA | ||||||
| З/з | Зы | ზ | z | z | з | з | z | z | Template:IPA |
| ⱬ | Template:IPA | ||||||||
| Ӡ/ӡ | Ӡы | ძ | ᴣ | ď | ӡ | ꚉ | ź | ʒ | Template:IPA |
| ďˌ | Template:IPA | ||||||||
| Ӡә/ӡә | Ӡәы | ძჿ | ⱬ | ď˚ | ꚃ | ꚃ | źa̋ | ʒᵒ | Template:IPA |
| И/и | Иы | ი | i | i | і | і | i | i, j | Template:IPA |
| y | ј | Template:IPA | |||||||
| К/к | Кы | კ | ⱪ | k | к | к | k | ḳ (kʼ) | Template:IPA |
| Кь/кь | Кьы | კჲ | (ⱪı) | ⱪ | к̆ | (кј) | kʹ | ḳʹ (kʼʹ) | /kʲʼ/ |
| Кә/кә (pre-1996: Ку/ку) | Кәы | (კუ) | (ⱪu) | k˚ | (ку) | (ку) | ka̋ <ref name="missing1">Pedersen uses the pre-1996 reform alphabet in which these were not considered separate letters. See the transliterations in note 4.1 on page 3</ref> | ḳᵒ<ref name="missing1" /> (kʼᵒ) | /kʷʼ/ |
| Қ/қ | Қы | ქ | k | q | ӄ | к̓ | ķ | k | Template:IPA |
| Қь/қь | Қьы | ქჲ | (kı) | qˌ | ӄ̆ | (к̓ј) | ķʹ | kʹ | Template:IPA |
| Қә/қә (pre-1996: Ӄу/ӄу) | Қәы | (ქუ) | (ku) | q˚ | (ӄу) | (к̓у) | ķa̋ <ref name="missing1" /> | kᵒ <ref name="missing1" /> | Template:IPA |
| Ҟ/ҟ | Ҟы | ყ | q | k̇ | ԛ | ԛ | k̄ | q̇ (qʼ) | Template:IPA |
| Ҟь/ҟь | Ҟьы | ყჲ | (qı) | ⱪ̇ | q̆ | (ԛј) | k̄ʹ | q̇ʹ (qʼʹ) | /qʲʼ/ |
| Ҟә/ҟә (pre-1996: Ҟу/ҟу) | Ҟәы | (ყუ) | (qu) | k̇˚ | (ԛу) | (ԛу) | k̄a̋ <ref name="missing1" /> | q̇ᵒ<ref name="missing1" /> (qʼᵒ) | Template:IPA |
| Л/л | Лы | ლ | l | l | л | л | l | l | Template:IPA |
| М/м | Мы | მ | m | m | м | м | m | m | Template:IPA |
| Н/н | Ны | ნ | n | n | н | н | n | n | Template:IPA |
| О/о | О | ო | o | o | о | о | o | o | Template:IPA |
| П/п | Пы | პ | p | п | п | p | ṗ (pʼ) | Template:IPA | |
| Ԥ/ԥ (pre-1996: Ҧ/ҧ) | Ԥы | ფ | p | ҧ | п̓ | ṕ | p | Template:IPA | |
| Р/р | Ры | რ | r | r | р | р | r | r | Template:IPA |
| С/с | Сы | ს | s | s | с | с | s | s | Template:IPA |
| sˌ | ҫ | Template:IPA | |||||||
| Т/т | Ты | ტ | t | т | т | t | ṭ (tʼ) | Template:IPA | |
| Тә/тә | Тәы | ტჿ | t˚ | ꚍ̆ | ꚍ̆ | ta̋ | ṭᵒ (tʼᵒ) | Template:IPA | |
| Ҭ/ҭ | Ҭы | თ | t | ϑ | ꚋ | т̓ | ţ | t | Template:IPA |
| Ҭә/ҭә | Ҭәы | თჿ | ϑ˚ | ꚍ | ꚍ | ţa̋ | tᵒ | Template:IPA | |
| У/у | Уы | უ | u | w | у | у | u | w, u<ref>Prior to the 1996 reform ⟨у⟩ indicated labialisation after certain letters which is transliterated as ⟨ᵒ⟩ in the TITUS system</ref> | Template:IPA |
| Ф/ф | Фы | ჶ | f | f | ф | ф | f | f | Template:IPA |
| Х/х | Хы | ხ | x | q̇ | х | х | h | x | Template:IPA |
| Хь/хь | Хьы | ხჲ | (xı) | q̇ˌ | х̆ | (хј) | hʹ | xʹ | Template:IPA |
| Хә/хә (pre-1996: Ху/ху) | Хәы | (ხუ) | (xu) | q̇˚ | (ху) | (ху) | ha̋ | xᵒ | Template:IPA |
| q̱̇ | х̍ | Template:IPA | |||||||
| q̱̇˚ | (х̍у) | Template:IPA | |||||||
| Ҳ/ҳ | Ҳы | ჰ | h | ħ | h | h | h̦ | ḥ (h) | Template:IPA |
| Ҳә/ҳә | Ҳәы | ჰჿ | ħ | ħ˚ | ꚕ | ꚕ | h̦a̋ | ḥᵒ (hᵒ) | Template:IPA |
| Ц/ц | Цы | ც | c | ϑ̇ | ц | ц | c | c | Template:IPA |
| ϑ̇ˌ | ц̍ | Template:IPA | |||||||
| Цә/цә | Цәы | ცჿ | ϑ̇˚ | ꚏ | ꚏ | ca̋ | cᵒ | Template:IPA | |
| Ҵ/ҵ | Ҵы | წ | ṫ | ҵ | ц̓ | c̄ | c̣ (cʼ) | Template:IPA | |
| Ҵә/ҵә | Ҵәы | წჿ | ṫ˚ | ꚏ̆ | ꚏ̆ | c̄a̋ | c̣ᵒ (cʼᵒ) | Template:IPA | |
| ṫˌ | т̨ | Template:IPA | |||||||
| Ч/ч | Чы | ჩ | ɥ | ϑ̣ | ч | ч | č | čʹ | Template:IPA |
| Ҷ/ҷ | Ҷы | ჭ | ṭ | ꚓ | ч̓ | c̦ | č̣ʹ (čʼʹ) | Template:IPA | |
| Ҽ/ҽ | Ҽы | ჩჾ | ϑ̱̣ | ҽ | ꚇ | c̆ | č | Template:IPA | |
| Ҿ/ҿ | Ҿы | ჭჾ | ṯ̣ | ҽ̆ | ꚇ̆ | ̦c̆ <ref>The lower hook is centered</ref> | č̣ (čʼ) | Template:IPA | |
| Ш/ш | Шы | შჾ | ш | ш | ш | š | š | Template:IPA | |
| Шь/шь | Шьы | შ | ſ | щ | ш̆ | ш̆ | šʹ | šʹ | Template:IPA |
| Шә/шә | Шәы | შჿ | ш˚ | ꚗ | щ | ša̋ | šᵒ | Template:IPA | |
| щ˚ | ꚗ̆ | щ̆ | Template:IPA | ||||||
| Ы/ы | Ы | ჷ | ə | ə | ѵ | ѵ | y | ə | Template:IPA |
| Ҩ/ҩ | Ҩы | ჳ | y | w̧ | ҩ | ҩ | ò | ʿᵒ (jᵒ) | Template:IPA |
| Џ/џ | Џы | ჯჾ | ḓ | џ | d̂<ref name="missing">ISO 9 and TITUS transliteration not provided by T. Pedersen</ref> | ǯ<ref name="missing" /> | Template:IPA | ||
| Џь/џь | Џьы | ჯ | ꝗ | ḏ̣ | џ̆ | џ | d̂ <ref name="missing" /> | ǯʹ <ref name="missing" /> | Template:IPA |
| Ь/ь | ჲ | ı | ј | ʹ | Template:IPA | ||||
| Ә/ә | უ | (u) | у | a̋ | Template:IPA |
Text Comparison
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Better source needed
| Cyrillic script | Uslar Cyrillic | Translation Committee | Georgian script | Latin script (ISO 9) | IPA | English translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Дарбанзаалак ауаҩы дшоуп ихы дақәиҭны. Ауаа зегь зинлеи патулеи еиҟароуп. Урҭ ирымоуп ахшыҩи аламыси, дара дарагь аешьеи аешьеи реиԥш еизыҟазароуп. | Дарбанзаалак ауаҩѵ дшоуп іхѵ дак̓уіт̓нѵ. Ауаа зегј зінлеі патулеі еіԛароуп. Урт̓ ірѵмоуп ахшѵҩі аламѵсі, дара дарагј аеш̆еі аеш̆еі реіп̓ш еізѵԛазароуп. | Дарбанзаалак ауаҩѵ дшоуп іхѵ даӄуіꚋнѵ. Ауаа зег̆ зінлеі патулеі еіԛароуп. Урꚋ ірѵмоуп ахшѵҩі аламѵсі, дара дараг̆ аеш̆еі аеш̆еі реіҧш еізѵԛазароуп. | დარბანზაალაკ აუაჳჷ დშოუპ იხჷ დაქჿითნჷ. აუაა ზეგჲ ზინლეი პატულეი ეიყაროუპ. ურთ ირჷმოუპ ახშჷჳი ალამჷსი, დარა დარაგჲ აეშჲეი აეშჲეი რეიფშ ეიზჷყაზაროუპ. | Darbanzaalak auaòy dšoup ihy daķãiţny. Auaa zegʹ zinlei patulei eik̄aroup. Urţ irymoup ahšyòi alamysi, dara daragʹ aešʹei aešʹei reipš eizyk̄azaroup. | [darbanzaːlakʼ awaɥɨ tʂəʊpʼ jɨχɨ dakʷʰitʰnɨ ǁ awaː zəgʲ zinləɪ pʼatʼwɨləɪ əɪqʼarəʊpʼ ǁ wərtʰ jɨrɨməʊpʼ aχʂɨɥiː alamɨsiː ǀ dara daragʲ ajəʃəɪ rəɪpʰʂ əɪzɨqʼazarəʊpʼ ǁ] | All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. |
See also
References
External links
- PT Sans and PT Serif fonts
- Deja Vu fonts
- Теимураз Гванцеладзе: «Из истории перехода абхазского книжного языка на грузинскую графику»
- Template:Cite web
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