View source for Old Permic script


{{Short description|Alphabet used to write Komi}}
{{Contains special characters
| special    = uncommon [[Unicode]] characters
| fix        = Help:Multilingual support
| error      = [[Specials (Unicode block)#Replacement character|question marks, boxes, or other symbols]]
| characters = the intended characters
| image      = Replacement character.svg
| link       = Specials (Unicode block)#Replacement character
| alt        = <?>
| compact    = 
}}
{{Infobox Writing system
| name        = Old Permic<br/>Abur
| altname     = {{Script|Perm|𐍐𐍝𐍑𐍣‎𐍠}}<ref name="Everson" />
| languages   = [[Komi language|Komi]]
| sample      = Anbur-Latin.jpg
| imagesize   = 250px
| caption     = Komi-Zyryan alphabet, created by [[Stephen of Perm]]. The alphabet is transposed with the names in Cyrillic and the modern Komi alphabet.
| fam1        = [[Phoenician alphabet|Phoenician]]
| fam2        = [[Greek script|Greek]]
| fam3        = [[Cyrillic]]
| time        = 1372–17th century
| type        = alphabet
| iso15924    = Perm
| unicode     = [https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U10350.pdf U+10350&ndash;U+1037F]<br />
[https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2012/12137-n4263-permic.pdf Final&nbsp;Accepted&nbsp;Script&nbsp;Proposal]
| note        = none
}}
{{Contains special characters
| special    = uncommon [[Unicode]] characters
| fix        = Help:Multilingual support#Old Permic
| image      = Replacement character.svg
| link       = Specials (Unicode block)#Replacement character
| alt        = <?>
| compact    = yes
}}

The '''Old Permic script''' ({{langx|kv|Важ Перым гижӧм}}, <span lang="kv" dir="ltr">{{Script|Perm|𐍮𐍐𐍕 𐍟𐍔𐍠𐍨𐍜 𐍒𐍙𐍕𐍩𐍜}}, ''Važ Perym gižöm''</span>), sometimes known by its initial two characters as '''Abur''' or '''Anbur''', is a "highly idiosyncratic adaptation"<ref>Bernard Comrie, 1996. "Adaptations of the Cyrillic Alphabet". In Daniels & Bright, ''The World's Writing Systems'', p. 700.</ref> of the [[Cyrillic script]] once used to write medieval [[Komi language|Komi]] (a member of the [[Permic languages|Permic]] branch of [[Finno-Ugric languages|Finno-Ugric]] languages).<ref name="Everson">{{cite web | url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2012/12137-n4263-permic.pdf | title=N4263: Revised proposal for encoding the Old Permic script in the SMP of the UCS | first1=Michael | last1=Everson | publisher=Working Group Document, ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2 | date=2012-04-26 }}</ref>

==History==
The script was introduced by a Russian missionary, [[Stephen of Perm]], in 1372. The name ''Abur'' is derived from the names of the first two characters: ''An'' and ''Bur''. The script derived from [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]] and [[Greek alphabet|Greek]], with [[Komi language|Komi]] "Rödvužpas" [[Tamga]]" signs, the latter being similar in the appearance to [[rune]]s or [[siglas poveiras]] because they were created by incisions rather than by usual writing. The inclusion of the latter aided the script to greater acceptance among the medieval Permic speakers of the time.

The script was in use until the 17th century, when it was superseded by the [[Cyrillic script]]. Abur was also used as cryptographic writing for the [[Russian language]].

April 26, which is the feast day of Stephen of Perm, is celebrated as Old Permic Alphabet Day.

==Significance==
[[Image:Wikipedia-logo-kv.png|thumb|Wikipedia logo in Old Permic and Cyrillic script|right]]
The Abur inscriptions are among the oldest relics of the [[Uralic languages]]. Only one of them has earlier documents: [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]], which had been written using the [[Old Hungarian script]] first before the Latin script was used after 1000.

For comparison, an isolated [[Birch bark letter no. 292|birch bark letter]], found in [[Novgorod]] and written in [[Cyrillic]] in a [[Finnic languages|Finnic language]], has been dated to the beginning of the 13th century and [[Finnish language|Finnish]] as a written language [[Mikael Agricola|appeared only]] after the [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]] in 1543.

==Characters==
Lytkin's 1952 work is often considered the authoritative source of documentation for this script.<ref>Лыткин, В. И. 1952. Древнепермский язык: чтение текстов, грамматика, словарь. Москва</ref> There are 24 primary characters, along with 10 secondary characters that are subordinate to the primary characters. There are also some combining marks that may have been used for phonological purposes, in addition to some combining letters from Latin and Cyrillic that have been found as well. Spaces, middle dots, and semi-apostrophes have also been seen as punctuation in documents. A Cyrillic combining [[titlo]] is used to indicate numerals.

==Unicode==
{{See also|Old Permic (Unicode block)}}
Old Permic (U+10350&ndash;1037F) was added to the [[Unicode]] Standard in June 2014 with the release of version 7.0.

{{Unicode chart Old Permic}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{cite web|url=http://peoples.org.ru/abur.html|title=Abur at Minority languages of Russia on the Net|language=Russian}}
* {{cite web|url=https://www.omniglot.com/writing/oldpermic.htm|title=Abur|publisher= Omniglot.com}}

{{list of writing systems}}

[[Category:Alphabets|Permic script, Old]]
[[Category:14th-century introductions]]
[[Category:Obsolete writing systems]]
[[Category:Komi alphabet]]
[[Category:Writing systems introduced in the 2nd millennium]]
[[Category:1372 in Europe]]