Abkhaz alphabet
Encyclopedia
The Abkhaz alphabet is an alphabet
for the Abkhaz language
which consists of 62 letters.
Abkhaz did not become a written language
until the 19th century. Hitherto, Abkhazians, especially princes, had been using Greek
(up to c. 9th century), Georgian
(9–19th centuries), and partially Turkish
(18th century) languages. The Abkhaz word for alphabet is анбан (anban), which was borrowed from Georgian ანბანი (anbani).
The first dedicated Abkhaz alphabet was created in 1862 by the Russia
n general Peter von Uslar
. It had 37 letters and was based on the Cyrillic script. In 1909, it was expanded to 55 letters by Aleksey Chochua 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 77 letters and was called the "Abkhaz analytical alphabet". In 1928, this was replaced by another Latin-based alphabet. (See illustration at right.) From 1938 to 1954 the Abkhaz language was written in the Georgian alphabet
.
Since 1954, the Abkhaz language has been written in a new 62-letter Cyrillic alphabet (see chart below). Of these, 38 are graphically distinct; the rest are digraphs with ⟨⟩ and ⟨⟩ which indicate palatalization
and labialization, respectively. Unusually, the Cyrillic plosive
letters К П Т represent ejective consonant
s; 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 letter are pulmonic, and the derived letters ejective.
The modern Abkhaz orthography gives preference to the letters Г П with descender instead of hook . The characters and are encoded in Unicode since version 5.2.
Alphabet
An alphabet is a standard set of letters—basic written symbols or graphemes—each of which represents a phoneme in a spoken language, either as it exists now or as it was in the past. There are other systems, such as logographies, in which each character represents a word, morpheme, or semantic...
for the Abkhaz language
Abkhaz language
Abkhaz is a Northwest Caucasian language spoken mainly by the Abkhaz people. It is the official language of Abkhazia where around 100,000 people speak it. Furthermore, it is spoken by thousands of members of the Abkhazian diaspora in Turkey, Georgia's autonomous republic of Adjara, Syria, Jordan...
which consists of 62 letters.
Abkhaz did not become a written language
Written language
A written language is the representation of a language by means of a writing system. Written language is an invention in that it must be taught to children, who will instinctively learn or create spoken or gestural languages....
until the 19th century. Hitherto, Abkhazians, especially princes, had been using Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
(up to c. 9th century), Georgian
Georgian language
Georgian is the native language of the Georgians and the official language of Georgia, a country in the Caucasus.Georgian is the primary language of about 4 million people in Georgia itself, and of another 500,000 abroad...
(9–19th centuries), and partially Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
(18th century) languages. The Abkhaz word for alphabet is анбан (anban), which was borrowed from Georgian ანბანი (anbani).
The first dedicated Abkhaz alphabet was created in 1862 by the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n general Peter von Uslar
Peter von Uslar
Baron Peter von Uslar Baron Peter von Uslar Baron Peter von Uslar Baron Peter von Uslar Baron Peter von Uslar Baron Peter von Uslar Baron Peter von Uslar Baron Peter von Uslar Baron Peter von Uslar ( – was a Russian general, engineer and linguist of German descent, known...
. It had 37 letters and was based on the Cyrillic script. In 1909, it was expanded to 55 letters by Aleksey Chochua to adjust to the extensive consonantal inventory
Consonant
In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are , pronounced with the lips; , pronounced with the front of the tongue; , pronounced with the back of the tongue; , pronounced in the throat; and ,...
of Abkhaz.
In 1926, during the korenizatsiya
Korenizatsiya
Korenizatsiya sometimes also called korenization, meaning "nativization" or "indigenization", literally "putting down roots", was the early Soviet nationalities policy promoted mostly in the 1920s but with a continuing legacy in later years...
policy in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, the Cyrillic alphabet was replaced by a Latin alphabet devised by Nikolay Marr. It featured 77 letters and was called the "Abkhaz analytical alphabet". In 1928, this was replaced by another Latin-based alphabet. (See illustration at right.) From 1938 to 1954 the Abkhaz language was written in the Georgian alphabet
Georgian alphabet
The Georgian alphabet is the writing system used to write the Georgian language and other Kartvelian languages , and occasionally other languages of the Caucasus such as Ossetic and Abkhaz during the 1940s...
.
Since 1954, the Abkhaz language has been written in a new 62-letter Cyrillic alphabet (see chart below). Of these, 38 are graphically distinct; the rest are digraphs with ⟨⟩ and ⟨⟩ which indicate palatalization
Palatalization
In linguistics, palatalization , also palatization, may refer to two different processes by which a sound, usually a consonant, comes to be produced with the tongue in a position in the mouth near the palate....
and labialization, respectively. Unusually, the Cyrillic plosive
Stop consonant
In phonetics, a plosive, also known as an occlusive or an oral stop, is a stop consonant in which the vocal tract is blocked so that all airflow ceases. The occlusion may be done with the tongue , lips , and &...
letters К П Т represent ejective consonant
Ejective consonant
In phonetics, ejective consonants are voiceless consonants that are pronounced with simultaneous closure of the glottis. In the phonology of a particular language, ejectives may contrast with aspirated or tenuis consonants...
s; 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 letter are pulmonic, and the derived letters ejective.
The modern Abkhaz orthography gives preference to the letters Г П with descender instead of hook . The characters and are encoded in Unicode since version 5.2.
| Letter | Name | Transliteration | IPA Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| /a/ | |||
| /b/ | |||
| /v/ | |||
| /ɡ/ | |||
| /ɡʲ/ | |||
| /ɡʷ/ | |||
| /ɣ ~ ʁ/ | |||
| /ɣʲ ~ ʁʲ/ | |||
| /ɣʷ ~ ʁʷ/ | |||
| /d/ | |||
| /dʷ/ [d͡b] | |||
| /ɛ/ | |||
| /ʐ/ | |||
| /ʒ/ | |||
| /ʒʷ/ | |||
| /z/ | |||
| /d͡z/ | |||
| /d͡ʑʷ/ | |||
| /j, jɨ, ɨj, i/ | |||
| /kʼ/ | |||
| /kʼʲ/ | |||
| /kʼʷ/ | |||
| /kʰ/ | |||
| /kʲʰ/ | |||
| /kʷʰ/ | |||
| /qʼ/ | |||
| /qʼʲ/ | |||
| /qʼʷ/ | |||
| /l/ | |||
| /m/ | |||
| /n/ | |||
| /o/ | |||
| /pʼ/ | |||
| /pʰ/ | |||
| /r/ | |||
| /s/ | |||
| /tʼ/ | |||
| /tʼʷ/ [tʼ͡pʼ] | |||
| /tʰ/ | |||
| /tʷʰ/ [t͡pʰ] | |||
| /w, wɨ, ɨw, u/ | |||
| /f/ | |||
| /x ~ χ/ | |||
| /xʲ ~ χʲ/ | |||
| /xʷ ~ χʷ/ | |||
| /ħ/ | |||
| /ħʷ/ | |||
| /t͡sʰ/ | |||
| /t͡ɕʷʰ/ | |||
| /t͡sʼ/ | |||
| /t͡ɕʼʷ/ | |||
| /t͡ʃʰ/ | |||
| /t͡ʃʼ/ | |||
| /t͡ʂʰ/ | |||
| /t͡ʂʼ/ | |||
| /ʂ/ | |||
| /ʃ/ | |||
| /ʃʷ/ | |||
| /ɨ/ | |||
| /ɥ ~ ɥˤ/ (< */ʕʷ/) | |||
| /d͡ʐ/ | |||
| /d͡ʒ/ | |||
| /ʲ/ | |||
| /ʷ/ |
See also
- AlphabetAlphabetAn alphabet is a standard set of letters—basic written symbols or graphemes—each of which represents a phoneme in a spoken language, either as it exists now or as it was in the past. There are other systems, such as logographies, in which each character represents a word, morpheme, or semantic...
- CcheCcheCche is a letter of the Cyrillic script. It was used in the old Abkhaz alphabets, where it represented the sound .-Computing codes:...
- Cyrillic script
- List of writing systems
- Writing systemWriting systemA writing system is a symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in language.-General properties:Writing systems are distinguished from other possible symbolic communication systems in that the reader must usually understand something of the associated spoken language to...