Mongolian script

Mongolian script
Font	alphabet
languages	Mongolian Evenk
inventor	Tatar Tonga
Emergence	1208
Usage time	til today
Used in	Mongolia China
Officially in	China
ancestry	Aramaic script → Sogdian alphabet → Uighur script → Mongolian script
Derived	Manchurian script plain script Vaghintara script
particularities	vertically from left to right
Unicode block	U + 1800 - U + 18AF
ISO 15924	Mong

The Classical Mongolian script was the first of a whole series of Mongolian scripts developed or adapted for the Mongolian language . It is still used today, with minor changes, in Mongolia (again alongside the Cyrillic script since 1994 ) and in China to write Mongolian and Evenk . In China, the Mongolian script is widespread where Mongolian is the official language, i.e. in Inner Mongolia and in Fuxin , Harqin Left Wing , Gorlos in the front , in Dorbod , Subei , parts of Haixi and Henan and in Weichang . In addition, the Tôdô Biqig in Bayingolin , Bortala , Hoboksar and parts of Haixi is the official, official script of Western Mongolian .

The script, an alphabet , was created in 1208 by the Uighur writer Tatar-Tonga . He had been captured by the Mongols during a campaign against the Naimans and was then commissioned by Genghis Khan to define a script for the Mongolian language. To this end, he adapted the Uighur alphabet to the new requirements. This in turn came from the Aramaic script via the Sogdian alphabet . Its greatest peculiarity is the direction of writing, it runs vertically from top to bottom and column by column from left to right (all other vertical fonts go from right to left). The Uighurs had rotated their writing (right to left, lines from top to bottom) by 90 ° counterclockwise to make it more similar to the vertical Chinese spelling.

Characters

The word "Mongol" in the classical script

The individual characters take on different forms, depending on whether they have an initial, medial or final position in the word. In some cases there are additional graphic variants, the choice of which depends on the visual interaction with the respective subsequent characters.

The alphabet uses the same character for some vowel (o / u, ö / ü, finale a / e) and consonant pairs (t / d, k / g, sometimes ž / y) in the Mongolian language, which in Uighur not were distinguished. The result is roughly comparable to the situation in English, which has to represent 10 or more vowels with 5 characters and uses the digraph th for two different sounds. Nevertheless, real ambiguities occur relatively rarely, since the requirements of vowel harmony and syllable formation usually ensure a clear definition.

alphabet

character			Transliteration		Remarks
initial	medial	final	Lat.	Cyrillic	Remarks
			a	А	Differentiation mostly by means of vowel harmony (see also q / γ and k / g)
			e	Э
			i, yi	И, Й, Ы, Ь	Often absorbed into the preceding syllable at the end of a word.
			o, u	О, У	Differentiation by context.
			ö, ü	Ө, Ү	Differentiation by context.
			n	Н	Differentiation of medial and final a / e by position in syllable sequence.
			ng	Н, НГ	Only at the end of a word (medial for compound words). Transcribed Tibetan U + 0F44; Sanskrit ङ.
			b	Б, В
			p	П	For Mongolian words only initial. Transcribed Tibetan U + 0F54;
			q	Х	Only with back vowels.
			γ	Г	Only with back vowels. Pronounced as a long vowel between vowels today.
			k	Х	Mostly with front vowels. g between vowels is now pronounced as a long vowel.
			G	Г
			m	М
			l	Л
			s	С
			š	Ш	The pronunciation of this sign has not changed.
			t, d	Т, Д	Differentiation by context.
			č	Ч, Ц	Originally no distinction between / ʧ '/ and / ts' /, today through context.
			ǰ	Ж, З	Differentiation by context. Originally often interchangeable with y below.
			y	Е, Ё, И, Ю, Я	Part of diphthongs, although actually a consonant.
			r	Р	Usually not initial.
			v	В	Transcribed Sanskrit व.
			f	Ф	Classical Mongolian does not know this sound.
			ḳ	К	Transcribed Russian К.
			(c)	(ц)	Transcribed Tibetan / ts' / U + 0F5A; Sanskrit छ.
			(z)	(з)	Transcribed Tibetan / dz / u + 0F5B; Sanskrit ज.
			(H)		Transcribed Tibetan U + 0F63; U + 0FB7;

Footnotes:

↑ Transliterated by consonant as i.
↑ Transliterated after vowel as yi, with rare exceptions like naim (eight) or Naiman .
↑ Sign for the beginning of a syllable (n- <vowel>).
↑ Sign for the end of a syllable (<vowel> -n).
↑ Examples: qa-γ-an (khan) becomes qaan . Some exceptions like tsa-g-aan (white) remain.
↑ Example: de-g-er is shortened to deer . Some exceptions like ügüi (no) remain.
↑ Transcribed foreign words are usually preceded by a vowel. Example: Transcribing Русь (Russia) results in Oros .

Unicode

1800 ᠀ Birga	1801 ᠁ ellipse	1802 ᠂ comma	1803 ᠃ Point	1804 ᠄ Semicolon	1805 ᠅ 4 points	1806 ᠆ hyphen	1807 ᠇ Syllable boundary	1808 ᠈ manch. comma	1809 ᠉ manch. Point	180A ᠊ Nirugu	180B ᠋	180C ᠌	180D ᠍	180E ᠎

1810 ᠐ 0	1811 ᠑ 1	1812 ᠒ 2	1813 ᠓ 3	1814 ᠔ 4th	1815 ᠕ 5	1816 ᠖ 6th	1817 ᠗ 7th	1818 ᠘ 8th	1819 ᠙ 9

1820 ᠠ A.	1821 ᠡ E.	1822 ᠢ I.	1823 ᠣ O	1824 ᠤ U	1825 ᠥ Oe	1826 ᠦ Ue	1827 ᠧ Ee	1828 ᠨ N / A	1829 ᠩ Ang	182A ᠪ Ba	182B ᠫ Pa	182C ᠬ Qa	182D ᠭ Ga	182E ᠮ Ma	182F ᠯ La
1830 ᠰ Sat	1831 ᠱ Sha	1832 ᠲ Ta	1833 ᠳ There	1834 ᠴ Cha	1835 ᠵ Yes	1836 ᠶ Ya	1837 ᠷ Ra	1838 ᠸ Wa	1839 ᠹ fa	183A ᠺ Ka	183B ᠻ Kha	183C ᠼ Tsa	183D ᠽ Za	183E ᠾ Haa	183F ᠿ Zra
1840 ᡀ Lha	1841 ᡁ Zhi	1842 ᡂ Chi	1843 ᡃ Todo long vowel	1844 ᡄ Todo E	1845 ᡅ Todo I	1846 ᡆ Todo O	1847 ᡇ Todo U	1848 ᡈ Todo Oe	1849 ᡉ Todo Ue	184A ᡊ Todo Ang	184B ᡋ Todo Ba	184C ᡌ Todo Pa	184D ᡍ Todo Qa	184E ᡎ Todo Ga	184F ᡏ Todo Ma
1850 ᡐ Todo Ta	1851 ᡑ Todo Da	1852 ᡒ Todo Cha	1853 ᡓ Todo yes	1854 ᡔ Todo Tsa	1855 ᡕ Todo Ya	1856 ᡖ Todo Wa	1857 ᡗ Todo Ka	1858 ᡘ Todo Gaa	1859 ᡙ Todo Haa	185A ᡚ Todo Jia	185B ᡛ Todo Nia	185C ᡜ Todo Dza	185D ᡝ Sibe E	185E ᡞ Sibe I	185F ᡟ Sibe Iy
1860 ᡠ Sibe Ue	1861 ᡡ Sibe U	1862 ᡢ Sibe Ang	1863 ᡣ Sibe Ka	1864 ᡤ Sibe Ga	1865 ᡥ Sibe Ha	1866 ᡦ Sibe Pa	1867 ᡧ Sibe Sha	1868 ᡨ Sibe Ta	1869 ᡩ Sibe Da	186A ᡪ Sibe yes	186B ᡫ Sibe Fa	186C ᡬ Sibe Gaa	186D ᡭ Sibe Haa	186E ᡮ Sibe Tsa	186F ᡯ Sibe Za
1870 ᡰ Sibe Raa	1871 ᡱ Sibe Cha	1872 ᡲ Sibe Zha	1873 ᡳ manch. I.	1874 ᡴ manch. Ka	1875 ᡵ manch. Ra	1876 ᡶ manch. fa	1877 ᡷ manch. Zha

1880 ᢀ Ali Gali Anusvara One	1881 ᢁ Ali Gali Visarga One	1882 ᢂ Ali Gali Damaru	1883 ᢃ Ali Gali Ubadama	1884 ᢄ Ali Gali turned Ubadama	1885 ᢅ Ali Gali Baluda	1886 ᢆ Ali Gali 3 Baluda	1887 ᢇ Ali Gali A	1888 ᢈ Ali Gali I	1889 ᢉ Ali Gali Ka	188A ᢊ Ali Gali Nga	188B ᢋ Ali Gali Ca	188C ᢌ Ali Gali Tta	188D ᢍ Ali Gali Ttha	188E ᢎ Ali Gali Dda	188F ᢏ Ali Gali Nna
1890 ᢐ Ali Gali Ta	1891 ᢑ Ali Gali Da	1892 ᢒ Ali Gali Pa	1893 ᢓ Ali Gali Pha	1894 ᢔ Ali Gali Ssa	1895 ᢕ Ali Gali Zha	1896 ᢖ Ali Gali Za	1897 ᢗ Ali Gali Ah	1898 ᢘ Todo Ali Gali Ta	1899 ᢙ Todo Ali Gali Zha	189A ᢚ manch. Ali Gali Gha	189B ᢛ manch. Ali Gali Nga	189C ᢜ manch. Ali Gali Ca	189D ᢝ manch. Ali Gali Jha	189E ᢞ manch. Ali Gali Tta	189F ᢟ manch. Ali Gali Ddha
18A0 ᢠ manch. Ali Gali Ta	18A1 ᢡ manch. Ali Gali Dha	18A2 ᢢ manch. Ali Gali Ssa	18A3 ᢣ manch. Ali Gali Cya	18A4 ᢤ manch. Ali Gali Zha	18A5 ᢥ manch. Ali Gali Za	18A6 ᢦ Ali Gali Half U	18A7 ᢧ Ali Gali Half Ya	18A8 ᢨ manch. Ali Gali Bha	18A9 ᢩ Ali Gali Dagalga	18AA ᢪ manch. Ali Gali Lha

Examples

Different shapes

a / e	i	o / u	ö / ü

Historical forms

Modern print

First word transliterated:


	v
	i
	k
	i
	p
	e
	d
	i
	y
	a

Transliteration: Vikipediya. čilügetü nebterkei toli bičig bolai.
Cyrillic: Википедиа, Чөлөөт Нэвтэрхий Толь Бичиг Болой.
Transcription: wikipedia, tschölööt newterchii tolj bitschig boloi.
Literally: Wikipedia, encyclopedia font is free.
Translation: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Derived Scriptures

Galik script

Main article: Galik script

In 1587 the translator and scholar Ayuusch Güüsch developed the Galik script ( Али-гали , Ali Gali ), inspired by the 3rd Dalai Lama , Sonam Gyatso . He added more characters to the Mongolian script primarily to translate religious texts from Sanskrit and Tibetan , and later also from Chinese . Some of these characters are still in use today to write loanwords and foreign language names (see the bottom section of the table above).

Clear font

Main article: plain text

In 1648 the Oirat monk Zaja Pandit created this variant, with the aim of bringing the written language closer to the actual pronunciation, as well as facilitating the transcription of Tibetan and Sanskrit. The script was used by the Kalmyks in Russia until 1924, when it was replaced by the Cyrillic alphabet. In Xinjiang , China, it is still used by the Oirats today.

Vaghintara font

Another variant was developed in 1905 by the Buryat monk Agvan Dorzhiev (1850–1938). It should also clear up some ambiguities and allow writing in Russian in addition to Mongolian . The most significant change, however, was the elimination of the positional form variants of the characters. All characters were based on the medial form of the original Mongolian script.

Unicode

In the Unicode standard there is a separate Unicode block Mongolian . It includes letters, numbers and various punctuation marks for Mongolian, the clear script , Xibe and Manchurian , as well as extensions for the transcription of Sanskrit and Tibetan.

Scheme

Mongolian	IPA	SASM / GNC / SRC
Mongolian	IPA	broad	strict
ᠠ	a	a
ᠪ	p˭	b
ᠼ	tsʰ	c
ᠳ᠊ ᠳ	t˭	d
ᠡ	ə	e
ᠹ	f	f
ᠭ ᠭ‍	k˭	G
ᠬ ᠬ‍	x	H
ᠢ	i	i
ᠵ	tʃ˭	j
ᠺ	kʰ	k
ᠯ	l	l
ᠮ	m	m
ᠨ	n	n
ᠥ	O	O
ᠫ	pʰ	p
ᠴ	tʃʰ	q
ᠷ	r	r
ᠰ	s	s
ᠲ	tʰ	t
ᠦ	u	u
ᠸ	w	w
ᠱ	ʃ	x
ᠶ	j	y
ᠽ	ts˭	z
ᠣ	ɔ	O	O
ᠤ	ʊ	u	û

Although the Mongolian script is listed in the standard, it is still a phonetic transcription based on the Qahar dialect . So z. B.ᠤᠯᠠᠭᠠᠨᠬᠠᠳᠠ ᠬᠣᠲᠠnot transcribed as Ûlaganhada hôta , but rather Ûlaanhad hôt ( strict ) or Ulanhad hot ( broad ).

Although the standard recommends using strict transcription when transcribing place names and vagere ( broad ) transcription in general, strict transcription is rarely used in practice, e.g. B. Hohhot instead of actually Hohhôt . In some cases, the SASM / GNC / SRC transcription of Mongolian is even linked to the Hanyu pinyin , for example Huhhot or Huhehot .

literature

Otgonbayar Chuluunbaatar: Introduction to the Mongolian Scriptures. Buske Verlag, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-87548-500-4 .

Web links

Commons : Mongolian Script - collection of images, videos, and audio files

Lingua Mongolia: Mongolian Alphabet (English, with tutorial)

Individual evidence

↑ Klemens Ludwig : Multi-ethnic China: the national minorities in the Middle Kingdom . Beck, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-406-59209-6 , pp. 129 .
^ Nicholas Poppe : Grammar of Written Mongolian. 3rd ed. University of Washington, 1974.
^ Otgonbayar Chuluunbaatar: Introduction to the Mongolian Scripts . Buske, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-87548-500-4 .

[3] Transliterated by consonant as i.

[4] Transliterated after vowel as yi, with rare exceptions like naim (eight) or Naiman .

[5] Sign for the beginning of a syllable (n- <vowel>).

[6] Sign for the end of a syllable (<vowel> -n).

[7] Examples: qa-γ-an (khan) becomes qaan . Some exceptions like tsa-g-aan (white) remain.

[8] Example: de-g-er is shortened to deer . Some exceptions like ügüi (no) remain.

[9] Transcribed foreign words are usually preceded by a vowel. Example: Transcribing Русь (Russia) results in Oros .

[Ludwig129-1] Klemens Ludwig : Multi-ethnic China: the national minorities in the Middle Kingdom . Beck, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-406-59209-6 , pp. 129 .

[2] Nicholas Poppe : Grammar of Written Mongolian. 3rd ed. University of Washington, 1974.

[10] Otgonbayar Chuluunbaatar: Introduction to the Mongolian Scripts . Buske, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-87548-500-4 .