Kyrgyz alphabets

The Kyrgyz alphabets^{[lower-alpha 1]} are the alphabets used to write the Kyrgyz language. Kyrgyz uses the following alphabets:

• The Cyrillic script is officially used in the Kyrgyz Republic (Kyrgyzstan)
• The Arabic script is officially used in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the People's Republic of China (China) in the Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture, the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
• Kyrgyz Braille

Kyrgyz Arabic Script as developed by the founder of the Kyrgyz linguistics, Qasym Tynystanov.

The Arabic script was traditionally used to write Kyrgyz before the introduction of the first Latin-based alphabets in 1927. Today an Arabic alphabet is used in China.^[1] The New Turkic Alphabet was used in the USSR in the 1930s until its replacement by a Cyrillic script.^[2] The Kyrgyz Cyrillic alphabet is the alphabet used in Kyrgyzstan. It contains 36 letters: 33 from the Russian alphabet with 3 additional letters for sounds of the Kyrgyz language: Ң, Ү, Ө.

Within the country, there have been mixed reactions to the idea of adopting the Latin alphabet for Kyrgyz. The chairman of Kyrgyzstan's National Commission for the State Language and Language Policies, Kanybek Osmonaliev, announced in September 2022 that it is considering switching to the Latin alphabet.^[3] However, several months later, Russia suspended dairy exports to Kyrgyzstan after Osmonaliev repeated his proposal to change the official script from Cyrillic to Latin to bring the country in line with other Turkic-speaking nations. Osmonaliev was reprimanded by President Sadyr Japarov who then clarified that Kyrgyzstan had no plans to replace the Cyrillic alphabet.^[4]

Vowels

In the Kyrgyz Cyrillic alphabet, there are 15 vowels, and in Kyrgyz Arabic Alphabet, there are 13. The discrepancy is for two reasons. First, in Kyrgyz Cyrillic, both vowels Э э and Е е were imported from the Russian Cyrillic alphabet. They essentially make the same sound, and the choice comes down to a matter of orthographic rule. They are both represented in the Kyrgyz Arabic alphabet with ە / ﻪ. The second difference is that Kyrgyz Cyrillic has two letters Ы ы and И и, the former being a back vowel and the latter a front vowel.

Similar to other Turkic languages, Kyrgyz vowels are divided into front vowel and back vowel, and all words shall follow the vowel harmony rules. This means that the vowel sounds within a word can either be front vowel, or back vowel.

In Kyrgyz, vowels are also divided into short and long. Whether in Kyrgyz Cyrillic Alphabet, or in Kyrgyz Arabic Alphabet, long vowels are represented by writing the same letter twice. For example, in the word дөөлөт / دۅۅلۅت 'state', there is a long vowel and a short vowel. Of the two letters Э э and Е е, only the former also has a long vowel, Ээ ээ

The letters Ы ы and И и do not have a long vowel equivalent.

		Rounded				Unrounded
		Close		Open		Close			Open
		Short	Long	Short	Long	N/A	Short	Long	Short	Long
Back Жоон үндүүлөр جوون ۉندۉۉلۅر	Arabic	ـﯗ‎ / ﯗ	ـﯗﯗ‎ / ﯗﯗ	ـو‎ / و‎	ـوو‎ / وو‎	ىـ / ـى / ى‎		ا / ‍ـا	اا / ‍ـاا
	Cyrillic (Latin)	У у (U u)	Уу уу (Uu uu)	О о (O o)	Оо оо (Oo oo)	Ы ы (Y y)		А а (A a)	Аа аа (Aa aa)
	IPA	[ʊ]	[uː]	[ɔ]	[ɔː]	[ɯ]		[ɑ]	[ɑː]
Front Ичке үндүүлөр ئچكە ۉندۉۉلۅر	Arabic	ـۉ‎ / ۉ	ـۉۉ‎ / ۉۉ	ـۅ‎ / ۅ‎	ـۅۅ‎ / ۅۅ	ئـ / ـئ / ئ‎	ە / ـە	ەە / ـەە
	Cyrillic (Latin)	Ү ү (Ü ü)	Үү үү (Üü üü)	Ө ө (Ö ö)	Өө өө (Öö öö)	И и (I i)	Е е / Э э (E e)	Ээ ээ (Ee ee)
	IPA	[ʏ]	[yː]	[ɵ]	[ɵː]	[ɪ]	[e]	[eː]

Correspondence chart

Correspondence chart of four Kyrgyz alphabets: the Kyrgyz Cyrillic and Kyrgyz Braille alphabets used in Kyrgyzstan, the Kyrgyz Latin alphabet used from 1928 to 1938 in the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic, and the Kyrgyz Arabic alphabet used in Afghanistan, Pakistan and in Xinjiang, China. In this correspondence chart, the Cyrillic alphabet is written in its official order. The Arabic and Latin equivalents are not written in their official alphabetical orders but have been listed around the Cyrillic for ease of understanding.

Comparison of Kyrgyz alphabets^[5]

Cyrillic	Name	Braille	Arabic[5]	Transliteration (BGN/PCGN)[6]	Latin (1928–⁠1938)[2][7]	IPA transcription
А а	а (a)	⠁	ا	A a	A a	/ɑ~a/
Б б	бе (be)	⠃	ب	B b	B ʙ	/b~w/
В в	ве (we)	⠺	ۋ	V v	V v	/w~v/
Г г	ге (ge)	⠛	گ ع*	G g	G g, Ƣ ƣ	/ɡ, ʁ~ɢ/
Д д	де (de)	⠙	د	D d	D d	/d/
Е е	е (ye)	⠑	ە	E e	E e	/je, e/
Ё ё	ё (yo)	⠡	ي+و(يو)	Yo yo	Jo jo	/jɵ~jo/
Ж ж	же (je)	⠚	ج	C c	Cc (Ƶ ƶ from 1938)	/d͡ʑ/, both /d͡ʑ/ and /ʑ/ since 1938
З з	зе (ze)	⠵	ز	Z z	Z z	/z/
И и	и (i)	⠊	ئ	I i	I i	/i~ɪ/
Й й	ий (ii)	⠯	ي	Y y	J j	/j/
К к	ка (ka)	⠅	ك ق*	K k	K k, Q q	/k, q~χ/
Л л	эл (el)	⠇	ل	L l	L l	/l, ɫ/
М м	эм (em)	⠍	م	M m	M m	/m/
Н н	эн (en)	⠝	ن	N n	N n	/n/
Ң ң	ың (yng)	⠽	ڭ	Ng ng	Ꞑ ꞑ	/ŋ~ɴ/
О о	о (o)	⠕	و	O o	O o	/o~ɔ/
Ө ө	ө (ö)	⠌	ۅ	Ö ö	Ɵ ɵ	/ɵ/
П п	пе (pe)	⠏	پ	P p	P p	/p/
Р р	эр (er)	⠗	ر	R r	R r	/r~ɾ/
С с	эс (es)	⠎	س	S s	S s	/s/
Т т	те (te)	⠞	ت	T t	T t	/t/
У у	у (u)	⠥	ۇ	U u	U u	/u~ʊ/
Ү ү	ү (ü)	⠧	ۉ	Ü ü	Y y	/y~ʏ/
Ф ф	эф (ef)	⠋	ف	F f	F f	/ɸ~f/
Х х	ха (ha)	⠓	ح	Kh kh	H h	/χ/
Ц ц	це (ce)	⠉	(ت+س (تس	C c	Ts ts	/t͡s/
Ч ч	че (che)	⠟	چ	Ch ch	Ç ç	/t͡ɕ/
Ш ш	ша (sha)	⠱	ش	Ş ş	Ş ş	/ɕ/
Щ щ	ща (shcha)	⠭	-	Shch shch	ŞÇ şç	/ɕː/
Ъ ъ	ажыратуу белгиси (ajyratuu belgisi)	⠷	-	”	-	*[8]
Ы ы	ы (y)	⠮	ى	Y y	Ь ь	/ɯ~ɤ/
Ь ь	ичкертүү белгиси (ichkertüü belgisi)	⠾	-	’	-	*[8]
Э э	э (e)	⠪	ە	E e	E e	/e/
Ю ю	ю (yu)	⠳	ي+ۇ(يۇ)	Yu yu	Ju ju	/ju~jʊ, jy~jʏ/
Я я	я (ya)	⠫	ي+ا(يا)	Ya ya	Ja ja	/jɑ~ja/

• К к and Г г correspond respectively with ق and ع in back-vowel words; and in front-vowel words with ک and گ.

Text sample

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:^[9]

Cyrillic alphabet	Arabic alphabet	Old Latin alphabet	New Latin alphabet	Common Turkic Alphabet	Old Turkic alphabet	International Phonetic Alphabet	English translation
Бардык адамдар өз беделинде жана укуктарында эркин жана тең укуктуу болуп жаралат. Алардын аң-сезими менен абийири бар жана бири-бирине бир туугандык мамиле кылууга тийиш.	باردىق ادامدار ۅز بەدەلئنده جانا وُقوُقتارىندا ەرکئن جانا تەڭ ۇقۇقتۇۇ بولۇپ جارالات. الاردىن اڭ-سەزئمئ مەنەن ابئیئری بار جانا بئرئ-بئرئنه بئر توُوُعاندىق مامئلە قىلوُوُعا تئیئش.‎	Bardьq adamdar ɵz ʙedelinde çana uquqtarьnda erkin çana teꞑ uquqtuu ʙolup çaralat. Alardьn aꞑ-sezimi menen aʙijiri ʙar çana ʙiri-ʙirine ʙir tuuƣandьq mamile qьluuƣa tijiş.	Bardyk adamdar öz bedelinde jana ukuktarynda erkin jana teng ukuktuu bolup jaralat. Alardyn ang-sezimi menen abiiri bar jana biri-birine bir tuugandyk mamile kyluuga tiish.	Bardık adamdar öz bedelinde jana ukuktarında erkin jana teñ ukuktuu bolup jaralat. Alardın añ-sezimi menen abiyiri bar jana biri-birine bir tuugandık mamile kıluuga tiyiş.	𐰉𐰀𐰺𐰒𐰃𐰶 𐰀𐰒𐰀𐰢𐰒𐰀𐰺 𐰇𐰕 𐰋𐰅𐰓𐰅𐰠𐰄𐰧𐰅 𐰳𐰀𐰣𐰀 𐰆𐰸𐰆𐰸𐱄𐰀𐰺𐰃𐰧𐰀 𐰅𐰼𐰚𐰄𐰤 𐰳𐰀𐰣𐰀 𐱅𐰅𐰭 𐰆𐰸𐰆𐰸𐱇𐰆𐰆 𐰉𐰆𐰞𐰆𐰯 𐰳𐰀𐰺𐰀𐰞𐰀𐱄٠ 𐰀𐰞𐰀𐰺𐰒𐰃𐰣 𐰀𐰭־𐰾𐰅𐰕𐰄𐰢𐰄 𐰢𐰅𐰤𐰅𐰤 𐰀𐰋𐰄𐰘𐰄𐰼𐰄 𐰉𐰀𐰺 𐰳𐰀𐰣𐰀 𐰋𐰄𐰼𐰄־𐰋𐰄𐰼𐰄𐰤𐰅 𐰋𐰄𐰼 𐱇𐰆𐰆𐰍𐰀𐰧𐰃𐰶 𐰢𐰀𐰢𐰄𐰠𐰅 𐰶𐰃𐰞𐰆𐰆𐰍𐰀 𐱅𐰄𐰘𐰄𐱁٠	[bɑrdɯ́χ ɑdɑmdɑ́r ɵ́z bedelɪndé dʑɑnɑ́ ʊχʊ̥χtɑrɯndɑ́ ercɪ́n dʑɑnɑ́ téŋ ʊχʊ̥χtúː bɔɫʊ́p dʑɑrɑɫɑ́t ‖ ɑɫɑrdɯ́n ɑ́ŋ‿sezɪmɪ́ menén ɑβɪjɪrɪ́ bɑr dʑɑnɑ́ bɪrɪ́‿βɪrɪné bɪ́r tuːʁɑndɯ́χ mɑmɪlé qɯɫuːʁɑ́ tɪjɪ́ɕ ‖]	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.

Arabic

The table below illustrates the letter order for Kyrgyz as the letter order differs based on whether it's being written in Arabic, Cyrillic or Latin.

Transliteration		Letter name	IPA	Isolated	Final	Medial	Initial
Cyrillic	Latin
А а	A a	Алиф	[ɑ]	ا‎	ﺎ‎		ا‎
Б б	B b	Бе	[b]	ﺏ‎	ﺐ‎	ﺒ‎	ﺑ‎
П п	P p	Пе	[p]	پ‎	ﭗ‎	ﭙ‎	ﭙ‎
Т т	T t	Те	[t]	ﺕ‎	ﺖ‎	ﺘ‎	ﺗ‎
Ж ж	J j	Жим	[dʑ]	ﺝ‎	ﺞ‎	ﺠ‎	ﺟ‎
Ч ч	Ch ch	Чим	[t͡ɕ]	ﭺ‎	ﭻ‎	ﭽ‎	ﭼ‎
Х х	H h	Хе	[χ~q]	ﺡ‎	ﺢ‎	ﺤ‎	ﺣ‎
Д д	D d	Дал	[d]	ﺩ‎	ﺪ‎		ﺩ‎
Р р	R r	Ре	[r~ɾ]	ﺭ‎	ﺮ‎		ﺭ‎
З з	Z z	Зайн	[z]	ﺯ‎	ﺰ‎		ﺯ‎
С с	S s	Син	[s]	ﺱ‎	ﺲ‎	ﺴ‎	ﺳ‎
Ш ш	Sh sh	Шин	[ɕ]	ﺵ‎	ﺶ‎	ﺸ‎	ﺷ‎
Г г	G g	Гайн	[ɢ~ʁ]	ﻉ‎	ﻊ‎	ﻌ‎	ﻋ‎
Ф ф	F f	Фе	[ɸ~f]	ﻑ‎	ﻒ‎	ﻔ‎	ﻓ‎
К к	K k	Каф	[q]	ﻕ‎	ﻖ‎	ﻘ‎	ﻗ‎
К к	K k	Kе	[k]	ك‎	ـك‎	ـكـ‎	كـ‎
Г г	G g	Ге	[ɡ]	گ‎	ﮓ‎	ﮕ‎	ﮔ‎
Ң ң	Ng ng	Эң	[ŋ~ɴ]	ڭ‎	ـڭ‎	ـڭـ‎	ڭـ‎
Л л	L l	Лам	[l~ɫ]	ﻝ‎	ﻞ‎	ﻠ‎	ﻟ‎
М м	M m	Mим	[m]	ﻡ‎	ﻢ‎	ﻤ‎	ﻣ‎
Н н	N n	Нун	[n]	ﻥ‎	ﻦ‎	ﻨ‎	ﻧ‎
О о	O o	O o	[o~ɔ]	و‎	ﻮ‎		و‎
Ө ө	Ö ö	Ө ө	[ɵ]	ۅ‎	ـۅ‎		ۅ‎
У у	U u	У у	[u~ʊ]	ﯗ‎	ـﯗ‎		ﯗ‎
Ү ү	Ü ü	Ү ү	[y~ʏ]	ۉ‎	ـۉ‎		ۉ‎
В в	W w	Ве	[v~w]	ﯞ‎	ـﯞ‎		ﯞ‎
Э э	E e	Э э	[e]	ە‎	ﻪ‎		ە‎
Ы ы	Y y	Ы ы	[ɯ~ɤ]	ﻯ‎	ﻯ‎	ـىـ‎	ىـ‎
И и	I i	И и	[i~ɪ]	ئ‎	ئ‎	ـئـ‎	ئـ‎
Й й	I i	Эй эй	[j]	ي‎	ي‎	ﻴ‎	ﻳ‎
	-	Кыбачы		ء‎

In earlier versions of the alphabet, the sequence ییی was used to represent ы/и; the sequence ېېې was instead used to represent й. This modification was likely undone because of ېېې's historic role representing /e/. Although ېېې was never a part of standardized Persian or Chagatai orthography, it possibly had precedent as a scribal variation of representing /e/ and its modern-day role in Pashto and Uyghur is also representing /e/. For this reason Kasym Tynystanov likely erred on the side of caution and settled on the modern scheme shown above.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Romanization of Kyrgyz
• Kazakh alphabets
• Uyghur alphabets

Notes

1. Kyrgyz: Кыргыз алфавити, romanized: Kyrgyz alfawiti, قىرعىز الفاۋئتى, Yañalif: Qьrƣьz alfaviti, pronounced [qɯrˈɢɯz ɐɫfɐˈvʲitɪ]

References

1. Minglang Zhou (2003). Multilingualism in China: the politics of writing reforms for minority languages, 1949–2002. Vol. 89 of Contributions to the sociology of language (illustrated ed.). Walter de Gruyter. p. 149. ISBN 3-11-017896-6. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
2. O.L. Sumarokova (2021). "Кыргызский алфавит: долгий путь к кириллице" (PDF) (in Russian). Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University. pp. 59–73, 77.
3. "Kyrgyzstan to adopt Latin alphabet, in blow to 'Russian order'". 29 September 2022.
4. Russia Suspends Dairy Products From Kyrgyzstan After Calls In Bishkek To Drop Cyrillic Script. Radio Free Europe, 21 April 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023
5. "Kyrgyz alphabet, language and pronunciation". omniglot.com. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
6. Romanization of Kyrgyz, United States Board on Geographic Names, October 2017.
7. Кыргызская латиница (Kyrgyz Latin Alphabet)
8. no phonemic value; only found in borrowings
9. Kyrgyz edition of Universal Declaration of Human Rights

External links

• Kyrgyz Cyrillic–Latin–Arabic–Orkhon converter
• Kyrgyz – Latin converter
• Грамматический справочник – Письменность
• Kyrgyz Website in China using the Arabic script