Abkhaz alphabet

File:Abkhazian alphabet in von Uslar 1862.jpg

The original 1862 script by Uslar

File:Abkhaz Uslar alphabet.svg

1888 script modified by Template:Ill

File:Abkhazian alphabet in Gulia and Machavariani 1892 02.jpg

The 1892 script by Gulia and Machiavariani.

File:Abkhazian alphabet Chochua 1909 in cursive.webp

The expanded 1909 alphabet by Andria Chochua.

File:Abhaz alphabet chochua.JPG

1925 version of the script by Chochua.

File:Marr - Abkhaz Analytic Alphabet - 1926 - page 51 table 2.jpg

The Abkhaz Latin alphabet used 1926–1928 designed by Nicholas Marr<ref>Марр, Николай Яковлевич (1864–1934): Абхазский аналитический алфавит. (in: Труды яфетического семинария, vol. I, Leningrad 1926), p. 51, table 2</ref>

File:Abkhazian latin alphabet.svg

The Abkhaz Latin alphabet used 1928–1938 with corresponding Cyrillic and IPA transcriptions.

File:Abkhaz latin alphabet from 1930 ABC book.png

1930 Abkhaz Latin alphabet with corresponding Cyrillic letters.

File:Abkhaz alphabet (1938-1953).JPG

Abkhaz alphabet which was based on Georgian script and used from 1938 to 1953.

File:Current, modern, and original Abkhaz Alphabet.jpg

The current Abkhaz alphabet (This includes old ones such as Ҕ which was replaced with Ӷ)

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.Template:Cn

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>

Different iterations of the Abkhaz Cyrillic alphabet and transliteration systems<ref name=":1" />

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	Traslation commitee	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	(гj)	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	(г̓j)	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	File:Latin small letter reversed Ghe with long leg.svg	ȷˌ	ӂ	(жj)	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	i	i	i	i, j	Template:IPA
				y		j			Template:IPA
К/к	Кы	კ	ⱪ	k	к	к	k	ḳ (kʼ)	Template:IPA
Кь/кь	Кьы	კჲ	(ⱪı)	ⱪ	к̆	(кj)	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	(к̓j)	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	q	q	k̄	q̇ (qʼ)	Template:IPA
Ҟь/ҟь	Ҟьы	ყჲ	(qı)	ⱪ̇	q̆	(qj)	k̄ʹ	q̇ʹ (qʼʹ)	/qʲʼ/
Ҟә/ҟә (pre-1996: Ҟу/ҟу)	Ҟәы	(ყუ)	(qu)	k̇˚	(qу)	(qу)	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	File:Latin small letter open P.svg	p	п	п	p	ṗ (pʼ)	Template:IPA
Ԥ/ԥ (pre-1996: Ҧ/ҧ)	Ԥы	ფ	p	File:Latin small letter abkhasian Che.svg	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	File:Latin small letter T with descender.svg	t	т	т	t	ṭ (tʼ)	Template:IPA
Тә/тә	Тәы	ტჿ	File:Latin small letter Tp with descender.svg	t˚	ꚍ̆	ꚍ̆	ta̋	ṭᵒ (tʼᵒ)	Template:IPA
Ҭ/ҭ	Ҭы	თ	t	ϑ	ꚋ	т̓	ţ	t	Template:IPA
Ҭә/ҭә	Ҭәы	თჿ	File:Latin small letter Tp.svg	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	(хj)	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	File:Latin small letter reversed Ghe with low left hook.svg	ϑ̇˚	ꚏ	ꚏ	ca̋	cᵒ	Template:IPA
Ҵ/ҵ	Ҵы	წ	File:Latin small letter C with descender.svg	ṫ	ҵ	ц̓	c̄	c̣ (cʼ)	Template:IPA
Ҵә/ҵә	Ҵәы	წჿ	File:Latin small letter reversed Ghe with stroke.svg	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	File:Latin small letter turned H with stroke.svg	ṭ	ꚓ	ч̓	c̦	č̣ʹ (čʼʹ)	Template:IPA
Ҽ/ҽ	Ҽы	ჩჾ	File:Latin small letter abkhasian Che.svg	ϑ̱̣	ҽ	ꚇ	c̆	č	Template:IPA
Ҿ/ҿ	Ҿы	ჭჾ	File:Latin small letter abkhasian Che with descender.svg	ṯ̣	ҽ̆	ꚇ̆	̦c̆ <ref>The lower hook is centered</ref>	č̣ (čʼ)	Template:IPA
Ш/ш	Шы	შჾ	File:Latin small letter S with descender.svg	ш	ш	ш	š	š	Template:IPA
Шь/шь	Шьы	შ	ſ	щ	ш̆	ш̆	šʹ	šʹ	Template:IPA
Шә/шә	Шәы	შჿ	File:Latin small letter reflected F.svg	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	File:Latin small letter script G with ascender.svg	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			j	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	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.	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

• Dzze
• Zhwe
• Cche
• Shwe (Cyrillic)
• o-hook

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