Editing Dungan language (section)

== Writing system ==
{{main|Dungan alphabets}}

The modern Dungan language is the only Chinese language that is written in the Cyrillic alphabet, as they lived under Soviet rule. It is a Russian-based alphabet plus five additional letters: [[Ә]], [[Җ]], [[Ң]], [[Ў]] and [[Ү]]. As such, it differs from the [[Cyrillization of Chinese|Palladius System]] that is normally used in Russia to render Chinese in Cyrillic.

[[File:Dungan-books-2450.jpg|thumb|right|Books in Dungan or about Dungan (in Russian or English). Most of them were published in [[Bishkek|Frunze]], [[Kirghiz SSR]]
in the 1970s and 80s]]
[[Image:E8016-Milyanfan-museum.jpg|thumb|right|Bilingual sign in Dungan and Russian respectively, at the home of Soviet war hero {{ill|Mansuz Vanakhun|ru|Ванахун, Манзус}}]]
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto;text-align:center;"
|+'''Modern Dungan alphabet and letter pronunciations'''
|-
! Cyrillic !! [[А]]/а !! [[Б]]/б !! [[В]]/в !! [[Г]]/г !! [[Д]]/д !! [[Е]]/е !! [[Ё]]/ё !! [[Ә]]/ә !! [[Ж]]/ж !! [[Җ]]/җ !! [[З]]/з !! [[И]]/и !! [[Й]]/й !! [[К]]/к
|-
| Name || a || бэ || вэ || гэ || дэ || e || ё || ә || жэ ||| җe ||| зэ ||| и || йи || кa
|-
| IPA || {{IPA|[a]}} || {{IPA|[pɛ]}} || {{IPA|[vɛ]}} || {{IPA|[kɛ]}} || {{IPA|[tɛ]}} || {{IPA|[je]}} || {{IPA|[jɔ]}} || {{IPA|[ɤ]}} || {{IPA|[ʐɛ]}} || {{IPA|[t͡ɕʲe]}} || {{IPA|[t͡sɛ]}} || {{IPA|[i]}} || {{IPA|[ʝi]}} || {{IPA|[kʰa]}}
|-
| Latin || a || be || ve || ge || de || ye || yo || ê || re || jie || ze || i || yi || ka
|-
! Cyrillic !! [[Л]]/л !! [[М]]/м !! [[Н]]/н !! [[Ң]]/ң !! [[О]]/о !! [[П]]/п !! [[Р]]/р !! [[С]]/с !! [[Т]]/т !! [[У]]/у !! [[Ў]]/ў !! [[Ү]]/ү !! [[Ф]]/ф !! [[Х]]/х
|-
| Name || эль || эм || эн || ың || o || пэ || эр || эc ||| тэ ||| у ||| ў || ү || эф || xa
|-
| IPA || {{IPA|[ɛlʲ]}} || {{IPA|[ɛm]}} || {{IPA|[ɛn]}} || {{IPA|[ɨŋ]}} || {{IPA|[ɔ]}} || {{IPA|[pʰɛ]}} || {{IPA|[əɻ]}} || {{IPA|[ɛs]}} || {{IPA|[tʰɛ]}} || {{IPA|[ʊw]}} || {{IPA|[u]}} || {{IPA|[y]}} || {{IPA|[ɛf]}} || {{IPA|[xa]}}
|-
| Latin || el || em || en || îng || o || pe || er || es || te || u || û || ü || ef || ha
|-
! Cyrillic !! [[Ц]]/ц !! [[Ч]]/ч !! [[Ш]]/ш !! [[Щ]]/щ !! [[Ъ]]/ъ !! [[Ы]]/ы !! [[Ь]]/ь !! [[Э]]/э !! [[Ю]]/ю !! [[Я]]/я
|-
| Name || цэ || чэ || шa || щa || нин xo || ы || ван xo || э ||| ю ||| йa
|-
| IPA || {{IPA|[t͡sʰɛ]}} || {{IPA|[t͡ʂʰɛ]}} || {{IPA|[ʂa]}} || {{IPA|[ɕa]}} || {{IPA|[nʲɪ̃ xɔ]}} || {{IPA|[ɨ]}} || {{IPA|[vã xɔ]}} || {{IPA|[ɛ]}} || {{IPA|[jʊw]}} || {{IPA|[ja]}}
|-
| Latin || ce || che || sha || sh(i)a || nin ho || î || van ho || e || yu || ya
|}
*The letters ъ and ь are only used to write Russian loanwords and tone markings on children's primers dictionaries.<ref name="omniglot.com" />{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=April 2025}}

Dungan is unique in that it is one of the few [[varieties of Chinese]] that is not normally written using [[Chinese characters]]. Though it may be seen written in Chinese characters, this writing system is now considered obsolete. Originally, the Dungan, as descendants of the [[Hui people|Hui]], wrote their language in an Arabic-based alphabet known as [[Xiao'erjing]]. The [[Soviet Union]] banned all Arabic scripts in 1925,<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Dietrich | first1 = Ayşe |title = Soviet and Post-soviet Language Policies in The Central Asian Republics and The Status of Russian | s2cid = 173988643 | journal = ayk.gov.tr }}</ref> which led to a [[Latin script|Latin]] orthography based on [[Yañalif]]. The Latin orthography lasted until 1940, when the Soviet government [[Cyrillisation in the Soviet Union|promulgated]] the current [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]]-based system. Xiao'erjing is now virtually extinct in Dungan society, but it remains in limited use by some Hui communities in China.

The writing system is based on the standard 3-tone dialect. Tone marks or numbering do not appear in general-purpose writing, but are specified in dictionaries, even for [[loanword]]s. The tones are specified using the soft sign, hard sign, or none.

=== Comparison with Palladius system ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
![[Pinyin]]
![[Cyrillization of Chinese from pinyin|Palladiy]]
!Dungan
|
!Pinyin
!Palladiy
!Dungan
|
!Pinyin
!Palladiy
!Dungan
|
!Pinyin
!Palladiy
!Dungan
|-
!b
|б
|б
|
!p
|п
|п
|
!m
|м
|м
|
!f
|ф
|ф
|-
!d
|д
|д
|
!t
|т
|т
|
!n
|н
|н / л
|
!l
|л
|л
|-
!z
|цз
|з
|
!c
|ц
|ц
|
!s
|с
|с
|
|
|
|
|-
!j
|цз(ь)
|җ(ь)
|
!q
|ц(ь)
|ч(ь)
|
!x
|с(ь)
|щ(ь)
|
|
|
|
|-
!zh
|чж
|җ
|
!ch
|ч
|ч
|
!sh
|ш
|ш / с / ф
|
!r
|ж
|ж
|-
!g
|г
|г
|
!k
|к
|к
|
|
|
|
|
!h
|х
|х
|-
|}