What will be the Kyrgyz Latin alphabet
Обновлено: 4 дня назад
With the acquisition of independence by the Kyrgyz Republic in 1991, Kyrgyz scholars have repeatedly raised the issue of restoring the Latin script for the Kyrgyz language. Since then, 30 years have passed, but no visible progress has been made. This article is dedicated to the topic of developing a modern Latin alphabet for the Kyrgyz language.
This year, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan made several decisions regarding their alphabets: the government of Kazakhstan presented another version of the Latin script for the Kazakh language, while in Uzbekistan, the president signed a decree on the full transition to the Latin script from January 2023.
The latest version of the Kazakh Latin script. April 2021. "The alphabet includes 31 characters of the basic Latin alphabet system, fully covering the 28 sounds of the Kazakh language. Specific sounds of the Kazakh language ä [æ], ö [ø], ü [y], ұ [w], ğ [ʁ,ɣ] and ş [ʃ] are denoted by diacritical marks of umlaut (̈), macron (ˉ), cedilla (̧), breve (̌). This version differs from the one presented in January by using the letter Ññ[ŋ] instead of Ŋŋ[ŋ]."
The latest version of the Uzbek Latin alphabet. March 2021. "The new alphabet contains 28 letters, 1 letter combination (ng), and 1 apostrophe (indicating a russian sign - ъ). The project recommends using Ḡḡ for [ʁ,ɣ], Ōō for [ø], Şş for [ʃ], and Çç for [t͡ʃ]. Thus, the Uzbek alphabet is as close as possible to the Latin alphabets of other Turkic-speaking countries. At the same time, the double letter combination "ng" is left for the sound [ŋ]."
Starting from 2017, this is the fourth officially considered variant in Kazakhstan. Uzbekistan has a similar situation. Our Kazakh and Uzbek brothers-neighbors have come a long way in organizing their Latin alphabets, listening to the suggestions and opinions of scholars, and are now in the final stage of organizing their national Latin alphabets.
In turn, research on Kyrgyz Latin script and its promotion is being conducted by the respected professor Gulzura Jumakunova (Gülzura Cumakunova), who has been living and teaching at higher education institutions in Ankara (Turkey) for many years.
Professor Gulzura Jumakunova. Ankara. 2015.
Below is a project of the Kyrgyz Latin alphabet - "Inarip", kindly provided by the professor. The basis for it is the Kyrgyz-Turkic Latin alphabet of the 1930s-50s, which evolved over the course of its existence (further discussed in the article), the Turkish alphabet (1928), and one element of Czech graphics.
Project of the Kyrgyz Latin alphabet - "Inarip"
Here is the variant of the Kyrgyz Latin alphabet proposed by Professor Gulzura Jumakunova:
Aa [a], Bb [b], Cc [d͡ʒ], Çç [t͡ʃ]], Dd [d], Ee [e], Ff [f], Gg [g], Ğğ [ʁ,ɣ], Hh [h], Ii [i], Jj [j], Kk [k], Qq [q], Ll [l], Mm [m], Nn [n], Ññ [ŋ], Oo [o], Öö [ø], Pp [p], Rr [r], Ss [s], Şş [ʃ], Tt [t], Uu [u], Üü [y,ʏ], Vv [v], Yy [ɯ,ɨ], Zz [z].
Among them, following the "one sound - one letter" rule, the number of additional symbols not included in standard Latin is six (6):
Ç [t͡ʃ], Ğ [ʁ,ɣ], Ñ [ŋ], Ö [ø], Ş [ʃ], Ü [y,ʏ].
Also, three (3) symbols are provided for use in various scientific research, international terms, and proper names for accurate sound representation: Ww, Xx, Žž [ʒ].
Professor Syrtbay Musaev (Chairman of the National Commission on State Language under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic and Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic) also proposed his own project for Kyrgyz Latin script in 2019 at Marmara University in Turkey. This was reported in a post on social media page of Turkish professor Hülya Kasapoğlu Çengel (also a member of the Commission on Turkish Language).
Proposed Latin alphabet (Kyrgyz Latyn Alfaviti) by Professor Syrtbay Musaev:
Aa[a], Bb[b], Cc[d͡ʒ], Çç[t͡ʃ]], Dd[d], Ee[e], Ff[f], Gg[g], Hh[h], Ii[i], Jj[j], Kk[k], Ll [l], Mm[m], Nn[n], Ņņ[ŋ], Oo[o], Öö[ø], Pp[p], Rr[r], Ss[s], Şş[ʃ], Tt[t], Uu[u], Üü[y,ʏ], Vv[v], Yy[ɯ,ɨ], Zz[z].
In advance, it should be noted that achieving a 98% similarity between the Latin alphabet projects (also named in kyrgyz as Alippe) proposed by Professor Gulzura Jumakunova, Professor Syrtbay Musaev, and the variant proposed here below can be considered a success. This is another important step towards achieving consensus in the decision on the approval of the Kyrgyz Latin alphabet and its correspondence with the Kyrgyz Cyrillic and Arabic alphabets (used by Kyrgyz in China) within the framework of the "one language - three alphabets" strategy proposed by the respected professor Tyntchtykbek Chorotegin.
More information can be found in the professor's article here.
This "triple alphabet" strategy works great on a societal level. The only thing that's necessary is for the authorities of Kyrgyzstan to show political will and officially recognize it. Also, it's important not to restrict the use of Cyrillic by older Kyrgyzstanis without crude coercion, as was done in the Soviet era.
As Professor T. Chorotegin has emphasized before, the Kyrgyz Arabic alphabet is currently being effectively used by Kyrgyz people in China (the Kyzylsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture).
The Kyrgyz poetry collection "Kerme-Too" (كەرمە توو ىرلار جىيناعى), published in Xinjiang (Shinjyang) in 1962 in the Arabic alphabet used by the Kyrgyz of the Kyzylsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Oblast.
The Kyrgyz Latin alphabet is already living its own life on the internet.
For example, journalist Elmurat Ashiraliev started using Qyrğyz Latyn script in the titles of his podcasts: Ajbek, Qaragat, Qajyrbek, Ajchürök.
Sometimes, businessmen and public figures like Seitek Kachkynbaev and Emil Umetaliev also publish their posts in Latin script on social media:
Along with the Cyrillic alphabet, Ms. Orozbübü Satish kyzy also used the Latin alphabet in her publications, using digraphs for consonants, dz-[d͡ʒ], ch-[t͡ʃ], sh-[ʃ], ng-[ŋ]:
Along with clarifying the features of the "triple alphabet strategy" for future generations, we should also create conditions for studying the ancient Kyrgyz script (the Orkhon-Yenisei script used in the Yenisei Kyrgyz Khaganate).
The table of the Kyrgyz-Turkic runic alphabet presented by Bahtiyar Sharsheev in 2021.
Brief rules for writing the Old Kyrgyz alphabet for modern use.
Let's return to Professor Gulzura Jumakunova. She presented her ideas in an article where she thoroughly answers the first question - why the Kyrgyz nation should return to the Latin alphabet (Qyrğyz Latyn Alippesi).
The article in Kyrgyz can be found here.
The article in Russian can be found here.
We will address the following question - which option to choose:
If the Kyrgyz language returns to the Latin alphabet in the future, or moves towards joint use with Cyrillic and Arabic scripts (in Tatarstan, such triple application was prohibited by the Kremlin), so as not to repeat the multi-year reform steps of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the Kyrgyz side should adhere to the following points:
Preserve the Principle of Historical Continuity.
Adherence to the rule of "one sound - one letter" and rejection of digraphs.
Within the rule of "one sound - one letter," use as few additional letters as possible that are not part of the standard Latin alphabet. In cases where this is not possible, choose the most well-known and widely used variant of the letter.
Establishing a commonality with Turkic-speaking countries (This commonality also creates conditions for the wide use of the alphabet by compatriots speaking different dialects of the Kyrgyz language).
Taking into consideration these conditions, we present to you the project of a new (updated/reformed) Kyrgyz Latin script:
Project of QWERTY Layout for the Kyrgyz Keyboard.
The basis for this project was taken from the alphabet that was in use for 10-15 years from the late 1920s in the Kyrgyz ASSR (and from 1936 in the Kyrgyz SSR) but was eventually abolished by the Stalinists. However, it continued to be used by Turkestanis in emigration with some modifications until the early 1950s. Additionally, some characters were taken from the modern alphabet of the Republic of Turkey, which was developed in the same years (1928) and shares common features with the Kyrgyz Latin script.
Composition of the Kyrgyz Latin script of the 1930s:
Aa [a], Bʙ [b], Çç [d͡ʒ], Cc [t͡ʃ]], Dd [d], Ee [e], Ff [f], Gg [g], Ƣƣ [ʁ,ɣ], Hh/Xx [h], Ii [i], Jj [j], Kk [k], Qq [q], Ll [l], Mm [m], Nn [n], Ꞑꞑ [ŋ], Oo [o], Ɵɵ [ø], Pp [p], Rr [r], Ss [s], Şş [ʃ], Tt [t], Uu [u], Yy [y,ʏ], Vv [v], Ьь [ɯ,ɨ], Zz [z].
Letters for terms:
Əə[æ - schwa], Ƶƶ[ʒ - zh]
Page with the composition of the Kyrgyz alphabet based on Latin script from the textbook for students of Russian schools "Elementary Foundations of Kyrgyz Grammar." 1933, Frunze - Tashkent. Authors: Adzhiman Shabdanov and I. A. Batmanov.
Composition of the "Kyrgyz Latin script" on the page of Kasym Tynystanov's work "Project for a New Orthography of the Kyrgyz Literary Language" (Imlanьn Ereçeleri - Rules of Writing), 1934.
Unified New Turkic Alphabet.
Left: Page from the magazine "Culture and Literacy of the East. Book 3" 1928, Baku.
Right: Page from the magazine "Alphabet of October. Results of Introducing the New Alphabet among the Peoples of the RSFSR" 1934, Moscow.
The letter Əə [æ - schwa] was not used in the Latin script for the Kyrgyz language during those times. However, today we believe that this letter should be included in the alphabet, not as a part of the main composition but as a special symbol. This is because dialects are also part of the heritage of the Kyrgyz language, in which this sound is used. While in Kyrgyzstan there are efforts to combat this phenomenon and recognize only the literary language, in other countries around the world, people take pride in their dialects and strive to preserve them. As an example, in Czechia, the Latin script is used to represent the characteristics of all four dialects of the Czech language (Czech dialects, Central Moravian dialects, North Moravian dialects, Slovak dialects) in written form.
However, the letter Ƶƶ [ʒ] started to be used just before the transition to the Cyrillic script in borrowed terms where the soft [zh - /ʒ/] sound was present, similar to Russian or Kazakh languages (e.g., монтаж - montaƶ, тираж - tiraƶ), in order to distinguish it from the hard Kyrgyz [J - /d͡ʒ/] sound, which was represented by the letter Çç [d͡ʒ]. A clear example of the differentiation between Ƶ/ʒ/ and Ç/d͡ʒ/ is - Çarcьsь Ƶurnalь.
In the next paragraph of the article, we will discuss the letter Çç [d͡ʒ] separately.
Let's take a look back into the past and consider a few examples from history:
The textbook by Kasym Tynystanov "Our Native Language - Ene Tiliʙiz."
A collection of poems by Toktogul Satylganov (editor: Joomart Bökönbayev).
Individual examples of books and publications in Latin script from the 1930s will not leave anyone indifferent.
The fairy tale "Makel-Döö" in the rendition of Manaschi Sagynbai Orozbakov.
Compilation of books and documents in Latin script of the Kyrgyz language in the 1930s.
Compilation of poems by Alykul Osmonov.
Below is a photograph of a document from the period of the first Latin script - a birth certificate of a Kyrgyzstan citizen:
A birth certificate in cyrillic and latin scripts of kyrgyz language.
Furthermore, school diplomas or certificates from other educational institutions were also filled out using both alphabets. This means that even in those challenging times, there were no issues with using two different alphabets (emphasizing that they were for different languages). This fact is often cited by opponents of returning to the Latin script as an argument against it, suggesting that it would lead to confusion and a rupture in communication between older and younger generations. However, many of these "experts" fail to differentiate between an alphabet and a language and react hysterically, mistakenly believing that the Latinization of the Kyrgyz language would also entail a transition of the Russian language to the Latin script and that Kyrgyz would be replaced by a Latin-based language.
Certificate of completion of a pedagogical school. In the Kyrgyz language, using the Latin script.
This means that educated Kyrgyz individuals living in the 1930s and 1940s were knowledgeable in both alphabets. Additionally, the older generation was also proficient in Arabic script.
Changes in the 1940s:
Four characters from the general Turkic Latin script of the 1930s were modified as follows:
Bʙ > Bb[b]
Ɵɵ > Öö[ø]
Yy > Üü[y]
Ьь > Ĭĭ[ɯ,ɨ]
Composition of the Kyrgyz Latin script of the 1940-1950s:
Aa [a], Bb [b], Çç [d͡ʒ], Cc [t͡ʃ]], Dd [d], Ee [e], Ff [f], Gg [g], Ƣƣ [ʁ,ɣ], Hh/Xx [h], Ii [i], Jj [j], Kk [k], Qq [q], Ll [l], Mm [m], Nn [n], Ꞑꞑ/Ṇṇ [ŋ], Oo [o], Öö [ø], Pp [p], Rr [r], Ss [s], Şş [ʃ], Tt [t], Uu [u], Üü [y,ʏ], Vv [v], Ĭĭ [ɯ,ɨ], Zz [z].
Letters for terms:
Əə[æ - schwa], Ƶƶ[ʒ - zh]
If you notice, the letter "Y" from the standard Latin script is not used here, whereas an additional letter "Ĭ" was introduced for the sound [ɯ,ɨ].
The version of "Manas" by Tynybek Japyev was published by Satar Almanbetov in Berlin in 1943 using the modified Latin script of 1940, which was used for some time by immigrants from Turkestan. One copy of this book is kept in the Kyrgyz National Library named after A.Osmonov in Bishkek, in the section of rare books.
"Manas" by Tynybek Japyev, published by Satar Almanbetov in Berlin in 1943.
Below is a fragment from the play "Hind Ĭxtĭlalcĭlarĭ" by Abdurauf Fitrat, written in the Uzbek language and published in 1944.
Abdurauf Fitrat is one of the founders of modern Uzbek literature and a representative of Central Asian Jadidism. He was the first Uzbek to receive the academic title of professor in 1926. In 1938, he was sentenced to execution in Tashkent.
"Hind Ĭxtĭlalcĭlarĭ" a play in five acts by Abdulrauf (Abdurauf) Fitrat. 1944. Greifenhainichen (Germany, Saxony-Anhalt).
Below are examples from publications on the Facebook page of Koichiev Arslan Kapai uulu, a Kyrgyz historian and writer who is proficient in both the Latin and Arabic scripts of the Kyrgyz language:
Excerpts from some works published using the Latin script in the 1940s.
A greater number of examples can be found in a separate article.
Let's return to the variant of the new Kyrgyz Latin script.
The proposed updates for today (2021).
For present-day usage, the symbols used in the 1930s-1940s have been replaced with more common letters found in other Turkic Latin scripts as well:
Ƣƣ > Ğğ[ʁ,ɣ]
Ꞑꞑ/Ṇṇ > Ññ[ŋ]
Ĭĭ > Yy[ɯ,ɨ]
The letters representing similar sounds have been swapped:
Çç > Cc[d͡ʒ]
Cc > Çç[t͡ʃ]
The number of letters in the reformed version of the historical Kyrgyz Latin alphabet we have presented is thirty (30):
Aa [a], Bb [b], Cc [d͡ʒ], Çç [t͡ʃ]], Dd [d], Ee [e], Ff [f], Gg [g], Ğğ [ʁ,ɣ], Hh [h], Ii [i], Jj [j], Kk [k], Qq [q], Ll [l], Mm [m], Nn [n], Ññ [ŋ], Oo [o], Öö [ø], Pp [p], Rr [r], Ss [s], Şş [ʃ], Tt [t], Uu [u], Üü [y,ʏ], Vv [v], Yy [ɯ,ɨ], Zz [z].
Among them, following the rule of "one sound - one letter," there are six (6) additional characters that are not part of the standard Latin alphabet:
Ç[t͡ʃ], Ğ[ʁ,ɣ], Ñ[ŋ], Ö[ø], Ş[ʃ], Ü[y].
Additionally, there are three(3) symbols included in the alphabet that are not part of the main set, but are used in various scientific works, dialect research (see: Murza Gaparov's "Kyshtakcha"; Sulaiman Kaiypov's works on the folklore of Afghan Kyrgyz; J.Mukambayev's dialectological dictionary), terms, and proper names for accurate sound representation:
Ää [æ] (mäkä – "corn" in ichkilik dialect of kyrgyz language);
Žž [ʒ] (Brežnev, žandarm,Carçysy žurnaly, жюри - žüri, montaž, tiraž etc.)
Ww [w] (bowojt - the "bolboyt" word in ichkilik dialect of kyrgyz language).
Thus, we continue to use the previously used Latin alphabet (1928-1950) without severing the historical connection to the past, optimizing some letters for modern needs. This approach adheres to the important principle of historical continuity from psychological and scientific perspectives.
Therefore, the statement that "We have completely created and transitioned to a new Latin alphabet from scratch" would be considered an erroneous historical conclusion.
The assertion that "We have returned to the Latin alphabet after a long hiatus" aligns with historical truth (alongside Cyrillic and Arabic within the framework of the "one language - three alphabets" strategy).
The Evolution of Kyrgyz Latin Alphabet.
