Official script

Anofficial scriptis awriting systemthat is specifically designated to be official in theconstitutionsor other applicablelawsofcountries, states, and other jurisdictions.Akin to anofficial language,an official script is much rarer. It is used primarily where an official language is in practice written with two or more scripts. As, in these languages, use of script often hasculturalorpoliticalconnotations, proclamation of an official script is sometimes criticized as having a goal of influencing culture or politics or both. Desired effects also may include easingeducation,communicationand some other aspects of life.

List of official scripts

Below is a partial list of official scripts used in different countries. Those initalicsare states that havelimited international recognition.

This list does not cover local variations of international scripts, such as whichdiacriticsare used.

Azerbaijan–Azeri Latin alphabet^[1]^[2]
Bangladesh–Bengali alphabet
Brunei–Rumi script(Latin) andJawi script(Arabic)
Bosnia and Herzegovina:
- Republika Srpska–CyrillicandLatin^[3]
- Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina–CyrillicandLatin^[4]
Bulgaria–Cyrillic(Bulgarian alphabet)
Cambodia–Khmer script
China, People's Republic of(mainland China) –Simplified Chinese^[5]
- Hong KongSAR –Traditional Chinese(de facto),Latin script^[6]
- MacauSAR –Traditional Chinese(de facto),Latin script
- Inner Mongoliaregion –Mongolian alphabet,Simplified Chinese
- Tibetregion –Tibetan alphabet,Simplified Chinese
- Xinjiangregion –Uyghur Ereb Yéziqi,^[7]Simplified Chinese
- Guangxiregion –Zhuang Latin alphabet,Simplified Chinese
Croatia–Croatian alphabet^[8]
Ethiopia–Ge'ez script
Eritrea–Ge'ez script
Georgia–Georgian alphabet^{[citation needed]}
Greece-Greek alphabet
India:
- Hindi,^[9]Marathi,Konkani,Nepali,Maithili,Boro,Sanskrit,Dogri–Devanagari
- Assamese–Assamese alphabet
- Bengali–Bengali alphabet
- Gujarati–Gujarati script
- Kannada–Kannada script
- Kashmiri–Perso-Arabic script
- Malayalam–Malayalam script
- Meitei–Meitei script
- Odia–Odia script
- Punjabi–Gurmukhi
- Santali–Ol Chiki script
- Sindhi–Perso-Arabic script,Devanagari
- Tamil–Tamil script
- Telugu–Telugu script
- Urdu–Urdu alphabet
Indonesia–Rumi script(Latin)
Iran–Perso-Arabic alphabet^[10]
Italy:
- Venetian(Official script of the Venetian language)
Japan– a combination ofKana(Hiragana,Katakana) andKanji(Shinjitai)
Kazakhstan–Cyrillic(Kazakh,Russian) andLatin(Kazakh)
Korea(both) –Chosŏn'gŭl/Hangul^[11](Hanjais sometime used inSouth Korea,not used inNorth Korea)^[12]
Laos–Lao script
Malaysia–Rumi script(Latin);Jawi script(Arabic) is recognized.^[13]
Maldives–Thaana
Moldova–Latin alphabet^[14]
Mongolia–Mongolian Cyrillic alphabetandMongolian script^[15]
Montenegro–Cyrillic(Montenegrin Cyrillic script)^[16]
Myanmar –Burmese alphabet
Nepal
- Nepali language—Devanagari
- Nepal Bhasa—Ranjana script
- Maithili—Tirhuta scriptandKaithi
- Bhojpuri language—KaithiandDevanagari
- Magar—Magar Akkha scriptandDevanagari
- Tharu—Devanagari
- Tamang—Tamyig,DevanagariandTibetan script
- Bajjika—Tirhuta script,KaithiandDevanagari
- Limbu—Limbu script
- Bantawa—Kirat Rai scriptandDevanagari
- Gurung—Khema script,DevanagariandTibetan script
- Awadhi—Kaithi,Perso-Arabic script,DevanagariandLatin script
- Urdu—Urdu alphabet,Roman UrduandUrdu Braille
North Macedonia–Cyrillic(Macedonian alphabet)^[17]
Philippines–Latin alphabet(de facto)
Russian Federation–Cyrillic(Russian alphabet)^[18]
Serbia–Cyrillic(Serbian Cyrillic script)^[19]
Singapore
- English,Malay—Latin script
- Mandarin–Simplified Chinese
- Tamil–Tamil script
Taiwan^[20]–Traditional Chinese
Thailand–Thai script
Turkey–Latin alphabet
Ukraine–Cyrillic(Ukrainian alphabet)
Vietnam–Latin script(de facto)^[21]

Historical

In theUSSR,numerous languages werelatinizedduring the 1920s–1930s. In the late 1930s the Latinization campaign was canceled and all newly romanized languages were converted toCyrillic.

References

^"Alphabet Transitions: Chronology of the New Latin Script".www.azer.com.Archivedfrom the original on 1 December 2023.Retrieved19 March2024.
^Staff (2 August 2001)."A-Z back in Azerbaijan".The Guardian.ISSN 0261-3077.Archivedfrom the original on 19 March 2024.Retrieved19 March2024.
^Constitution of Republika Srpska Archived22 December 2015 at theWayback Machine,Article 7.
^Constitution of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Archived12 April 2019 at theWayback Machine,Part I, Article 6.
^National People's Congress of China,"The law of national all-purpose language and character in the People's Republic of China".Archivedfrom the original on 5 August 2020.Retrieved4 May2017.
^After the announcement of Simplified Chinese in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau didn't follow the change, making Traditional Chinese the de facto official script. (Hong Kong and Macau were still colonies at that time, and their current constitutions don't state whether Tradition Chinese or Simplified Chinese is to be used. Both places continued to use Traditional Chinese after handover.seeList of languages written in Chinese characters and derivatives of Chinese characters)
^Xinjiang Languages and characters,"Uyghur Language and characters".^{[permanent dead link]}
^Constitution of Croatia,Article 12:"Basic Provisions".Croatian Parliament. Archived fromthe originalon 9 September 2011.Retrieved26 August2011.The Croatian language and the Latin script shall be in official use in the Republic of Croatia.
^"Official Language Act - Official Language: Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India".socialjustice.nic.in.Archived fromthe originalon 4 March 2016.Retrieved25 February2016.
^Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Official Language, Script, Calendar, and Flag of the Country Archived5 March 2021 at theWayback Machine.
^Alton, David; Chidley, Rob (2013).Building Bridges: Is There Hope for North Korea?.Oxford: Lion Books. p. 89.ISBN 978-0-7459-5598-8.
^Article 14 of theFramework Act on Korean Language Archived24 June 2021 at theWayback Machineprefers hangul but also allows hanja in parentheses, in cases prescribed by South Korean Presidential Decree.
^"National Language Acts 1963/67".Archived fromthe originalon 3 March 2016.The script of the national language shall be the Rumi script: provided that this shall not prohibit the use of the Malay script, more commonly known as the Jawi script, of the national language.
^Constitution of Moldova,Article 13:"Title I. General Principles".Official Website of the President of Moldavia. Archived fromthe originalon 29 August 2011.Retrieved26 August2011.(1) The national language of the Republic of Moldova is Moldovan, and its writing is based on the Latin alphabet.
^"Official Documents to be in Mongolian Script".UB Post(in Chinese). 21 June 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 1 November 2011.Retrieved11 July2010.
^"Влада Црне Горе".vlada.me.Archived fromthe originalon 16 August 2020.Retrieved25 February2016.
^Constitution of Macedonia,Article 7:"Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia".Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia. Archived fromthe originalon 28 September 2011.Retrieved26 August2011.The Macedonian language, written using its Cyrillic alphabet, is the official language in the Republic of Macedonia.
^In Russian, the designation of Cyrillic as an official script (2001) has the consequence that the official languages of nationalRepublics of Russiahave to be written in the Cyrillic script in all official institutions and education. The passing of the law was met with particular resistance and criticism in the Republic ofTatarstan,as it replaced the Turkish Latin alphabet which the local government tried to promote in education after the dissolution of USSR.seeList of languages in Russia
^Constitution of Serbia,Article 10:"I Constitution Principles".Government of Serbia. Archived fromthe originalon 2 May 2013.Retrieved26 August2011.Serbian language and Cyrillic script shall be in official use in the Republic of Serbia.
^Control by Republic of China
^Chapter I - Decree 5 - Section 3 of the currentConstitution(2013) states thatVietnamese languageis theNational languageof Vietnam, but nothing states theVietnamese Latin Alphabet(called as chữ Quốc ngữ) is the official scriptde jure.[1]Archived15 November 2017 at theWayback Machinechữ Hán(Chinese characters) andchữ Nômsometime can be used, most in activities about the traditional cultural in Vietnam (e.g.Vietnamese calligraphy).

[1] "Alphabet Transitions: Chronology of the New Latin Script".www.azer.com.Archivedfrom the original on 1 December 2023.Retrieved19 March2024.

[2] Staff (2 August 2001)."A-Z back in Azerbaijan".The Guardian.ISSN 0261-3077.Archivedfrom the original on 19 March 2024.Retrieved19 March2024.

[3] Constitution of Republika Srpska Archived22 December 2015 at theWayback Machine,Article 7.

[4] Constitution of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Archived12 April 2019 at theWayback Machine,Part I, Article 6.

[5] National People's Congress of China,"The law of national all-purpose language and character in the People's Republic of China".Archivedfrom the original on 5 August 2020.Retrieved4 May2017.

[6] After the announcement of Simplified Chinese in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau didn't follow the change, making Traditional Chinese the de facto official script. (Hong Kong and Macau were still colonies at that time, and their current constitutions don't state whether Tradition Chinese or Simplified Chinese is to be used. Both places continued to use Traditional Chinese after handover.seeList of languages written in Chinese characters and derivatives of Chinese characters)

[7] Xinjiang Languages and characters,"Uyghur Language and characters".^{[permanent dead link]}

[8] Constitution of Croatia,Article 12:"Basic Provisions".Croatian Parliament. Archived fromthe originalon 9 September 2011.Retrieved26 August2011.The Croatian language and the Latin script shall be in official use in the Republic of Croatia.

[9] "Official Language Act - Official Language: Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India".socialjustice.nic.in.Archived fromthe originalon 4 March 2016.Retrieved25 February2016.

[10] Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Official Language, Script, Calendar, and Flag of the Country Archived5 March 2021 at theWayback Machine.

[AltonChidley2013-11] Alton, David; Chidley, Rob (2013).Building Bridges: Is There Hope for North Korea?.Oxford: Lion Books. p. 89.ISBN 978-0-7459-5598-8.

[12] Article 14 of theFramework Act on Korean Language Archived24 June 2021 at theWayback Machineprefers hangul but also allows hanja in parentheses, in cases prescribed by South Korean Presidential Decree.

[13] "National Language Acts 1963/67".Archived fromthe originalon 3 March 2016.The script of the national language shall be the Rumi script: provided that this shall not prohibit the use of the Malay script, more commonly known as the Jawi script, of the national language.

[14] Constitution of Moldova,Article 13:"Title I. General Principles".Official Website of the President of Moldavia. Archived fromthe originalon 29 August 2011.Retrieved26 August2011.(1) The national language of the Republic of Moldova is Moldovan, and its writing is based on the Latin alphabet.

[15] "Official Documents to be in Mongolian Script".UB Post(in Chinese). 21 June 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 1 November 2011.Retrieved11 July2010.

[16] "Влада Црне Горе".vlada.me.Archived fromthe originalon 16 August 2020.Retrieved25 February2016.

[17] Constitution of Macedonia,Article 7:"Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia".Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia. Archived fromthe originalon 28 September 2011.Retrieved26 August2011.The Macedonian language, written using its Cyrillic alphabet, is the official language in the Republic of Macedonia.

[18] In Russian, the designation of Cyrillic as an official script (2001) has the consequence that the official languages of nationalRepublics of Russiahave to be written in the Cyrillic script in all official institutions and education. The passing of the law was met with particular resistance and criticism in the Republic ofTatarstan,as it replaced the Turkish Latin alphabet which the local government tried to promote in education after the dissolution of USSR.seeList of languages in Russia

[19] Constitution of Serbia,Article 10:"I Constitution Principles".Government of Serbia. Archived fromthe originalon 2 May 2013.Retrieved26 August2011.Serbian language and Cyrillic script shall be in official use in the Republic of Serbia.

[20] Control by Republic of China

[21] Chapter I - Decree 5 - Section 3 of the currentConstitution(2013) states thatVietnamese languageis theNational languageof Vietnam, but nothing states theVietnamese Latin Alphabet(called as chữ Quốc ngữ) is the official scriptde jure.[1]Archived15 November 2017 at theWayback Machinechữ Hán(Chinese characters) andchữ Nômsometime can be used, most in activities about the traditional cultural in Vietnam (e.g.Vietnamese calligraphy).

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List of official scripts

Historical

See also

References