Abkhaz Alpha bet
TheAbkhaz Alpha betis aCyrillicAlpha betused for theAbkhaz language.
Abkhaz did not become awritten languageuntil the 19th century. Up until then, Abkhazians, especially princes, had been usingGreek(up to c. 9th century),Georgian(9–19th centuries), and partiallyTurkish(18th century) languages.[2]The Abkhaz word for Alpha bet isанбан(anban), which was borrowed from Georgianანბანი(anbani).
History[edit]
The first Abkhaz Alpha bet was created in 1862 byPeter von Uslar.It had 55 letters and was based on theCyrillic script.Another version, having 51 letters, was used in 1892 byDimitry Guliaand K. Machavariani.[3][4]In 1909, the Alpha bet was again expanded to 55 letters by Andria Tchotchua to adjust to the extensiveconsonantal inventoryof Abkhaz.
In 1926, during thekorenizatsiyapolicy in theSoviet Union,the Cyrillic Alpha bet was replaced by aLatin Alpha betdevised byNikolay Marr.It featured 76 letters and was called the "Abkhaz analytical Alpha bet". In 1928, this was replaced by another Latin Alpha bet. (See illustration at right.) From 1938 to 1954 the Abkhaz language was written in GeorgianMkhedruli script.
Since 1954, the Abkhaz language has beenwrittenin a new 56-letter (now 62-letter) Cyrillic Alpha bet (see chart below). Of these, 38 are graphically distinct; the rest are digraphs with⟨ь⟩and⟨ә⟩which indicatepalatalizationandlabialization,respectively. In 1996, the most recent reform of the Alpha bet 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 Cyrillicplosiveletters К П Т representejective 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 theaffricates,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 inYakut.[5]In pre-Soviet Alpha bets the hook was also used in Ӄ Ꚋ, see above.
The letters ь and ә are used as parts ofdigraphs,but are listed separately in the Alpha bet.[6]
| Letter[7] | Name | ISO[8] | TITUS[8](Chirikba,
where different[9]) |
IPA Value[10] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| А/а | А | a | а | /ɑ/ |
| Б/б | Бы | b | b | /b/ |
| В/в | Вы | v | v | /v/ |
| Г/г | Гы | g | g | /ɡ/ |
| Гь/гь | Гьы | gʹ | gʹ | /ɡʲ/ |
| Гә/гә (pre-1996: Гу/гу) | Гәы | ga̋[11] | g°[11] | /ɡʷ/ |
| Ӷ/ӷ(pre-1996:Ҕ/ҕ) | Ӷы | ğ | ɣ | /ʁ/ |
| Ӷь/ӷь (pre-1996: Ҕь/ҕь) | Ӷьы | ğʹ | ɣʹ | /ʁʲ/ |
| Ӷә/ӷә (pre-1996: Ҕу/ҕу) | Ӷәы | ğa̋[11] | ɣ°[11] | /ʁʷ/ |
| Д/д | Ды | d | d | /d/ |
| Дә/дә | Дәы | da̋ | d° | /dʷ/ |
| Е/е | Е | e | e | /e/ |
| Ж/ж | Жы | ž | ž | /ʐ/ |
| Жь/жь | Жьы | žʹ | žʹ | /ʒ/ |
| Жә/жә | Жәы | ža̋ | ž° | /ʒʷ/ |
| З/з | Зы | z | z | /z/ |
| Ӡ/ӡ | Ӡы | ź | ʒ | /d͡z/ |
| Ӡә/ӡә | Ӡәы | źa̋ | ʒ° | /d͡ʑʷ/ |
| И/и | Иы | i | i,j | /j(i),i(:)/ |
| К/к | Кы | k | ḳ (k’) | /kʼ/ |
| Кь/кь | Кьы | kʹ | ḳʹ (k’ʹ) | /kʲʼ/ |
| Кә/кә (pre-1996: Ку/ку) | Кәы | ka̋[11] | ḳ°[11](k’°) | /kʷʼ/ |
| Қ/қ | Қы | ķ | k | /k/ |
| Қь/қь | Қьы | ķʹ | kʹ | /kʲ/ |
| Қә/қә (pre-1996: Ӄу/ӄу) | Қәы | ķa̋[11] | k°[11] | /kʷ/ |
| Ҟ/ҟ | Ҟы | k̄ | q̇ (q’) | /qʼ/ |
| Ҟь/ҟь | Ҟьы | k̄ʹ | q̇ ʹ (q’ʹ) | /qʲʼ/ |
| Ҟә/ҟә (pre-1996: Ҟу/ҟу) | Ҟәы | k̄a̋[11] | q̇ °[11](q’°) | /qʷʼ/ |
| Л/л | Лы | l | l | /l/ |
| М/м | Мы | m | m | /m/ |
| Н/н | Ны | n | n | /n/ |
| О/о | О | o | o | /o/ |
| П/п | Пы | p | ṗ (p’) | /pʼ/ |
| Ԥ/ԥ(pre-1996:Ҧ/ҧ) | Ԥы | ṕ | p | /pʰ/ |
| Р/р | Ры | r | r | /r/ |
| С/с | Сы | s | s | /s/ |
| Т/т | Ты | t | ṭ (t’) | /tʼ/ |
| Тә/тә | Тәы | ta̋ | ṭ° (t’°) | /tʷʼ/ |
| Ҭ/ҭ | Ҭы | ţ | t | /tʰ/ |
| Ҭә/ҭә | Ҭәы | ţa̋ | t° | /tʰʷ/ |
| У/у | Уы | u | w, u[12] | /u(:),w(ɵ)/ |
| Ф/ф | Фы | f | f | /f/ |
| Х/х | Хы | h | x | /χ/ |
| Хь/хь | Хьы | hʹ | xʹ | /χʲ/ |
| Хә/хә (pre-1996: Ху/ху) | Хәы | ha̋ | x° | /χʷ/ |
| Ҳ/ҳ | Ҳы | h̦ | ḥ (h) | /ħ/ |
| Ҳә/ҳә | Ҳәы | h̦a̋ | ḥ° (h°) | /ħʷ/ |
| Ц/ц | Цы | c | c | /t͡sʰ/ |
| Цә/цә | Цәы | ca̋ | c° | /t͡ɕʰʷ/ |
| Ҵ/ҵ | Ҵы | c̄ | c̣ (c’) | /t͡sʼ/ |
| Ҵә/ҵә | Ҵәы | c̄a̋ | c̣° (c’°) | /t͡ɕʷʼ/ |
| Ч/ч | Чы | č | čʹ | /t͡ʃʰ/ |
| Ҷ/ҷ | Ҷы | c̦ | č̣ʹ (č’ʹ) | /t͡ʃʼ/ |
| Ҽ/ҽ | Ҽы | c̆ | č | /ʈ͡ʂʰ/ |
| Ҿ/ҿ | Ҿы | ̦c̆[13] | č̣ (č’) | /ʈ͡ʂʼ/ |
| Ш/ш | Шы | š | š | /ʂ/ |
| Шь/шь | Шьы | šʹ | šʹ | /ʃ/ |
| Шә/шә | Шәы | ša̋ | š° | /ʃʷ/ |
| Ы/ы | Ы | y | ə | /ɨ/ |
| Ҩ/ҩ | Ҩы | ò | ʿ° (j°) | /ɥ/ |
| Џ/џ | Џы | d̂[14] | ǯ[14] | /ɖ͡ʐ/ |
| Џь/џь | Џьы | d̂[14] | ǯʹ[14] | /d͡ʒ/ |
| Ь/ь | ʹ | /◌ʲ/ | ||
| Ә/ә | a̋ | /◌ʷ/ |
Text Comparison[edit]
Article 1 of theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights[15]
| 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. | დარбანზაალაკ აუაჳჷ დშოუპ იხჷ დაქჿითნჷ. აუაა ზეგჲ ზინლეი პატულეი ეიყაროუპ. ურთ ირჷმოუპ ახშჷჳი ალამჷსი, დარა დარაგჲ აეშჲეი აეშჲეი რეიფშ ეიზჷყაზაროუპ. | Dаrbаnzааlаk аuаòy dšoup ihy dаķãiţny. Auаа zegʹ zinlei pаtulei eik̄аroup. Urţ irymoup аhšyòi аlаmysi, dаrа dаrаgʹ аešʹei аešʹei reipš eizyk̄аzаroup. | [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[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Марр, Николай Яковлевич (1864–1934):Абхазский аналитический алфавит.(in:Труды яфетического семинария,vol. I, Leningrad 1926), p. 51, table 2
- ^Бгажба Х. С. Из истории письменности в Абхазии. — Тбилиси. 1967. С. 34
- ^Mikaberidze, Alexander (2015-02-06).Historical Dictionary of Georgia.Rowman & Littlefield.ISBN9781442241466.
- ^Campbell, George L. (2000).Compendium of the World's Languages: Abaza to Kurdish.Taylor & Francis.ISBN9780415202961.
- ^Proposal to encode two Cyrillic characters for Abkhaz(PDF),International Organization for Standardization, 2008-05-10, p. 18,archived(PDF)from the original on 2022-10-09
- ^Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (2003).Abkhaz.LINCOM GmbH. p. 15.ISBN3895861367.
- ^The letters are listed perHewitt, George (1998).The Abkhazians.St. Martin's press. p. 172..InChirikba, Viacheslav A. (2003).Abkhaz.LINCOM GmbH. p. 15.ISBN3895861367."Ь" and "Ә" are included as separate letters.
- ^abPedersen, Thomas T."Transliteration of Abkhaz"(PDF).Transliteration of Non-Roman Scripts.Institute of the Estonian Language.Archived(PDF)from the original on 2022-10-09.Retrieved10 August2021.
- ^Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (2003).Abkhaz.LINCOM GmbH. pp. 18–21.ISBN3895861367.
- ^The IPA transcriptions are given perHewitt, George (2010).Abkhaz.LINCOM. p. 19.,but thelabialisationis represented by/ʷ/as inHewitt, B. G. (1979). "Abkhaz".Lingua Descriptive Studies.2:259..The transcription of vowels is not consistent in the scholarly literature, seeAbkhaz phonology#Vowelsfor details.
- ^abcdefghijPedersen uses the pre-1996 reform Alpha bet in which these were not considered separate letters. See the transliterations in note 4.1 on page 3
- ^Prior to the 1996 reform ⟨у⟩ indicated labialisation after certain letters which is transliterated as ⟨°⟩ in the TITUS system
- ^The lower hook is centered
- ^abcdISO 9 and TITUS transliteration not provided by T. Pedersen
- ^"Omniglot".Omniglot.Retrieved2023-08-13.
External links[edit]
- PT SansandPT Seriffonts
- Deja Vu fonts
- Теимураз Гванцеладзе:«Из истории перехода абхазского книжного языка на грузинскую графику»
- "Lengua Abjasiana".Proel: Lenguas del Mundo(in Spanish).Archivedfrom the original on 12 June 2011.Retrieved2011-07-07.