View source for Social:Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet

{{Short description|Writing system of standard Mongolian in Mongolia}}
{{Infobox writing system
|name      = Mongolian Cyrillic
|type      = [[Social:Alphabet|Alphabet]]
|languages = Mongolian
|time      = 1940s – present
| fam1        = [[Social:Egyptian hieroglyphs|Egyptian hieroglyphs]]<ref>Himelfarb, Elizabeth J. "First Alphabet Found in Egypt", Archaeology 53, Issue 1 (Jan./Feb. 2000): 21.</ref>
| fam2        = [[Phoenician alphabet]]
| fam3        = Greek alphabet (partly Glagolitic alphabet)
| fam4        = [[Social:Early Cyrillic alphabet|Early Cyrillic alphabet]]
| fam5        = [[Social:Russian alphabet|Russian alphabet]]
|children  = 
| unicode  = subset of Cyrillic (U+0400...U+04FF)
| iso15924 = Cyrl
|sample    =File:Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet.svg
|imagesize =400px 
}}
[[Image:Mongolia-text.svg|thumb|The word 'Mongolia' ('Mongol') in Cyrillic script]]
The '''Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet''' ([[Social:Mongolian language|Mongolian]]: {{lang|mn-Cyrl|Монгол Кирилл үсэг}}, {{lang|mn-Latn|Mongol Kirill üseg}} or {{lang|mn-Cyrl|Кирилл цагаан толгой}}, {{lang|mn-Latn|Kirill tsagaan tolgoi}}) is the writing system used for the [[Social:Khalkha Mongolian|standard dialect]] of the [[Social:Mongolian language|Mongolian language]] in the modern state of Mongolia. It has a largely phonemic orthography, meaning that there is a fair degree of consistency in the representation of individual sounds. [[Social:Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]] has not been adopted as the writing system in the [[Place:Inner Mongolia|Inner Mongolia]] region of {{wipe|China}}, which continues to use the [[Social:Mongolian script|traditional Mongolian script]].

==History==
Mongolian Cyrillic is the most recent of the many writing systems that have been used for Mongolian.  It uses the same characters as the [[Social:Russian alphabet|Russian alphabet]] except for the two additional characters Өө {{angbr|ö}} and Үү {{angbr|ü}}.

It was introduced in the 1940s in the Mongolian People's Republic under Soviet influence,<ref>[http://www.interpretermag.com/will-mongolia-have-the-courage-to-scrap-the-russian-alphabet/ Will Mongolia Have the Courage to Scrap the Russian Alphabet?]</ref> after two months in 1941 where Latin was used as the official script, while [[Social:Latinisation in the Soviet Union|Latinisation in the Soviet Union]] was in vogue. On January 1, 1946, the Mongolian language officially adopted the Cyrillic alphabet. The Cyrillic script had many advantages over the traditional Mongolian script known as Hudum Mongol Bichig. In the traditional Mongolian script, certain letters such as "t" and "d," "o" and "u" were frequently confused, and there were inconsistencies in letter formation at the beginning, middle, and end of words. The low legibility between letters and the need to memorize the shapes of all the syllables in the language individually increased the learning burden of traditional Mongolian script. Additionally, the structural characteristics of the traditional Mongolian script resulted in wider line spacing, occupying more space and increasing paper usage. Moreover, vertical alignment of text was not well-suited to the needs of modern society.Therefore, following the script reform, the movement to replace the old Mongolian script continued for over 10 years. It took 21 years for Mongolia to achieve nationwide literacy, with the literacy rate increasing from around 2% to over 97%. This greatly facilitated the development of modern Mongolian culture.<ref>{{Cite web |title=20世纪苏联对蒙古国的影响 |url=https://www.academia.edu/35593884}}</ref>

After the Mongolian democratic revolution in 1990, the traditional [[Social:Mongolian script|Mongolian script]] was briefly considered to replace Cyrillic, but the plan was canceled in the end. However, the Mongolian script has become a compulsory subject in primary and secondary schooling and is slowly gaining in popularity.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.gogo.mn/r/87650 |title=Монгол бичиг XXI зуунд'' хэлэлцүүлгээс уриалга гаргалаа |work=13 May 2011 |publisher=GoGo.mn |access-date=20 February 2012 | language =mn |trans-title=Announcements from the "Mongolian script in the 21st century" debate}}</ref> The Mongolian script is a highly uncommon vertical script, and unlike other historically vertical-only scripts such as the Chinese script it cannot easily be adapted for horizontal use, which puts it at a disadvantage compared to Cyrillic for many modern purposes. Thus, the Cyrillic script continues to be used in everyday life.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}}

In March 2020, the Mongolian government announced plans to use both Cyrillic and the traditional Mongolian script in official documents by 2025.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mongolia to promote usage of traditional script|url=http://www.china.org.cn/arts/2020-03/19/content_75834583.htm|website=China.org.cn (March 19, 2020)}}</ref><ref>[https://www.montsame.mn/en/read/219358 Official documents to be recorded in both scripts from 2025], Montsame, 18 March 2020.</ref><ref>[http://mongolia.gogo.mn/r/146942 Mongolian Language Law is effective from July 1st], Gogo, 1 July 2015. "'''Misinterpretation 1:''' ''Use of cyrillic is to be terminated and only Mongolian script to be used.'' There is no provision in the law that states the termination of use of cyrillic. It clearly states that Mongolian script is to be added to the current use of cyrillic. Mongolian script will be introduced in stages and state and local government is to conduct their correspondence in both cyrillic and Mongolian script. This provision is to be effective starting January 1st of 2025. ID, birth certificate, marriage certificate and education certificates are to be both in Mongolian cyrillic and Mongolian script and currently Mongolian script is being used in official letters of President, Prime Minister and Speaker of Parliament."</ref>

In China, Cyrillic alphabet also used by the Chinese to learn the modern Mongolian language, and by some Mongols in Inner Mongolia to demonstrate their ethnic identity.<ref>{{cite book |author1=侯万庄, 王浩 |title=现代蒙古语教程 Орчин цагийн монгол хэлний сурах бичиг |date=2017-01-01 |publisher=北京大学出版社 |location=Beijing |isbn=9787301272312}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Өвөр монголчуудын өв соёл, үнэт зүйлс аажмаар замхрах аюул нүүрлээд байна |url=http://isee.mn/n/11273 |website=iSee.mn |publisher=Гадаад мэдээ |lang=mn}}</ref>

==Description==

The Cyrillic alphabet used for Mongolian is as follows (with borrowed sounds in parentheses):

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
! Pos. || Cyrillic || Braille || Name || IPA<ref>Svantesson, Jan-Olof, Anna Tsendina, Anastasia Karlsson, Vivan Franzén. 2005. The Phonology of Mongolian. New York: Oxford University Press: 30-40.</ref> || [[ISO 9]] || Standard romanization<br />(MNS 5217:2012)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.gogo.mn/r/101115 |title=Монгол кирил үсгийн латин хөрвүүлгийн шинэ стандарт батлагдлаа |work=18 February 2012 |publisher=GoGo.mn |access-date=20 February 2012 | language =mn |trans-title=New latinization standard for Mongolian cyrillic script approved}}</ref><ref>[https://archive.today/20190710080110/http://stat.gogo.mn/news/2012/2/18/kirill-useg-standart.jpg kirill-useg-standart.jpg], basic table on archive.today</ref> || Library of<br>Congress
!Mongolian<br />script<br />counterpart<br />{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}
|-
| 1 || Аа || {{bc|a}} || а || {{IPA|a}} || style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"|а
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠠ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 2 || Бб || {{bc|b}} || бэ || {{IPA|p, pʲ}} || style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"|b
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠪ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 3 || Вв || {{bc|w}} || вэ || {{IPA|w̜, w̜ʲ}} || style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"|v
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠸ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 4 || Гг || {{bc|g}} || гэ || {{IPA|ɡ, ɡʲ, ɢ}} || style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"|g
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠭ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 5 || Дд || {{bc|d}} || дэ || {{IPA|t, tʲ}} || style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"|d
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠳ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 6 || Ее || {{bc|e}} || е || {{IPA|ji~jɵ}} || e || ye || e
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠶᠡ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 7 || Ёё || {{bc|16}} || ё || {{IPA|jɔ}} || ë || yo || ë
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠶᠣ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 8 || Жж || {{bc|j}} || жэ || {{IPA|tʃ}} || ž || j || zh
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠵ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 9 || Зз || {{bc|z}} || зэ || {{IPA|ts}} || style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"|z
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠽ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 10 || Ии || {{bc|i}} || и || {{IPA|i}} || style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"|i
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠢ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 11 || Йй || {{bc|ç}} || хагас и || {{IPA|i}} || j || i || ĭ
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠢ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 12 || Кк || {{bc|k}} || ка || {{IPA|kʰ, kʲʰ, x, xʲ}} || style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"|k
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠺ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 13 || Лл || {{bc|l}} || эл || {{IPA|ɮ}}, {{IPA|ɮʲ}} || style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"|l
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠯ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 14 || Мм || {{bc|m}} || эм || {{IPA|m}}, {{IPA|mʲ}} || style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"|m
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠮ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 15 || Нн || {{bc|n}} || эн || {{IPA|n}}, {{IPA|nʲ}}, {{IPA|ŋ}} || style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"|n
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠨ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 16 || Оо || {{bc|o}} || о || {{IPA|ɔ}} || style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"|o
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠣ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 17 || Өө || {{bc|v}} || ө || {{IPA|ɵ~o}} || ô || style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|ö
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠥ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 18 || Пп || {{bc|p}} || пэ || {{IPA|pʰ, pʰʲ}} || style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"|p
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠫ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 19 || Рр || {{bc|r}} || эр || {{IPA|r, rʲ}} || style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"|r
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠷ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 20 || Сс || {{bc|s}} || эс || {{IPA|s}} || style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"|s
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠰ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 21 || Тт || {{bc|t}} || тэ || {{IPA|tʰ, tʰʲ}} || style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"|t
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠲ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 22 || Уу || {{bc|u}} || у || {{IPA|ʊ}} || style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"|u
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠤ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 23 || Үү || {{bc|th}} || ү || {{IPA|u}} || style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"|ü
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠦ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 24 || Фф || {{bc|f}} || фэ, фа, эф || {{IPA|f, pʰ}} || style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"|f
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠹ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 25 || Хх || {{bc|h}} || хэ, ха || {{IPA|x, xʲ}} || h || style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|kh
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠬ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 26 || Цц || {{bc|c}} || цэ || {{IPA|tsʰ}} || c || style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|ts
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠴ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 27 || Чч || {{bc|12345}} || чэ || {{IPA|tʃʰ}} || č || style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|ch
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠴᠤ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 28 || Шш || {{bc|156}} || ша, эш || {{IPA|ʃ}} || š || style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|sh
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠱ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 29 || Щщ || {{bc|x}} || ща, эщэ || ({{IPA|ʃ}}) || ŝ || sh || shch
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠰᠢ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 30 || Ъъ || {{bc|à}} || хатуугийн тэмдэг || none || ʺ || i || ı
| rowspan="3" |{{MongolUnicode|ᠢ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 31 || Ыы || {{bc|2346}} || эр үгийн ы || {{IPA|i}} || style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"|y
|-
| 32 || Ьь || {{bc|ù}} || зөөлний тэмдэг || {{IPA|ʲ}} || ʹ || style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|i
|-
| 33 || Ээ || {{bc|ow}} || э || {{IPA|e~i}} || è || e || ê
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠡ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 34 || Юю || {{bc|ü}} || ю || {{IPA|jʊ, ju}} || û || yu || iu
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠶᠦ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|-
| 35 || Яя || {{bc|1246}} || я || {{IPA|ja}} || â || ya || ia
|{{MongolUnicode|ᠶᠠ|lang=mn|font-size=1.6em|valign=middle}}
|}
[[File:Cyrillic monument.jpg|thumb|165px|Cyrillic Script Monument erected under a joint Bulgarian-Mongolian project in [[Earth:Antarctica|Antarctica]]]]
Үү and Өө are sometimes also written as the [[Social:Ukrainian alphabet|Ukrainian letters]] Її (or Vv) and Єє  respectively,<ref name=MHK>{{cite web|author=Sühbaatar, B|url=http://www.infocon.mn/english/reference/GaligiinTuhai.htm|title=Mongol helnij kirill üsgijg latin üsgeer galiglah tuhaj|publisher=InfoCon|access-date=2009-01-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090129190356/http://www.infocon.mn/english/reference/GaligiinTuhai.htm|archive-date=2009-01-29|url-status=dead}}</ref> when using Russian software or keyboards that do not support them.

Initial long vowels and non-initial full vowels are written with double vowel letters, while initial short vowels and non-initial epenthetic vowels are written with single vowel letters. Conversely, every vowel letter except у and ү can also represent schwa and zero in non-first syllables. Palatalisation is indicated by и (i), the soft sign ь (') or е (ye), ё (yo), я (ya) and ю (yu) after the palatalised consonant. These latter letters are pronounced without [j] in that position. Щ is never used in Mongolian and only used in Russian words containing the letter.<ref name=xx1>Svantesson et al. 2005: 30-40.</ref> It is pronounced identically to Ш, and is often omitted when teaching the Cyrillic alphabet. Sometimes, Russian loanwords with Щ will be spelled with Ш instead: борш, Хрушев. The difference between [e~i] might be dialectal,<ref>Svantesson et al. 2005 who proclaim a merger. Luvsanjav, J. (1975): Mongol avianii duudlaga. Ulaanbaatar: MUIS: 14-15 claims that word-initial e-s are articulated towards i, while others are not. But LaCross, Amy (2012): Non-adjacent Phonological Dependency Effects on Khalkha Mongolian Speech Perception. Proceedings of the 29th West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics, ed. Jaehoon Choi et al., 143-151. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project, 143-151 keeps them distinct</ref> while the difference between ɵ~o is positional.<ref>Svantesson et al. 2005: 1-10.</ref>

{{IPA|/ɡ/}} and {{IPA|/ɢ/}} are both indicated by the letter г {{angbr|g}}, but the phonetic value of that letter is mostly predictable. In words with "front" (+ATR) vowels (see [[Social:Mongolian language#Phonology|Mongolian phonology]] for details), it always means {{IPA|/ɡ/}}, because only {{IPA|/ɡ/}} occurs in such words. In words with "back" (&minus;ATR) vowels, it always means {{IPA|/ɢ/}}, except syllable-finally, where it means {{IPA|/ɡ/}}; to acquire the value of {{IPA|/ɢ/}}, it is written as followed by a single mute syllable-final vowel letter. Similarly, a mute vowel is added to final н {{angbr|n}} to make it denote {{IPA|/n/}} and not {{IPA|/ŋ/}}. ф (f) and к (k) are loan consonants and will often be adapted into the Mongolian sound system as {{IPA|[pʰ]}} and {{IPA|[x]}}.<ref name=xx1/>

The original plan as at 10 October 1945 was to use э only at the beginning of words and in long vowel combinations (as is done in other languages written using Russian-based Cyrillic), дз for modern з, дж for modern ж, ии for modern ий and йө for modern е (to represent the "yö" sound at the beginning of words), but the alphabet was changed to its final form on 13 November.<ref>[http://biliq.ru/lib/sites/default/files/%D0%A8%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%81%D1%83%D1%80%D1%8D%D0%BD%20%D0%A6%D1%8D%D0%B2%D1%8D%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%B9%D0%BD%20%20%D0%9C%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B3%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%87%D1%83%D1%83%D0%B4%D1%8B%D0%BD%20%D1%83%D1%81%D1%8D%D0%B3%20%D0%B1%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B8%D0%B3%D0%B8%D0%B9%D0%BD%20%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%87%D0%BE%D0%BE%D0%BD.pdf Tseveliin Shagdagsüren, ''Mongolchuudyn üseg bichigiin tovchoon'', 2001], page 190</ref>

==Keyboard layout==
The standard Mongolian Cyrillic keyboard layout for personal computers is as follows:

::[[File:Mongolian keyboard win.png|540px|Mongolian Cyrillic keyboard layout]]

==See also==
* Mongolian writing systems
**[[Social:Mongolian script|Mongolian script]]
***Galik alphabet
***[[Social:Clear Script|Todo alphabet]]
**[[Social:ʼPhags-pa script|ʼPhags-pa script]]
***[[Social:Horizontal square script|Horizontal square script]]
**[[Social:Soyombo script|Soyombo script]]
**Mongolian Latin alphabet
***SASM/GNC romanization § Mongolian
**[[Social:Mongolian transliteration of Chinese characters|Mongolian transliteration of Chinese characters]]
***{{ill|Sino–Mongolian Transliterations|zh|中蒙联合转写}}
**Mongolian Braille
* Mongolian Sign Language
* Mongolian name

== References ==
{{Reflist}}


{{Mongolic languages}}

[[Category:Cyrillic alphabets]]

{{Sourceattribution|Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet}}