Dungan alphabets

During its existence, the character set or alphabet of the Dungan language has changed its graphic base several times and has been repeatedly reformed. Currently, the Dungan script functions in Cyrillic. Three stages are distinguished in the history of the Dungan script:
- pre-1927 – written completely in Chinese characters;
- 1927-1928 – attempts to create a writing system based on the Arabic script system Xiao'erjing, developed in China by the Hui Muslims;
- 1928-1953 – writing based on the Latin alphabet;
- since 1953 – writing based on the Cyrillic alphabet.
It is used in the territory of the former USSR, in regions where the Dungan language is widespread (mainly Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan).
Chinese characters
[edit]
In China, to write texts in their native Chinese language, the Hui people, whom the Dungan people directly descend from[1] and who are occasionally also referred to as Dungans,[2] used either Chinese characters or a modified Arabic script called Xiao'erjing (lit. 'children's script'). In China, the Hui people continue to use Chinese characters to write and speak their dialect of Chinese.[3]
In 2002, Huizu yuyan bao Хуэйзў йүян бо 回族语言报 was published in Bishkek, written in Dungan Cyrillic with parallel Chinese character transcription and pinyin annotation.[4]
Chinese researchers have published anthologies of Dungan works transcribed into Chinese characters for the interest of non-Dungan society.[5]
In both cases,[4][5] writers have struggled with unique Sinitic dialect vocabulary.
Arabic script
[edit]At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the first Cyrillic records of Dungan dialects in the Russian Empire were made by V. I. Tsibuzgin, a teacher at the Russian-Dungan school in the village of Karakunuz, and his assistant, Zhebur Matsivang. During the Soviet era (1928), an alphabet clearly based on the Xiao'erjing system was proposed in Tashkent by Dungan students Ya. Shivaza, Yu. Yanshansin, and H. Makeev.[6][7]
This alphabet included the following letters:[6]
ى ه ۋ و ن م ل ڭ گ ك ق ف غ ﻉ ﻅ ﻁ ڞ ﺽ ﺹ ش س ژ ز ر ﺫ د خ ﺡ چ ﺝ ث ﺕ پ ب ا
Finals of syllables were represented primarily by diacritics (followed by a vowel letter in order to provide clarification). Unlike Xiao'erjing, -n and -ng syllable codas were distinguished, and thus nunation was dropped. (allowing for solutions such as doubling of diacritic or other innovations on the diacritic to be a means of representing tones).
This alphabet did not manage to gain popular use, since at that time the question of Latinization of the Dungan script was raised.
Latin
[edit]In January 1928, at the 2nd Plenum of the All-Union Central Committee of the New Turkic Alphabet in Tashkent, the Dungan Latinized alphabet was adopted. Its authors were Ya. Zhang (Ya. Dzhon) and a group of Dungan students studying at Tashkent universities. Soviet scientists V. M. Alekseev, A. A. Dragunov and E. D. Polivanov assisted them in developing the alphabet.[8]
The first Dungan alphabet had the following form: A a, B в, C c, Ç ç, D d, E e, F f, G g, Ƣ ƣ, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, Ꞑ ꞑ, O o, Ɵ ɵ, P p, R r, S s, Ş ş, , T t, U u, V v, X x, Y y, Z z, Ƶ ƶ, Ь ь. In the finally approved version of the alphabet, the letter was cancelled and the letter Ә ә was introduced (however, in the first Dungan primer,[9] capital letters were not used[10]). The alphabet also used 4 digraphs: Dƶ dƶ, Ts ts, Tş tş, Uv uv. In March 1932, at a meeting on the Dungan alphabet, it was decided to reform it. Thus, the letters H h, Ƣ ƣ, Ɵ ɵ, as well as all digraphs, were abolished. The letters W w and Ⱬ ⱬ were introduced.[11]
The following changes were made to the meanings of the letters: ts → c, tş → ç, dƶ → ⱬ, h → şj, c → çj, ç → ⱬj, ɵ → yә. The letter ƣ, which denoted the jagged, unrolled [r] in Dungan words, was replaced by the letter r, which had previously denoted [r] in Russian borrowings. One of the goals of the writing reform was the unification of the Dungan alphabet with the newly created Chinese Latinized alphabet. The letter j denoted the softness of the preceding consonant, but was not written before i and y. In June 1932, the conference in Frunze generally approved these changes, while retaining the letter Ƣ ƣ.[11] Later, it was proposed to exclude from the alphabet the letter Ꞑ ꞑ, which was used in only a few words.[12]
Dungan Latin alphabet after the reform:[12]
| A a | B в | C c | Ç ç | D d | E e | Ə ə | F f |
| G g | Ƣ ƣ | I i | J j | Ь ь | K k | L l | M m |
| N n | Ꞑ ꞑ | O o | P p | R r | S s | Ş ş | T t |
| U u | V v | W w | X x | Y y | Z z | Ƶ ƶ | Ⱬ ⱬ |
Cyrillic
[edit]The question of switching the Dungan alphabet to Cyrillic was raised shortly before the Great Patriotic War, which prevented the implementation of this project. It was revisited in 1952, when the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences decided to create a commission to develop a Dungan Cyrillic alphabet. The commission was headed by A. A. Dragunov. Their projects were presented by Yu. Yanshansin, A. A. Dragunov, Yusup Tsunvazo, G. P. Serdyuchenko and A. Kalimov. Opinions were expressed about the need for a separate letter ҷ for the sound [tɕʰ], about using the letter у' instead of ў, about the uselessness of the letter ң and about replacing the native rhotic р (Latin ƣ) with э̡. At the insistence of the Dungan representatives, and overriding the objection of the linguists, Latin ş unifying the allophones [ʂ], [ɕ] was split into Cyrillic ш [ʂ] and щ [ɕ] following Russian sound values. As a result of discussions in 1953 (with some changes), the project of Yusup Yanshansin was approved.[13][14] In Hashimoto's evaluation,[15] the final Cyrillic alphabet is a transliteration of the previous Latin alphabet. This alphabet is still in use today and has the following form:[8]
| 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 | 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 | Ц ц | Ч ч | Ш ш | Щ щ |
| Ъ ъ | Ы ы | Ь ь | Э э | Ю ю | Я я |
Tones
[edit]Tones have never been indicated in practical writing.
When scientifically or pedagogically necessary, they are, in the traditional 3-tone analysis, designated by the Roman numerals ⟨I⟩-⟨II⟩-⟨III⟩ (җўжынҗя II-I-I owner, master[8]). In the full 4-tone analysis, this becomes ⟨Ia⟩-⟨Ib⟩-⟨II⟩-⟨III⟩-(unmarked), with tone I being split into Ia, Ib, and unmarked neutral tone.[16] Some use superscript numbers (ми¹хуар³ chamomile[17]). Language textbooks have also used (unmarked)-⟨ъ⟩-⟨ь⟩ after the vowel.[18][19][20]
A Latinized-era proposal was the usage of the diacritics ⟨ˉ⟩-⟨ˇ⟩-⟨ˆ⟩.[21][22][20] A modern proposal by Elke Rehorn, used experimentally in children's literature,[16] is to use the diacritics ⟨ˇ⟩-⟨ˊ⟩-⟨ˋ⟩-⟨ˉ⟩-(unmarked).[20][23]
A failed proposal by Ya. Shivaza was the doubling of letters.[24][20]
|
Таъ 他 ма 媽 маь 罵 таъдини, 他的呢, мә 沒 маь 罵 вәъди. 我的。 His mother is scolding him, is not scolding me. |
Correspondence chart
[edit]| Cyrillic order | Cyrillic | Latin | IPA | (erhua forms of vowels) | Latin order | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alphabet # | Initial #[27] | Final #[27] | Cyrillic[28] | Name[28][29][30] | Latin[28][31] | Pinyin (Du Songshou / Lin Tao)[32][33][34] |
IPA (Lin Tao)[35] |
IPA (O. Zavyalova)[36][37] |
Cyrillic | Latin[38] | IPA (Lin Tao)[39] |
Alphabet #[40] | Initial #[31] | Final #[31] |
| 1 | 1 | а | а | a | a | [a] | [a] | ар | aƣ | [ar] | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2 | 1 | б | бэ | ʙ | b | [p] | [p] | 2 | 1 | |||||
| 3 | 2 | в | вэ | v | v | [v] | [v] | 25 | 5 | |||||
| 4 | 3 | г | гэ | g | g | [k] | [k] | 9 | 17 | |||||
| 5 | 4 | д | дэ | d | d | [t] | [t] | 5 | 6 | |||||
| 6 | 3 | е | е (йэ) | ie | ie | [iə] | [ie] | ер | ieƣ | [iər] | 15 | |||
| 7 | 4 | ё | ё (йо) | io | iao | [iɔ] | [iɔᵘ] | ёр | ioƣ | [iɔr] | 16 | |||
| 8 | 6 | ә | ә (ыо) | ə | e | [ə] | [ɤ] | әр | əƣ | [ər] | 7 | 3 | ||
| 9 | 5 | ж | жэ | ƶ | r | [ʐ] | [ʐ] | 30 | 13 | |||||
| 10 | 6 | җ | җы (джы) | z̧ | zh | [tʂ] | [tʂ] | 31 | 15 | |||||
| 10 | 6 | җ | (z̧i) | j | [tɕ] | [tɕ] | 31 | 15 | ||||||
| 11 | 7 | з | зэ (дзэ) | z | z | [ts] | [ts] | 29 | 12 | |||||
| 12 | 7 | и | и | i | i | [i] | [i ~ ɪi] | ир | iƣ | [iər] | 11 | 4 | ||
| 13 | 8 | й | й (ий) / дуан и | j | y | [∅] | [ʝ] | 12 | 20 | |||||
| 14 | 9 | к | ка | k | k | [kʹ] | [kˣ] | 13 | 18 | |||||
| 15 | 10 | л | эл | l | l | [l] | [l] | 14 | 9 | |||||
| 16 | 11 | м | эм | m | m | [m] | [m] | 15 | 2 | |||||
| 17 | 12 | н | эн | n | n | [n] | [n] | 16 | 8 | |||||
| 18 | 13 | ң[a] | эң (энг) / ын / ңә | ꞑ | ng | [ŋ] | [ŋ ~ ɣ] | 17 | ||||||
| 19 | 9 | о | о | o | o, ao / ao | [ɔ] | [ɔ] | ор | oƣ | [ɔr] | 18 | 5 | ||
| 20 | 14 | п | пэ | p | p | [pʹ] | [pˣ] | 19 | 3 | |||||
| 21 | р[b] | эр | r | [r][c] | [d] | 20 | ||||||||
| 21 | р[e] | эр | ƣ | er / ∅ | [r][f] | [ɹ] | 10 | |||||||
| 22 | 15 | с | эс | s | s | [s] | [s] | 21 | 11 | |||||
| 23 | 16 | т | тэ | t | t | [tʹ] | [tˣ] | 23 | 7 | |||||
| 24 | 11 | у | у | u | u / ou | [ou] | [ɤu] | ур | uƣ | [our] | 24 | 6 | ||
| 25 | 19 | ў | ў (ву, ув) | w | w / u | [u] | [u] | ўр | wƣ | [ur] | 26 | 7 | ||
| 26 | 20 | ү | ү / йү (йӱ) | y | ü | [y] | [y] | үр | yƣ | [yər] | 28 | 8 | ||
| 27 | 17 | ф | эф | f | f | [f] | [f] | 8 | 4 | |||||
| 28 | 18 | х | ха | x | h | [x] | [χ] | 27 | 19 | |||||
| 29 | 19 | ц | цэ | c | c | [tsʹ] | [tsˣ] | 3 | 10 | |||||
| 30 | 20 | ч | чэ | (çi) | q | [tɕʹ] | [tɕˣ] | 4 | 16 | |||||
| 30 | 20 | ч | чы | ç | ch | [tʂʹ] | [tʂˣ] | 4 | 16 | |||||
| 31 | 21 | ш | ша | ş | sh | [ʂ] | [ʂ] | 22 | 14 | |||||
| 32 | 22 | щ | щя | (şi) | x | [ɕ] | [ɕ] | 22 | 14 | |||||
| 33 | ъ[b] | нинхо[g] | ||||||||||||
| 34 | 24 | ы | ы | ь | i, e / i | [ɿ] | [ɨ] | ыр | ьƣ | [ər] | 32 | 9 | ||
| 34 | 24 | ы | ы | ь | i, e / i | [ʅ] | [ɨ] | ыр | ьƣ | [ər] | 32 | 9 | ||
| 35 | ь[b] | ванхо[h] | ||||||||||||
| 36 | 27 | э | э | e | ai / ê | [ɛ] | [ɛ] | эр | eƣ | [ɛr] | 6 | 2 | ||
| 37 | 28 | ю | ю (йу) | iu | iou | [iou] | [iɤu] | юр | iuƣ | [iour] | 17 | |||
| 38 | 29 | я | я (йа) | ia | ia | [ia] | [ia] | яр | iaƣ | [iar] | 14 | |||
| 23 | [i] | [∅] | [ʁ] | |||||||||||
| 2 | ан | an | an | [æ̃] | [æ̃ ~ æn] | ар[j] | aƣ[k] | [æ̃r] | 18 | |||||
| 5 | ён | ion | iang | [iɑŋ] | [iɔ̃ ~ iɔn] | ёр | ioƣ | [iɑr] | 39 | |||||
| 8 | ин | in | in, ing / ing | [iŋ] | [in ~ ĩ] | ир | iƣ | [iər] | 19 | |||||
| 10 | он | on | ang | [ɑŋ] | [ɔ̃ ~ ɔn] | ор | oƣ | [ɑr] | 20 | |||||
| 12 | уа | ua | ua | [ua] | [ua] | уар | uaƣ | [uar] | 10 | |||||
| 13 | уан | uan | uan | [uæ̃] | [uæ̃ ~ uæn] | уар | uaƣ | [uæ̃r] | 35 | |||||
| 14 | уә | uə | uo | [uə] | [uɤ] | уәр | uəƣ | [uər] | 12 | |||||
| 15 | уй, уэй[l] | ui | uei / uei, uai [sic] | [uei], [uɛi] [sic] | [uəi] | ур | uiƣ | ? | 25 | |||||
| 16 | ун | un | uen, ong / ueng | [uŋ] | [uən ~ uə̃] | ур | uƣ | [ur] | 21 | |||||
| 17 | уон | uon | uang | [uɑŋ] | [uɔ̃ ~ uɔn] | уор | uoƣ | [uɑr] | 36 | |||||
| 18 | уэ | ue | uai | [uɛ] | [uɛⁱ] | уэр | ueƣ | [uɛr] | 11 | |||||
| 21 | үан | yan | üan | [yæ̃] | [yɛ̃ ~ yɛn] | үар | yaƣ | [yæ̃r] | 37 | |||||
| 22 | үә | yə | üe | [yə] | [ye] | үәр | yəƣ | [yər] | 13 | |||||
| 23 | үн | yn | ün, iong / iong | [yŋ] | [yn ~ ỹ] | үр | yƣ | [yr] | 22 | |||||
| 25 | ый | ьi | ei | [ei] | [əi] | ыр | ьiƣ | ? | 24 | |||||
| 26 | ын | ьn | en, eng / eng | [əŋ] | [ə̃ ~ ən] | ыр | ьƣ | [ər] | 23 | |||||
| 30 | ян | ian | ian | [iæ̃] | [iɛ̃ ~ iɛn] | яр | iaƣ | [iæ̃r] | 38 | |||||
| эр[16], әр[27][39] | [ɛɹ][39] | [əɹ] | ||||||||||||
| эй[27] | ||||||||||||||
- ^ Only appears in the syllable ңә.
- ^ a b c Only appears in loanwords.
- ^ Trilled.
- ^ Not included.
- ^ Syllable-final erhua.
- ^ Non-trilled.
- ^ 硬號, "hard sign".
- ^ 軟號, "soft sign".
- ^ Zero initial.
- ^ Erhua finals are spelled by replacing -н and -й with -р.[41][42]
- ^ Erhua finals are spelled by replacing -n with -ƣ.[38]
- ^ With х-, -уэй is used.[27]
References
[edit]- ^ David Trilling (20 April 2010). "Kyrgyzstan Eats: A Dungan Feast in Naryn". EURASIANET.org.
- ^ "UNPO: East Turkestan: Strict Control of China's Uighur Muslims Continues". Unrepresented Nations & Peoples Organization. 16 August 2006. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
However, the authorities' control over Dungan mosques is less strict than over mosques used by Uighurs, a Turkic people mainly found in Xinjiang but also in Central Asian states. (The Dungans are a Chinese Muslim people also found in Central Asian states.)
- ^ Gladney 1996, p. 20.
- ^ a b 林 2012, p. 12, chapter 1 (导论).
- ^ a b 常 & 常 2014, preface (前言).
- ^ a b М. Х. Имазов (1977). Орфография дунганского языка. Фрунзе: Илим. pp. 6–7.
- ^ Завьялова, О. И. (2017). Язык и культура китайских мусульман-хуэйцзу (PDF). Дунгане. История и культура. М.: Наука — Восточная литература. pp. 7–37. ISBN 978-5-02-039795-8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-10-05.
- ^ a b c Ю. Яншансин, ed. (1968). Краткий дунганско-русский словарь (Җеёди хуэйзў-вурус хуадян). Фрунзе: Илим. pp. 5–7.
- ^ ja. dƶon (1929). əlif-вee. iꞑvi ho hyɵ həxadi əlif-вee. Frunzь. p. 58.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Андронов, Алексей Викторович (2025). "Национальная библиография дунганской книжности: через тернии… / National bibliography of Dungan literature: through the thorns…" (PDF). «Ұлттық библиографияны дамыту: тәжірибе, заманауи технологиялар мен интергация мәселелері» атты халықаралық ғылыми-тәжірибелік конференция материалдарының жинағы. Алматы: Қазақстан Республикасының ұлттық кітапханасы.
- ^ a b Драгунов, А. А. (1932). "Дунганский алфавит" (PDF). Революция и письменность. М.: Власть советов. pp. 33–37. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2023-05-02.
- ^ a b НИИКЯП 1937, p. 71.
- ^ Реформатский, А. А. (1953). "Новый дунганский алфавит" (PDF). Вопросы языкознания. pp. 129–132. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-04-05.
- ^ 橋本 1957c.
- ^ 橋本 1957b.
- ^ a b c Zavyalova 2015.
- ^ В. Н. Ярцева, ed. (2001). Языки Российской Федерации и соседних государств. Vol. I. М.: Наука. p. 354. ISBN 5-02-011237-2.
- ^ 杜 1959, p. 92.
- ^ Rimsky-Korsakoff 1967.
- ^ a b c d Rehorn 2005.
- ^ НИИКЯП 1937, p. 10.
- ^ НИИКЯП 1937, p. 50.
- ^ 菅野, 裕臣. "最近のドゥンガン研究の概況――特にソ連崩壊後の言語学研究について". 日本中央アジア学会報. 9. ISSN 1880-0076.
- ^ 橋本 1957c, p. 225.
- ^ 杜 1959, p. 93.
- ^ Rimsky-Korsakoff 1967, p. 371.
- ^ a b c d e Table of valid syllables (Cyrillic), with numbered initials and finals. 橋本 1957c, figure 2.
- ^ a b c List of the new Cyrillic alphabet, with letter names and Latin equivalents. 橋本 1957b, figure 1. Калимов 1956, figure 1.
- ^ Rimsky-Korsakoff 1967, p. 364.
- ^ Янщянсын 1957, p. 3.
- ^ a b c Table of valid syllables (Latin), with numbered initials and unnumbered finals. НИИКЯП 1937, foldout.
- ^ List of the new Cyrillic alphabet, with letter names and Latin, Hanyu Pinyin, and Zhuyin Fuhao equivalents. 杜 1959, p. 9, section 1.
- ^ List of valid finals (Cyrillic), with Latin, Hanyu Pinyin, and Zhuyin Fuhao equivalents. 杜 1959, p. 13, section 16.
- ^ Lin Tao's list of the Cyrillic initials and finals, with IPA and Hanyu Pinyin equivalents. 林 2003, p. 28, chapter 2.4, figure 3.
- ^ 林 2012, pp. 77–89, chapter 3 (东干语的语音系统)
- ^ Table of Gansu dialect initials, in IPA with Latin and Cyrillic equivalents. Zavyalova 2015.
- ^ Table of Gansu dialect finals, in IPA with Latin and Cyrillic equivalents. Zavyalova 2015.
- ^ a b Table of "old" and "new" (undergoing erhua) syllable endings (Latin). НИИКЯП 1937, p. 7.
- ^ a b c 林 2012, pp. 92–93, chapter 4.3 (儿化).
- ^ A table depicting the new Latin alphabet. Figure 3 of 橋本 1957b.
- ^ 林 2012, pp. 127–154, chapter 6 (东干文)
- ^ 杜 1959, p. 12, section 7.
- Gladney, Dru C. (1996). Muslim Chinese: Ethnic Nationalism in the People's Republic (2nd ed.). Harvard University Asia Center. ISBN 0-674-59497-5. (1st edition appeared in 1991)
- НИИКЯП, ed. (1937). Ⱬwn-jan xuadi şjefa (orfografija) vьnti / Вопросы орфографии дунганского языка. Фрунзе: Киргизгосиздат. p. 71.
- Zavyalova, Olga (2015), Sybesma, Rint (ed.), "Dungan Language", Encyclopedia of Chinese Language and Linguistics, doi:10.1163/2210-7363_ecll_COM_000034, retrieved 2026-05-30
- 橋本, 萬太郎 (1957b). "ジュンヤン語 (ドゥンガーン語) 字母の歴史". 中国語学. 1957 (67): 193–199. doi:10.7131/chuugokugogaku.1957.193.
- 橋本, 萬太郎 (1957c). "ジュンヤン語の新字母と音節の綴り方規則". 中国語学. 1957 (68): 219–232. doi:10.7131/chuugokugogaku.1957.219.
- 林, 涛 (2003). 中亚东干语研究. 西北第二民族学院学术文库. 北京: 香港教育出版社. ISBN 962-7484-93-8.
- 林, 涛 (2012). 东干语调查研究. 跨境语言研究系列丛书. 北京: 中国社会科学出版社. ISBN 978-7-5161-1418-6.
- 杜, 松寿 (1959). 东干语拼音文字资料. 拼音文字研究参考资料集刊. 文字改革出版社.
- Калимов, Абдурахман Джамалович (1956). "Новая орфография и пунктуация дунганского языка". Труды института языка и литературы.
- Rehorn, Elke (2005), Хуэй́зў йү̀янди шы̌нйѝн дэ̄ җӯнйи̌н (Га́нсўди фә̌шу)
- Rimsky-Korsakoff, Svetlana (1967). "Soviet Dungan: The Chinese language of Central Asia: alphabet, phonology, morphology". Monumenta Serica. 26: 352–421. doi:10.1080/02549948.1967.11744973. JSTOR 40725857.
- 常, 文昌; 常, 立霓 (2014). 世界华语诗苑的奇葩 : 中亚东干诗人十娃子与十四儿的诗.
- Янщянсын, Ю. (Юсуп Яншансин) (1957). Җун-ян йүянди җедуан вынфа / Краткая грамматика дунганского языка. Фрунзе: Хырхызстан Гуйҗя Җёщүә Чўбан / Киргизучпедгиз.