Uzbek alphabet
The Uzbek language has been written in various scripts: Arabic, Cyrillic and Latin. In Uzbekistan, it is now written in the Latin script officially. In the Xinjiang region of China, some Uzbek speakers write using Cyrillic, while others apply the Uyghur Arabic script for Uzbek.
History
Like all Turkic languages in Central Asia, Uzbek was written in various forms of the Arabic script (Yana imla) by the literate population.
Between 1928 and 1940, as part of comprehensive programs to educate (and politically influence) Uzbek people, who for the first time now had their own cartographically delineated (administrative) region, Uzbek writing was switched to Latin script (Yanalif; a proposal for the latinization of Yana imla was already developed in 1924). The latinization of Uzbek was carried out in the context of latinization of all Turkic languages.[1]
In 1940, Uzbek was switched to the Cyrillic script under Joseph Stalin. Until 1992, Uzbek continued to be written using a Cyrillic alphabet almost everywhere, but now in Uzbekistan the Latin script has been officially re-introduced, although the use of Cyrillic is still widespread. The deadline in Uzbekistan for making this transition has been repeatedly changed. The latest deadline was 2005, but was shifted once again to provide a few more years.
Already education in many areas of Uzbekistan is in the Latin script, and in 2001 the Latin script began to be used for coins. Since 2004 some official websites have switched over to using the Latin script when writing in Uzbek.[2] Most street signs are also in the new Latin script. The main national TV channel of Uzbekistan, Oʻzbekiston telekanali, has also switched to the Latin script when writing in Uzbek, although news programs are still broadcast in Cyrillic script.
Alphabets
Below is a table of Uzbek Cyrillic and Latin alphabets with represented sounds.[3]
| Latin | Cyrillic | Name[4] | IPA | English approximation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A a | А а | a | /a, æ/ | chai, cat |
| B b | Б б | be | /b/ | bat |
| D d | Д д | de | /d̪/ | den |
| E e | Э э / Е е | e | /e/[N 1] | sleigh |
| F f | Ф ф | ef | /ɸ/ | fish |
| G g | Г г | ge | /ɡ/ | go |
| H h | Ҳ ҳ | ha | /h/ | hoe |
| I i | И и | i | /i, ɨ/ | me |
| J j | Ж ж | je | /dʒ/, /ʒ/[N 2] | joke, genre |
| K k | К к | ka | /k/ | cold |
| L l | Л л | el | /l/ | list |
| M m | М м | em | /m/ | man |
| N n | Н н | en | /n/ | next |
| O o | О о | o | /ɒ/, /o/[N 2] | hot, call (Received Pronunciation) |
| P p | П п | pe | /p/ | pin |
| Q q | Қ қ | qa | /q/ | like a "k", but further back in the throat |
| R r | Р р | er | /r/ | (trilled) rat |
| S s | С с | es | /s/ | sick |
| T t | Т т | te | /t̪/ | toe |
| U u | У у | u | /u, ə/ | put (also represents a second vowel in some dialects, similar to the mid-central vowel) |
| V v | В в | ve | /v, w/ | van |
| X x | Х х | xa | /χ/ | "ch" as in German "Bach" or Scottish "loch" |
| Y y | Й й | ye | /j/ | yes |
| Z z | З з | ze | /z/ | zebra |
| Oʻ oʻ | Ў ў | oʻ | /o, ø/ | row, fur |
| Gʻ gʻ | Ғ ғ | gʻa | /ʁ/ | like a French "r" |
| Sh sh | Ш ш | sha | /ʃ/ | shoe |
| Ch ch | Ч ч | che | /tʃ/ | chew |
| Ng ng | нг | nge | /ŋ/ | king |
| ʼ | ъ | tutuq belgisi (ʼ) ("apostrophe"); ayirish/ajratish belgisi (ъ) | /ʔ/ | Both "ʼ" (tutuq belgisi) and "ъ" (ayirish belgisi) are used either (1) to mark the phonetic glottal stop when put immediately before a vowel or (2) to mark a long vowel when placed immediately after a vowel [N 3] |
| Ye ye | Е е | ye | /je/ | yellow |
| Yo yo | Ё ё | yo | /jɒ/ | beyond |
| Yu yu | Ю ю | yu | /ju/ | you |
| Ya ya | Я я | ya | /ja, jæ/ | yard, yank |
| Ts ts | Ц ц | tse | /ts/ | lets |
- Notes
- ^ Cyrillic "Е е" at the beginning of a word and after a vowel is "Ye ye" in Latin.
- ^ a b In Russian borrowings.
- ^ Tutuq belgisi (ʼ) is also used to indicate that the letters "s" and "h" should be pronounced separately, not as "sh" in Latin. For example, in the name Isʼhoq "s" and "h" are pronounced separately.
Distinct characters
When the Uzbek language is written using the Latin script, the letters Oʻ (Cyrillic Ў) and Gʻ (Cyrillic Ғ) are properly rendered using the character U+02BB ʻ MODIFIER LETTER TURNED COMMA.[5] However, since this character is absent from most keyboard layouts, most Uzbek websites – including some operated by the Uzbek government[2] – use either U+2018 ‘ LEFT SINGLE QUOTATION MARK or straight (typewriter) single quotes to represent these letters.
The modifier letter apostrophe (ʼ) (tutuq belgisi) is used to mark the phonetic glottal stop when it is put immediately before a vowel in borrowed words, as in sanʼat (art). The modifier letter apostrophe is also used to mark a long vowel when placed immediately after a vowel, as in maʼno (meaning).[6] Since this character is also absent from most keyboard layouts, many Uzbek websites use U+2019 ’ RIGHT SINGLE QUOTATION MARK instead.
Currently most typists do not bother with the differentiation between the modifier letter turned comma and modifier letter apostrophe as their keyboard layouts likely accommodate only the straight apostrophe.
Sample of the scripts
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
| Uzbek in Latin script | Uzbek in Cyrillic script | Uzbek in Arabic script | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barcha odamlar erkin, qadr-qimmat va huquqlarda teng boʻlib tugʻiladilar. Ular aql va vijdon sohibidirlar va bir-birlari ila birodarlarcha muomala qilishlari zarur. | Барча одамлар эркин, қадр-қиммат ва ҳуқуқларда тенг бўлиб туғиладилар. Улар ақл ва виждон соҳибидирлар ва бир-бирлари ила биродарларча муомала қилишлари зарур. | برچه آدملر اېرکن، قدرقمت وحقوقلرده تېـﯔ بۇلب توغیلدیلر. ئولر عقل ووجدان صاحبیدرلر وبربرلری ئیله برادرلرچه معامله قلشلری ضرور. | 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. |
References
- ^ Fierman, William (1991). Language Planning and National Development: The Uzbek. Walter de Gruyter. p. 75. ISBN 3-11-012454-8.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b "The Governmental Portal of the Republic of Uzbekistan" (in Uzbek). Retrieved 6 December 2012.
- ^ "The New Uzbek Latin Alphabet" (PDF). Oxuscom. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
- ^ Ismatullayev, Xayrulla (1991). Teach-Yourself Uzbek Textbook (in Uzbek). Tashkent: Oʻqituvchi. p. 4. ISBN 5-645-01104-X.
- ^ "The Unicode Consortium website". Retrieved 13 January 2015.
- ^ "Principal Orthographic Rules For The Uzbek Language", the Uzbekistan Cabinet of Minister's Resolution No. 339. Adopted on August 24, 1995. Tashkent, Uzbekistan.