Mongolian script

Mongolian script. The traditional vertical script used for writing the Mongolian language is one of the world's most distinctive writing systems. It is an alphabet that developed from the Old Uyghur alphabet, which itself ultimately traces back to the Aramaic alphabet via the Sogdian alphabet. While challenged by the official adoption of the Cyrillic alphabet in the Mongolian People's Republic, it has seen a significant revival since the 1990s and remains in use in Inner Mongolia and for ceremonial purposes in Mongolia.

History and development

The script's adoption is traditionally attributed to the directive of Genghis Khan, who ordered its use for the Mongol Empire after the capture of a Naiman scribe named Tata-tonga in 1204. This established the Old Uyghur alphabet as the basis for recording the Mongolian language. Under the reign of Kublai Khan, the Phagspa script was created by the Tibetan monk Drogön Chögyal Phagpa as a unified script for the empire's many languages, but it did not supplant the traditional script for Mongolian. The classical form of the alphabet was standardized after the 16th century, notably through translations of Buddhist texts like the Kanjur and Tanjur under the patronage of the Altan Khan of the Tümed. Its use spread among various Mongolic peoples, leading to the development of related scripts such as the Oirat alphabet created by Zaya Pandita and the Manchu script commissioned by Nurhaci.

Characteristics and structure

The script is written vertically from top to bottom and proceeds in columns advancing from left to right across the page. A key calligraphic feature is the use of distinct initial, medial, and final positional forms for many letters, influenced by its Syriac alphabet ancestry. It is technically an alphabet, as each consonant and vowel is represented by a separate letter, but its writing system exhibits elements of an abjad due to historical ambiguity in marking vowels. The most notable orthographic rule is the requirement for vowel harmony, where the shapes of vowels within a word must correspond to the word's harmonic class. Another defining characteristic is the use of a special form, the feminine i, which affects the pronunciation of preceding consonants. Punctuation is minimal, and spaces typically separate words, though suffixes are joined to their root words.

Usage and applications

Historically, the script was the primary medium for a vast corpus of Mongolian literature, including the seminal historical chronicle The Secret History of the Mongols, Buddhist sutras, and administrative documents of the Yuan dynasty. In the 20th century, its official use declined sharply in the Mongolian People's Republic following the switch to the Cyrillic alphabet in 1941, a change influenced by the Soviet Union. However, it has continued uninterrupted in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. In Mongolia, it is used for official state symbols, including the text on the state emblem, and for ceremonial purposes such as writing New Year's greetings. It is also the script used for the traditional Mongolian calendar.

Relation to other scripts

As a descendant of the Old Uyghur alphabet, the Mongolian script belongs to the wider family of Aramaic-derived scripts that spread across Central Asia. Its most direct offspring is the Manchu script, which was adapted from it in 1599 by order of Nurhaci. Other notable derivatives include the Oirat alphabet (or Clear Script), developed by Zaya Pandita, and the Buryat alphabet and Kalmyk alphabet, used before their respective communities adopted Cyrillic. The Xibe script is a direct descendant of the Manchu variant. While visually distinct, it shares a common ancestral lineage with scripts like the Hebrew alphabet and the Arabic script through the Proto-Sinaitic script and Phoenician alphabet.

Modern revival and digital encoding

A major movement to restore the traditional script began in Mongolia after the 1990 democratic revolution. The State Great Khural passed laws mandating its increased use, and it is now taught in schools alongside Cyrillic. Significant challenges include diglossia and the need for comprehensive technological support. Digital encoding was achieved with its inclusion in the Unicode Standard, with the block named Mongolian. Major operating systems and software like Microsoft Windows, macOS, and the Android platform now provide font and input method support. The Government of Mongolia has implemented policies to phase in its official use, aiming for a dual-script system by 2025, supported by initiatives from the Mongolian Academy of Sciences. Category:Writing systems Category:Mongolian language