Chuvash Manual

1.11 The Chuvash Alphabet

The following alphabetical table gives the letters in the Chuvask
alphabet of Yakovlev, that of the present-day, and the transcription
into English letters as given in this book.

Comment or Explanation

Old

Present

English

Alphabet

Alphabet

Transcription

a

a

a

a

a

^

(6)

6

b

B

B

V

(r)

r

g

U)

A

d

e

e

ye

e

e

g

-

fe-

yo

or e

(«)

ac

2

(3)

3

z

H, i

K

i

ff

cr

i

or y

K

K

k

Ji

Jl

1

Jh

ijlh)

i

or ly

M

M

m

H

H

n

H>

HB

n

or ny, n'

(0)

O

o

n

n

P

P

p

r

J5

PB

r

or ry, r'

c

c

s

5

9

£

T

T

t

f

Tb

t iV)

y

y

u

InRuss. & for. words only

In Russ. & for. words only
In Russ. & for. words onlf
Old = e everywhere; new =
ye- initially and e else-
where

Only in Russian loanwords
In Russ. & for. words onlf
InRuss. & for. words only

Occurs only after vowels. Tj an
scribed as y except after i

Not a separate letter today

Not a separate letter today
In Russ. & for. words only

Not a separate letter today

Not a separate letter today

Old

Present

English

Alphabet

Alphabet

Transcription

y

y

u

(*)

*

f

X

X

X or X

{^)

n

ts

5

H

a

m.

lU

9

(«)

m

se

(•b)

i»

"or omitted

s

H

1

(B)

B

' or omitted

67
Comment or Explanation

In Russ, & for. words only
InRuss. & for. words only-

Only in Russian loanwords
Only in Russian loanwords

Both foreign and native
words
- 3 e Occurs initially and in

loanwords
(«y) K) yu

(flta) H ya

Although the old Yakovlev alphabet is no longer used, there are
#till many books in Chuvash in this alphabet which the student may
have need to consult, as the works of Ashmarin on Chuvash. Those
consonants given in parentheses in the preceding table did occur in
Chuvash transcriptions of Russian and foreign names, but were not
a sed in any native Chuvash words. Today, however, those conso-
nants are counted as part of the regular Chuvash alphabet. The
order of that alphabet, too, was rather different from the present
one, which follows the Russian order closely. The old alphabet has
all the vowels first, with the reduced ^ and ^ last, followed by the
semivowels y and v. The consonants range in order after that.
In transcription this alphabet ran as follows: a, e, i, i, u(o), ii, ^,
^. y, V, k, 1, V, m, n, n\ p, r, r*, s, s, t, t' , c, (f), x and S.
This is the order used in Ashmarin' s 17-volume Chuvash dictionary.
Note particularly that Russian e has the value of e, not of ^^e^as it
does in the present alphabet. Further, the sounds represented by
the present-day Russian letters H) and h were given in the old alphabet
as Sfy and Jfa.

About 1938 a revision of the Yakovlev alphabet was introduced
in Chuvashia, which mteant the dropping of the four letters JB, H, T
and "5 , the use of Russian 10 andH, as well as 3/0, the introduction
of the voiced consonants (b, d, g, z, z and so on) as part of the
alphabet, and the adoption of the Russian order of letters as given
in a second column.

68

In Western works on Turcology, the student may encounter yet
another transcription of Chuvash words. The chief differences are
that ^ = 1, a = ^, 8 = S, and ts = c. Other changes are easily under-
stood.

In the present work, we are going to use an English transcrip-
tion of the Chuvash alphabet, for several reasons. In the first
place, the English letters represent a mechanical substitution of
certain English letters for the corresponding Chuvash or Russian
letters, that is, a is a, t is t, and so on. The student faced with
learning the vocabulary and grammar of a new language should not
have the hurdle of new letters to contend with. When he has learned
what some words mean, then it will be meaningful to see them in
their native dress. Further, the relationships between Turkic
languages and Chuvash are more apparent when a Latin alphabet is
employed. Lastly, from a practical point of view, it is very dif-
ficult to prepare the text of such a work as the present one employ-
ing two or three typewriters at once, one for each of several script*
involved.

The reading selections accompanying this work are, however,
given in the regular Cyrillic alphabet for all contemporary selec-
tions, and the Latin alphabet is only used for folkloristic selections.
The student should begin to familiarize himself with the Russian-
type alphabet as soon as a few lessons have been covered, by be-
ginning one of the first reading selections in the modern script.

The English order of letters is used in the Glossary of the
Reader, and is as follows: a, ^, b, d, d, e, ^, f, g, i, i, k, 1, m,
n, o, p, r, s, i, s, t, u, u, v, x» Y* z, and z. Note that the RussmI
order differs by placing at the end some letters we are accustomed
to find at the beginning, and vice versa.

Krueger, John. 1961. Chuvash Manual.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press.