The coat of arms of the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic circa 1929. "Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic" is written (from top to bottom) in Tajik Latin, Tajik Arabic and Russian Cyrillic.

The Tajik alphabet (Arabic: ‫اﻟﻔﺒﺎﯼ ﺗﺎﺟﮑﯽ‬, Cyrillic: алифбои тоҷикӣ, Latin: alifboi toǧikī) of the Tajik language has been written in three writing systems; variants of the Arabic script, Cyrillic script and Latin script at different stages of history. The most widely used alphabet in Tajikistan is currently a modified version of the Cyrillic alphabet. A modern coat of arms is derived from the medi val practice of painting designs onto the shield and outer clothing of knights to enable them to be identified in battle, and later in tournaments. ... State motto: Пролетарҳои ҳамаи мамлакатҳо, як шавед! Official language None. ... 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing the Arabic language, which is the language of the Quran, the holy book of Islam. ... The Cyrillic alphabet (or azbuka, from the old name of the first two letters) is an alphabet used to write six natural Slavic languages (Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Serbian, and Ukrainian) and many other languages of the former Soviet Union, Asia and Eastern Europe. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Tajik or Tadjik (тоҷикӣ, تاجیکی, tojikí) is a descendant of the Persian language spoken in Central Asia. ... Writing Systems of the World today A Specimen of typeset fonts and languages, by William Caslon, letter founder; from the 1728 Cyclopaedia. ... The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing the Arabic language, which is the language of the Quran, the holy book of Islam. ... The Cyrillic alphabet (or azbuka, from the old name of the first letters) is an alphabet used to write six natural Slavic languages (Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Serbian, and Ukrainian) and many other languages of the former Soviet Union, Asia and Eastern Europe. ... The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world, the standard script of the English language and most of the languages of western and central Europe, and of those areas settled by Europeans. ... The Cyrillic alphabet (or azbuka, from the old name of the first two letters) is an alphabet used to write six natural Slavic languages (Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Serbian, and Ukrainian) and many other languages of the former Soviet Union, Asia and Eastern Europe. ...

As with many post-Soviet independent states, the change in writing system, and the debate surrounding it is closely intertwined with political themes. In simple terms, the Latin alphabet is supported by pan-Turkists, who wish to bring the country closer to Uzbekistan and the other Turkic states in the area. The Arabic alphabet is supported by Islamists, and those who wish to bring the country closer to Iran. As the current de-facto standard, the Cyrillic alphabet is generally supported by those who wish to maintain the status quo, and not distance the country from Russia. State motto (Russian): Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (Transliterated: Proletarii vsekh stran, soedinyaytes!) (Translated: Workers of the world, unite!) Capital Moscow Official language None; Russian (de facto) Government Federation of Soviet republics Area  - Total  - % water 1st before collapse 22,402,200 km² Approx. ... Writing Systems of the World today A Specimen of typeset fonts and languages, by William Caslon, letter founder; from the 1728 Cyclopaedia. ... It has been suggested that Turanism be merged into this article or section. ... Islamism is a political ideology derived from the conservative religious views of Muslim fundamentalism. ...

History

As a result of the influence of Islam in the region, Tajik was written in the Arabic script up to the 1920s. The Soviets began by simplifying the Perso-Arabic script in 1923, before moving to a Latin based system in 1927 ^[1]. The Latin script was introduced by the Soviet Union as part of an effort to increase literacy and distance the, at that time largely illiterate population, from the Islamic Middle East. Islam (Arabic: ; ) is a monotheistic religion based on Abrahamic theology. ... The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing the Arabic language, which is the language of the Quran, the holy book of Islam. ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 3 - Babe Ruth is traded by the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees for $125,000, the largest sum ever paid for a player at that time. ... State motto (Russian): Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (Transliterated: Proletarii vsekh stran, soedinyaytes!) (Translated: Workers of the world, unite!) Capital Moscow Official language None; Russian (de facto) Government Federation of Soviet republics Area  - Total  - % water 1st before collapse 22,402,200 km² Approx. ... The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing the Arabic language, which is the language of the Quran, the holy book of Islam. ... 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ...

The Decree on Romanisation made this law in April, 1928 ^[2]. There were also practical considerations. The Perso-Arabic alphabet in use does not provide sufficient letters for representing the vowel system of Tajik. In addition, the alphabet is more difficult to learn, each letter having different forms depending on the position in the word ^[3]. The literacy campaign was successful, with near universal literacy being achieved by the 1950s. 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... World literacy rates by country The traditional definition of Literacy is the ability to use language ie to read, write, listen and speak. ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

As part of the "russification" of Central Asia, the Cyrillic script was introduced in the late 1930s. The alphabet remained Cyrillic until the end of the 1980s with the disintegration of the Soviet Union. In 1989, with the growth in Tajik nationalism, a law was enacted declaring Tajik the state language. In addition, the law officially equated Tajik with Persian, placing the word Farsi after Tajik. The law also called for a gradual reintroduction of the Arabic alphabet. Russification is an adoption of the Russian language or some other Russian attribute (whether voluntarily or not) by non-Russian communities. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Cyrillic alphabet (or azbuka, from the old name of the first letters) is an alphabet used to write six natural Slavic languages (Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Serbian, and Ukrainian) and many other languages of the former Soviet Union, Asia and Eastern Europe. ... 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Tajiks (Persian: تاجيک) are one of the principal ethnic groups of Central Asia, and are primarily found in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Pakistan, and the Xinjiang province of China. ... An official language is a language that is given a privileged legal status in a state, or other legally-defined territory. ... Persian is a language spoken in Iran, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Southern Russia, neighboring countries, and elsewhere. ... The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing in the Arabic language. ...

An illustrated manuscript written circa 1492 by Jami, a Tajik (Persian) poet. The writing is in Perso-Arabic script.

The Perso-Arabic script was introduced into education and public life, although the departure of the Islamic Party of Revival in 1992 slowed down the adoption. In 1999, the word Farsi was removed from the state language law ^[4]. As of 2006, the de-facto standard in use is the modified form of Cyrillic, and only a minority of the population can read the Arabic alphabet ^[5]. 1492 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Youth seeking his fathers advice Miniature illustration to the Haft Awrang of Jami, in the story A Father Advises his Son About Love See Sufi outlook on male love Freer and Sackler Galleries, The Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. Persian youth playing chess with two suitors Illustration to the Haft... The Tajiks are one of the principal ethnic groups of Central Asia, and are primarily found in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. ... Persian may refer to more than one article: the Western name for Iranian (see Iran/Persia naming controversy) Persian, an Iranian language the Persians, an ethnic group a Persian, a breed of cat Persian, a Pokémon character Etymology English Persian < Old English, < Latin *Persianus, < Latin Persia, < ancient Greek Persis... A poet is some one who writes poetry. ... The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing the Arabic language, which is the language of the Quran, the holy book of Islam. ... The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing the Arabic language, which is the language of the Quran, the holy book of Islam. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... 2006 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Cyrillic alphabet (or azbuka, from the old name of the first letters) is an alphabet used to write six natural Slavic languages (Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Serbian, and Ukrainian) and many other languages of the former Soviet Union, Asia and Eastern Europe. ...

Variants

Arabic

A variant of the Perso-Arabic alphabet is used to write Tajik. The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing the Arabic language, which is the language of the Quran, the holy book of Islam. ...

Latin

The Latin script was introduced after the Russian Revolution in order to facilitate an increase in literacy and distance the language from Islamic influence. The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world, the standard script of the English language and most of the languages of western and central Europe, and of those areas settled by Europeans. ... Russian Revolution can refer to the following events in the history of Russia: The Russian Revolution of 1905 was a series of strikes and anti-government violence against Tsar Nicholas II The Russian Revolution of 1917, which included: February Revolution, which resulted in the abdication of Nicholas II of Russia... Islam (Arabic: ; ) is a monotheistic religion based on Abrahamic theology. ...

A political poster circa 1920 written in the Latin alphabet.

The unusual character Ƣ is called Gha. 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 3 - Babe Ruth is traded by the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees for $125,000, the largest sum ever paid for a player at that time. ... The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world today. ... The letter (miniscule: ) is a letter that has been used in various Latin orthographies for Turkic languages, such as Tatar. ...

Cyrillic

Advertising in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, using the modified Cyrillic alphabet.

Tajik written in Cyrillic was introduced in Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic in the late 1930s, replacing the Latin alphabet that had been used since the Bolshevik revolution. After 1939, materials published in Persian in the Perso-Arabic script were banned from the country ^[6]. Dushanbe (Душанбе), population 562,000 people (2000 census), is the capital of Tajikistan. ... In politics a capital (also called capital city or political capital — although the latter phrase has an alternative meaning based on an alternative meaning of capital) is the principal city or town associated with its government. ... The Cyrillic alphabet (or azbuka, from the old name of the first two letters) is an alphabet used to write six natural Slavic languages (Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Serbian, and Ukrainian) and many other languages of the former Soviet Union, Asia and Eastern Europe. ... The Cyrillic alphabet (or azbuka, from the old name of the first letters) is an alphabet used to write six natural Slavic languages (Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Serbian, and Ukrainian) and many other languages of the former Soviet Union, Asia and Eastern Europe. ... 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world today. ... The October Revolution, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was the second phase of the Russian Revolution, the first having been instigated by the events around the February Revolution. ...

In addition to these thirty-five letters, the letters Ц ц, Щ щ, and Ы ы can be found in loan words. The letter Ь ь was dropped by a 1998 reform. A loanword (or a borrowing) is a word taken in by one language from another. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

The alphabet includes a number of letters not found in the Russian alphabet: The modern Russian alphabet is a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet (Кириллица). It was introduced into Kievan Rus (Киевская Русь) at the time of its conversion to Christianity (988), or, if certain archaelogical finds are correctly dated, at a slightly earlier date. ...

Description	Г with bar	И with macron	К with descender	У with breve	Х with descender	Ч with descender
Letter	Ғ	Ӣ	Қ	Ў	Ҳ	Ҷ
Phoneme	/ɣ/	/iʲ/	/q/	/ø/	/h/	/ʤ/

Ge or He (Г, г) is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet, pronounced differently in different languages. ... The bar or stroke can be a diacritic mark, when used with some letters in the Latin or Cyrillic alphabets. ... I or Y (И, и) is a letter in the Cyrillic alphabet, pronounced in Russian, or in Ukrainian. ... A macron (from Gr. ... Ka (К, к) is a letter in the Cyrillic alphabet, representing the consonant /k/. It corresponds to the Roman K in origin, pronunciation, and appearance. ... The descenders are the parts of the characters that lie below the baseline, highlighted in red. ... U (У, у) is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet, representing the vowel /u/. Categories: Cyrillic letters | Language stubs ... This article is about the breve breve in music, see double whole note. ... Kha, or Ha, (Х, х) is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet, representing the voiceless velar fricative /x/ (pronounced like the ch in German Bach). It is derived from the Greek letter chi (Χ, χ). Categories: Cyrillic letters | Language stubs ... The descenders are the parts of the characters that lie below the baseline, highlighted in red. ... Che (Ч, ч) is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet, representing the consonant cluster /tS/ or /tS/ (like the ch in change). Categories: Cyrillic letters | Language stubs ... The descenders are the parts of the characters that lie below the baseline, highlighted in red. ... Short U (Ў, ў) is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet, representing the short semi-vowel in the Belarusian language, pronounced similarly to W in English. ...

Samples

Gallery

See also

• Language planning
• Official script
• Persian alphabet
• Transliteration of Tajik Cyrillic

Language planning refers to deliberate efforts to influence the behaviour of others with respect to the acquisition, structure, or functional allocation of language. ... An official script is a script that is specifically designated to be official in the constitutions or other applicable laws of countries, states, and other territories. ... It has been suggested that Persian language#Arabic Alphabet be merged into this article or section. ...

Notes

1. ↑  Keller, S. (2001) To Moscow, Not Mecca: The Soviet Campaign Against Islam in Central Asia, 1917-1941
2. ↑  Dickens, M. (1988) Soviet Language Policy in Central Asia
3. ↑  Khudonazar, A. (2004) "The Other" in Berkeley Program in Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies, November 1, 2004.
4. ↑  Siddikzoda, S. "Tajik Language: Farsi or not Farsi?" in Media Insight Central Asia #27, August 2002
5. ↑  Library of Congress Country Study - Tajikistan
6. ↑  Perry, J. R. (1996) "Tajik literature: Seventy years is longer than the millennium" in World Literature Today, Vol. 70 Issue 3, p. 571

References

• Goodman, E. R. (1956) "The Soviet Design for a World Language." in Russian Review 15 (2): 85-99.

External links

• Omniglot - Tajik (Тоҷики / تاجيكي)