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| Moldovan Cyrillic | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Script type | |
Period | 1924–1932, 1938–present[1] |
| Languages | Romanian in theMoldavian SSR and other parts of the formerSoviet Union (known there asMoldovan) |
| Related scripts | |
Parent systems | Phoenician alphabet
|
Sister systems | Romanian Cyrillic alphabet |
| This article containsphonetic transcriptions in theInternational Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. For the distinction between[ ],/ / and ⟨ ⟩, seeIPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters. | |
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TheMoldovan Cyrillic alphabet is aCyrillic alphabet designed for theRomanian language spoken in theSoviet Union (Moldovan) and was in official use from 1924 to 1932 and 1938 to 1989. It is still in use today in the breakawayMoldovan region ofTransnistria.[1]
From the 12th to the 19th century, Romanian was usually written using alocal variant of theCyrillic alphabet. The earliest extant Romanian text is a 1521 letter written in such an alphabet.[2]
A variant based on the reformedRussian civil script was first introduced in the late 18th century, and became widespread inBessarabia after its annexation to theRussian Empire. The rest of thePrincipality of Moldavia gradually switched to aLatin-based alphabet, adopted officially after its union withWallachia that resulted in the creation ofRomania.[3] Grammars and dictionaries published in Bessarabia before 1917, both those that used the label "Moldovan" and the few that used "Romanian", used a version of the Cyrillic alphabet, with its use continuing in Bessarabia even after the 1918 union, in order to make the publications more accessible to peasant readers.[4]
The Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet was officially introduced in the early 1920s, as part of the Soviet bid to standardise the orthography of Romanian in theMoldavian ASSR. This also further Soviet political objectives by marking a clear distinction from the Latin-based Romanian orthography introduced in Romania in the 1860s. As was the case with other Cyrillic-based languages in the Soviet Union, such asRussian,Ukrainian orBelarusian, obsolete and redundant characters were dropped in an effort to simplify the orthography and boost literacy.
Cyrillic was briefly abandoned for a Latin-based Moldovan alphabet (in the Moldovan version of the alphabet, compared to the Romanian version, the letter â was missing) during the Union-wideLatinisation campaign in 1932.[5] Cyrillic returned to the official orthography for Moldovan through a 1938 declaration by the Central Executive Committee of theMoldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, now with an orthography more similar to standard Russian. Following theSoviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, it was established as the official alphabet of theMoldavian Soviet Socialist Republic until 1989, when a law returned to the standard, Latin-based, Romanian alphabet.[citation needed]
There were several requests to switch back to the Latin alphabet, which was seen "more suitable for the Romance core of the language", in the Moldavian SSR. In 1965, the demands of the 3rd Congress of Writers of Soviet Moldavia were rejected by the leadership of the Communist Party, the replacement being deemed "contrary to the interests of the Moldavian people and not reflecting its aspirations and hopes".[6] When the Republic of Moldovadeclared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, it returned to a Latin script as the official orthography for the Moldovan language. However, the breakawayTransnistra region has retained the Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet as their official alphabet.[1]
Moldovan Cyrillic spellings are still used in the media and in governmental publications in the Republic of Moldova for the names of settlements when writing in Russian, as opposed to using their Russian forms (e.g. Кишинэу is used in place of Кишинёв for the name of the city ofChișinău).[7]
All but one of the letters of this alphabet can be found in the modern Russian alphabet, with the exception being thezhe with breve: Ӂ ӂ (U+04C1, U+04C2).[1] The Russian lettersЁ,Щ, andЪ are absent from the Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet, and the former two are usually substituted with corresponding clusters ЬО and ШТ respectively.
The following chart shows the Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet compared with theRomanian Latin alphabet currently in use.IPA values are given for the post-1957 literary standard.
| Cyrillic letter: | Equates to Latin letter: | Name | As employed in this context: | IPA | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| А а | a | а (a) | /a/ | apă = апэ | |
| Б б | b | бе (be) | /b/ | burtă = буртэ | |
| В в | v | ве (ve) | /v/ | verde = верде | |
| Г г | g, gh | ге (ghe) | gh used beforei ore, elsewhereg | /ɡ/ | gheață = гяцэ,gât = гыт |
| Д д | d | де (de) | /d/ | dinte = динте | |
| Е е | e, ie | е (e) | ie after a vowel or if it alternates withia, elsewheree | /e/,/je/ | muiere = муере |
| Ж ж | j | же (je) | /ʒ/ | a înjunghia = а ынжунгя | |
| Ӂ ӂ | g, ge, gi | ӂе (ge) | g beforei ande,ge beforea,gi elsewhere | /dʒ/ | fulgerele = фулӂереле |
| З з | z | зе (ze) | /z/ | ziua = зиуа | |
| И и | i, ii[citation needed] | и (i) | ii used at end of word,i elsewhere | /i/ | codrii = кодрий |
| Й й | i | и скурт (i scurt) | before and after vowels | /j/ | pâine = пыйне |
| К к | c, ch | ка (ca) | ch beforei ande,c elsewhere | /k/ | chirilice = кириличе,câine = кыйне |
| Л л | l | ле (le) | /l/ | limba = лимба | |
| М м | m | ме (me) | /m/ | moldovenească = молдовеняскэ | |
| Н н | n | не (ne) | /n/ | sânge = сынӂе | |
| О о | o | о (o) | /o/ | ou = оу | |
| П п | p | пе (pe) | /p/ | pană = панэ | |
| Р р | r | ре (re) | /r/ | roșu = рошу | |
| С с | s | се (se) | /s/ | soare = соаре | |
| Т т | t | те (te) | /t/ | vânt = вынт | |
| У у | u | у (u) | /u/ | unu = уну | |
| Ф ф | f | фе (fe) | /f/ | frunză = фрунзэ | |
| Х х | h | ха (ha) | /h/ | harță = харцэ | |
| Ц ц | ț | це (țe) | /ts/ | ține = цине | |
| Ч ч | c, ce, ci | че (ce) | c beforei ande,ce beforea,ci elsewhere | /tʃ/ | ce = че |
| Ш ш | ș | ше (șe) | /ʃ/ | și = ши | |
| Ы ы | â, î | ы (î) | â andî | /ɨ/ | română = ромынэ,înțelegere = ынцелеӂере |
| Ь ь | i | семнул моале (semnul moale) | At end of word (usually) | /ʲ/ (i.e.palatalization of preceding consonant) | ochi = окь |
| Э э | ă | э (ă) | /ə/ | mână = мынэ | |
| Ю ю | iu | ю (iu) | /ju/,/ʲu/ | iulie = юлие | |
| Я я | ea, ia | я (ia) | ea after a consonant orе,ia elsewhere | /ja/,/ʲa/ | ceață = чяцэ,piatră = пятрэ |
This text is fromMihai Eminescu'sLuceafărul.
| Latin script | Moldovan Cyrillic script |
|---|---|
Privea în zare cum pe mări | Привя ын заре кум пе мэрь |
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