The Mongolian script, also known as the traditional Mongolian script, is a writing system that was developed for the Mongol language in the early thirteenth century. The script is derived from the Old Uyghur script, which was in turn derived from the Sogdian script, and it has been the official writing system of Mongolia for most of the country’s history. The script is written vertically from top to bottom and from left to right, and it has about 20 letters.
The Mongolian script is a major feature of the Mongolian national identity, and it is a major symbol of the cultural heritage of the Mongols. The script is also widely used in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China, where it is the official script of the Mongol minority. The script is, in this sense, a major contribution to the cultural heritage of the world, and it is one of the most distinctive writing systems in use today.
The Origins of the Script
The Mongolian script was developed in the early thirteenth century, when the Mongols adopted the Old Uyghur script for the writing of the Mongol language. The Uyghur script was originally developed for the Uyghur language, which was spoken in the Uyghur kingdom of Turfan, and it was widely used in Central Asia before the Mongol conquest. The Uyghur script was derived from the Sogdian script, which was in turn derived from the Syriac script.
The Mongols adopted the Uyghur script in the early thirteenth century, and they used it to write the Mongol language. The script was adapted for the Mongol language by the addition of new letters and the modification of existing letters, and the resulting writing system was used for the writing of the Yassa code of law, the Secret History of the Mongols, the imperial decrees, and a wide variety of other texts.
The Mongolian script was the official writing system of the Mongol Empire throughout the imperial period, and it was widely used in the khanates and the successor states. The script was eventually replaced by the ‘Phags-pa script in the late thirteenth century, and then by the Cyrillic script in the seventeenth century. The traditional Mongolian script was reintroduced in the twentieth century, and it is now the official script of Mongolia.
The Structure of the Script
The Mongolian script is a phonetic alphabet of about 20 letters, and it is written vertically from top to bottom and from left to right. The letters are connected to each other by a vertical line, and the letters are written in a way that is similar to the Arabic script. The script is read from top to bottom and from left to right, and the writing is typically done on paper or on parchment.
The Mongolian script has a number of distinctive features that are unusual in the world’s writing systems. The first is the direction of writing: the script is written vertically from top to bottom, which is a feature shared with only a few other writing systems, such as the traditional Chinese script. The second is the connection of the letters: the letters are connected to each other by a vertical line, which is a feature shared with the Arabic script. The third is the use of dots and other diacritical marks: the script uses a number of dots and other diacritical marks to indicate the pronunciation of the letters.
The ‘Phags-pa Script
In the late thirteenth century, a new writing system was devised for the Mongol language, this time based on the Tibetan script. The new script, called the ‘Phags-pa script (after the Tibetan monk ‘Phags-pa, who devised it), was used for the writing of the Mongol language and for the writing of the languages of the other khanates. The ‘Phags-pa script was a sophisticated writing system, and it was used officially for a few decades.
The ‘Phags-pa script was, however, eventually abandoned in favor of adaptations of existing scripts, and the script is now used only for the writing of certain ceremonial and religious texts. The ‘Phags-pa script is, however, significant as an early attempt to develop a writing system that could be used for all of the languages of the Mongol Empire, and it is a major step in the history of the Mongol writing systems.
The Cyrillic Script
In the seventeenth century, the Mongol language began to be written in a new script, this time based on the Cyrillic alphabet. The Cyrillic script was introduced by the Russian Empire, which had taken control of the Mongol territories of Buryatia and Kalmykia, and it became the standard script for the Buryat and Kalmyk languages. In Mongolia itself, the Mongolian script continued in use, although it was briefly replaced by the Latin alphabet in the 1930s and then by the Cyrillic alphabet in the 1940s. The Cyrillic script remained the official script of Mongolia until 1990, when the country began a gradual transition back to the traditional Mongolian script.
The Modern Mongolian Script
The modern Mongolian script, which is a modified version of the Uyghur script, is the official script of Mongolia, and it is used in education, government, and the media. The script is also widely used in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China, where it is the official script of the Mongol minority. The modern Mongolian script is a major feature of the Mongolian national identity, and it is a major symbol of the cultural heritage of the Mongols.
The modern Mongolian script has undergone a number of reforms in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The most important of these was the reform of 1990, when Mongolia began a gradual transition from the Cyrillic script to the traditional Mongolian script. The reform was completed in 2020, and the traditional Mongolian script is now the official script of Mongolia.
Sources
- Jack Weatherford, The Secret History of the Mongol Queens (New York, 2010).
- Anatoly M. Khazanov, Nomads and the Outside World (2nd ed., Madison, 1994).
- David Morgan, The Mongols (2nd ed., Oxford, 2007).