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Clear script is a Mongol alphabet created in 1648 by the Oirat
Buddhist monk Zaya Pandita Oktorguin Dalai
for the Oirat
Mongol language. to It was developed on the basis of the traditional Hudum Mongolian alphabet with the goal of distinguishing all sounds in the spoken language, and to make it easier to transcribe Tibetan
and Sanskrit
.
, which itself was descendant from Aramaic. Aramaic is an abjad
, an alphabet that has no symbols for vowels, and clear script is the first in this line of descendants to develop a full system of symbols for all the vowel sounds.
The script was used by Kalmyks
of Russia
until 1924, when it was replaced by the Cyrillic alphabet. In Xinjiang, China the Oirat people still use it, although today Mongolian education is taught in Chahar Mongolian all across China.
There is an alphabetic order in clear script, as in other related scripts, but the order for clear script is not the same as its Mongolian parents or Aramaic ancestors.
Oirats
Oirats are the westernmost group of the Mongols who unified several tribes origin whose ancestral home is in the Altai region of western Mongolia. Although the Oirats originated in the eastern parts of Central Asia, the most prominent group today is located in the Republic of Kalmykia, a federal...
Buddhist monk Zaya Pandita Oktorguin Dalai
Zaya Pandit
Zaya Pandita or Namkhaijantsan was a Buddhist missionary priest and scholar of Oirat origin who is the most prominent Oirat Buddhist scholar....
for the Oirat
Oirat language
Oirat belongs to the group of Mongolic languages. Scholars differ as to whether Oirat is a distinct language or a major dialect of the Mongolian language...
Mongol language. to It was developed on the basis of the traditional Hudum Mongolian alphabet with the goal of distinguishing all sounds in the spoken language, and to make it easier to transcribe Tibetan
Tibetan language
The Tibetan languages are a cluster of mutually-unintelligible Tibeto-Burman languages spoken primarily by Tibetan peoples who live across a wide area of eastern Central Asia bordering the Indian subcontinent, including the Tibetan Plateau and the northern Indian subcontinent in Baltistan, Ladakh,...
and Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
.
History
The clear script is a Mongolian script, whose obvious closest forebear is vertical Mongolian. This Mongolian script was descendant from the Old Uyghur alphabetOld Uyghur alphabet
The Old Uyghur alphabet was used for writing the Old Uyghur language, a variety of Old Turkic spoken in the Tarim basin, which is an ancestor of the modern Uyghur language. It was descendant of the Sogdian alphabet, used for texts with Buddhist, Manichaean and Christian content for 700–800 years in...
, which itself was descendant from Aramaic. Aramaic is an abjad
Abjad
An abjad is a type of writing system in which each symbol always or usually stands for a consonant; the reader must supply the appropriate vowel....
, an alphabet that has no symbols for vowels, and clear script is the first in this line of descendants to develop a full system of symbols for all the vowel sounds.
Formation
As mentioned above the clear script was developed as a better way to write Mongolian, specifically of the Western Mongolian groups of the Oirats and Kalmyks. The practicality of clear script lies in the fact that it was supremely created in order to dissolve any ambiguities that might appear when one attempts to write down a language. Not only were vowels assigned symbols, but all existing symbols were clarified. All of the 'old' symbols, those that did not change from the previously used script, were assigned a fixed meaning, based mostly on their Uyghur ancestors. New symbols and diacritical marks were added to show vowels and vowel lengths, as well as distinguish between voiced and unvoiced consonants. There were even some marks which denoted between sounds like ši and si which are not so important for words written in the Oirat language of clear script, but are useful for the transcription of foreign words and names.Usage
The clear script was used by Oirat and neighboring Mongols, mostly in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The text was widely used by its creator and others to translate Buddhist works so that they might better spread the Buddhist religion throughout western Mongolia. Though the script was useful for translating works from other languages, especially Tibetan, it was also used more informally, as evidenced by some letters from the late 1690s.The script was used by Kalmyks
Kalmyk people
Kalmyk people is the name given to the Oirats, western Mongols in Russia, whose descendants migrated from Dzhungaria in 1607. Today they form a majority in the autonomous Republic of Kalmykia on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. Kalmykia is Europe's only Buddhist government...
of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
until 1924, when it was replaced by the Cyrillic alphabet. In Xinjiang, China the Oirat people still use it, although today Mongolian education is taught in Chahar Mongolian all across China.
Writing in clear script
This script is a vertical script, as was its 'vertical Mongolian' parent script. Letters and diacritics are written along a central axis. Portions of letters to the right of the axis generally slant up, and portions to the left of the axis generally slant down. The only signs that do not follow these rules are the horizontal signs for S Š and part of Ö. Words are delineated by a space, as well as different letter forms. Though most letters only come in one shape, there are some letters that look different depending on where in the word they occur, whether they are initial, medial, or final.There is an alphabetic order in clear script, as in other related scripts, but the order for clear script is not the same as its Mongolian parents or Aramaic ancestors.
Tables
See also
- Mongolian writing systems
- Mongolian scriptMongolian scriptThe classical Mongolian script , also known as Uyghurjin, was the first writing system created specifically for the Mongolian language, and was the most successful until the introduction of Cyrillic in 1946...
- Soyombo scriptSoyombo scriptThe Soyombo script is an abugida developed by the Mongolian monk and scholar Bogdo Zanabazar in 1686 to write Mongolian.It can also be used to write Tibetan and Sanskrit....