Manchu alphabet

Manchu script
Type
Languages Manchu language
Xibe language
Parent systems
Chinese (left) and Manchu (right) writing in the Forbidden City

The Manchu alphabet is the alphabet used to write the now nearly extinct Manchu language; a similar script is used today by the Xibe people, who speak a language variably considered as either a dialect of Manchu or a closely related, mutually intelligible, language. It is written vertically from top to bottom, with columns proceeding from left to right.

History

According to the Veritable Records (Manchu: manju-i yargiyan kooli; Chinese: 滿洲實錄; pinyin: Mǎnzhōu Shílù), in 1599 the Manchu leader Nurhaci decided to convert the Mongolian alphabet to make it suitable for the Manchu people. He decried the fact that while illiterate Han Chinese and Mongolians could understand their respective languages when read aloud, that was not the case for the Manchus, whose documents were recorded by Mongolian scribes. Overriding the objections of two advisors named Erdeni and G'ag'ai, he is credited with adapting the Mongolian script to Manchu. The resulting script was known as tongki fuka akū hergen ("script without dots and circles").

In 1632, Dahai added diacritical marks to clear up a lot of the ambiguity present in the original Mongolian script; for instance, a leading k, g, and h are distinguished by the placement of no diacritical mark, a dot, and a circle respectively. This revision created the Standard script, known as tongki fuka sindaha hergen ("script with dots and circles"). As a result, the Manchu alphabet contains little ambiguity. Recently discovered manuscripts from the 1620s make clear, however, that the addition of dots and circles to Manchu script began before their supposed introduction by Dahai.

Dahai also added ten graphemes (tulergi hergen: "foreign (outer) letters"), to allow Manchu to be used to write Chinese and Sanskrit loanwords. Previously, these words contained sounds that did not have corresponding letters in Manchu.[1] Sounds that were transliterated included the aspirated sounds kʰ, gʰ, h; ts' (Chinese pinyin: c); ts (Chinese pinyin: ci); sy (Chinese pinyin: si); dz (Chinese pinyin: z); c'y (Chinese pinyin: chi); jy (Chinese pinyin: zhi); and ž (Chinese pinyin: r).[2]

By the middle of the nineteenth century, there were three styles of writing Manchu in use: standard script (ginggulere hergen), semicursive script (gidara hergen), and cursive script (lasihire hergen). Semicursive script had less spacing between the letters, and cursive script had rounded tails.[3]

The Manchu alphabet was also used to write Chinese. Manchu: a textbook for reading documents, by Gertraude Roth Li, contains a list comparing a romanization of Chinese syllables written in Manchu compared to pinyin and Wade Giles.[4] Using the Manchu script to transliterate Chinese words is a source of loanwords for the Xibe language.[5] Several Chinese-Manchu dictionaries contain Chinese characters transliterated with Manchu script and the Manchu version of the Thousand Character Classic is actually the Manchu transcription of all the Chinese characters. Also existing as a transliteration was the Manchu version of the Honglou meng (紅樓夢).[6]

In the "Imperial Liao Jin Yuan Three Histories National Language Explanation" (欽定遼金元三史國語解 Qinding Liao Jin Yuan sanshi guoyujie) commissioned by the Qianlong Emperor, the Manchu alphabet is used to write Evenki words. In the Pentaglot Dictionary also commissioned by the Qianlong Emperor the Manchu alphabet is used to transcribe Tibetan and Chagatai words.

Alphabet

The word “Manju” (Manchu) written in Manchu script.

Whether the Manchu script is alphabetic or a syllabary is disputed. Manchus learnt their script like a syllabary, while westerners treated it like an alphabet. The Manchus learnt their script as a syllabary, with syllables divided into twelve different classes based on the finals phonemes of the syllables. Today, the opinion on whether it is alphabet or syllabic in nature is still split between different experts. In China, it is considered syllabic and Manchu is still taught in this manner. The alphabetic approach is used mainly by foreigners who want to learn the language. Studying Manchu script as a syllabary takes a longer time.[7][8]

Characters Transliteration Unicode Notes
isolated initial medial final
Vowels [9]
ᠠ ᠠ᠊ ᠊ᠠ᠊ ᠊ᠠ a 1820
᠊ᠠ᠋
ᡝ ᡝ᠊ ᠊ᡝ᠊ ᠊ᡝ e 185D Second final form is used after [k] [g] [x] kh gh hh [10]
()
ᡳ ᡳ᠊ ᠊ᡳ᠊ ᠊ᡳ i 1873
᠊ᡳ᠌᠊
᠊ᡳ᠍᠊ ᠊ᡳ᠋
᠊ᡳ᠌
ᠣ ᠣ᠊ ᠊ᠣ᠊ ᠊ᠣ o 1823
᠊ᠣ᠋
ᡠ ᡠ᠊ ᠊ᡠ᠊ ᠊ᡠ u 1860
??
ᡡ ᡡ᠊ ᠊ᡡ᠊ ᠊ᡡ ū/uu/v
ᡟ () ᠊ᡟ᠊ ᠊ᡟ y/y/i' 185F
Consonants [11]
ᠨ ᠨ᠊ ᠊ᠨ᠋᠊ ᠊ᠨ ??? n 1828 First medial form is used before vowels; second is used before consonants
᠊ᠨ᠊
ᠩ ᠊ᠩ᠊ ᠊ᠩ ng 1829 First medial form is used before i o u ū; second is used before e i
ᡴ ᡴ᠊ ᠊ᡴ᠊ ᠊ᡴ k [q] 1874 First medial form is used before a o ū; second is used before consonants
᠊ᡴ᠋᠊
() ᠊ᡴ᠌᠊ ᠊ᡴ᠋ k [k] 1874
ᡤ ᡤ᠊ ᠊ᡤ᠊ g [ɢ] 1864
g [g] 1864
ᡥ ᡥ᠊ ᠊ᡥ᠊ h [χ] 1865
h [x] 1865
ᠪ ᠪ᠊ ᠊ᠪ᠊ ᠊ᠪ b 182A
ᡦ ᡦ᠊ ᠊ᡦ᠊ p 1866
ᠰ ᠰ᠊ ᠊ᠰ᠊ ᠊ᠰ s 1867
ᡧ ᡧ᠊ ᠊ᡧ᠊ ᠊ᡧ š 1867
ᡨ ᡨ᠋᠊ ᠊ᡨ᠋᠊ t 1868 First initial and medial forms are used before a o i;

second initial and medial forms are used before e u ū;
third medial form is used before consonants

᠊ᡨ
ᡨ᠊ ᠊ᡨ᠊
ᡩ ᡩ᠊ ᠊ᡩ᠊ d 1869 First initial and medial forms are used before a o i;

second initial and medial forms are used before e u ū

ᡩ᠋᠊ ᠊ᡩ᠋᠊
ᠯ ᠯ᠊ ᠊ᠯ᠊ ᠊ᠯ l 182F
ᠮ ᠮ᠊ ᠊ᠮ᠊ ᠊ᠮ m 182E
ᠴ ᠴ᠊ ᠊ᠴ᠊ c/ch/c 1834
ᠵ ᠵ᠊ ᠊ᠵ᠊ j/zh/j 1835
ᠶ ᠶ᠊ ᠊ᠶ᠊ y 1836
ᡵ ᡵ᠊ ᠊ᡵ᠊ ᠊ᡵ r 1875
ᡶ ᡶ᠊ ᠊ᡶ᠊ f 1876 First initial and medial forms are used before a e;

second initial and medial forms are used before i o u ū

ᡶ‍᠋ ᠊‍ᡶ‍
ᠸ ᠸ᠊ ᠊ᠸ᠊ v (w) 1838
ᠺ ᠺ᠊ ᠊ᠺ᠊ k'/kk/k῾/k’ 183A
ᡬ ᡬ᠊ ᠊ᡬ᠊ g'/gg/ǵ/g’ 186C
ᡭ ᡭ᠊ ᠊ᡭ᠊ h'/hh/h́/h’ 186D
ᡮ ᡮ᠊ ᠊ᡮ᠊ ts'/c/ts῾/c 186E
ᡯ ᡯ᠊ ᠊ᡯ᠊ dz/z/dz/z 186F
ᡰ ᡰ᠊ ᠊ᡰ᠊ ž/rr/ž/r’ 1870
ᡱ ᡱ᠊ ᠊ᡱ᠊ c'/ch/c῾/c’ 1871
ᡷ ᡷ᠊ ᠊ᡷ᠊ j/zh/j̊/j’ 1877

Punctuation

The Manchu alphabet has two kinds of punctuation: two dots (᠉), analogous to a period; and one dot (᠈), analogous to a comma. However, with the exception of lists of nouns being reliably punctuated by single dots, punctuation in Manchu is inconsistent, and therefore not of much use as an aid to readability.[12]

The equivalent of the question mark in Manchu script consists of some special particles, written at the end of the question.[13]

Jurchen script

The Jurchens of a millennium ago became the ancestors of the Manchus when Nurhaci united the Jianzhou Jurchens (1593-1618) and his son subsequently renamed the consolidated tribes "Manchu". Throughout this period, the Jurchen language evolved into what we know as the Manchu language. The Jurchen script has no relation to the Manchu alphabet, however, as their script was derived from the Khitan script, which was in turn derived from Chinese characters.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gorelova, L: "Manchu Grammar", page 50. Brill, 2002.
  2. ↑ Gorelova, L: "Manchu Grammar", pages 71-72. Brill, 2002.
  3. ↑ Gorelova, L: "Manchu Grammar", page 72. Brill, 2002.
  4. ↑ Gertraude Roth Li (2000). Manchu: a textbook for reading documents. Hawaii, USA: University of Hawaii Press. p. 370. ISBN 0824822064. Retrieved 25 March 2012. Manchu transliteration of Chinese syllables Some Chinese syllables are transliterated in different ways. There may be additional versions to those listed below. *W-G stands for Wade-Giles
  5. ↑ Gertraude Roth Li (2000). Manchu: a textbook for reading documents. Hawaii, USA: University of Hawaii Press. p. 294. ISBN 0824822064. Retrieved 25 March 2012. f) Transliteration of Chinese words and compounds. Though most Chinese words in Manchu are easily recognizable to students familiar with Chinese, it is helpful to remember the most important rules that govern the transliteration of Chinese words into Manchu.
  6. ↑ Salmon, Claudine, ed. (2013). Literary Migrations: Traditional Chinese Fiction in Asia (17th-20th Centuries). Volume 19 of Nalanda-Sriwijaya series (reprint ed.). Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. p. 102. ISBN 9814414328. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  7. ↑ Gertraude Roth Li (2000). Manchu: a textbook for reading documents. University of Hawaii Press. p. 16. ISBN 0824822064. Retrieved 25 March 2012. Alphabet: Some scholars consider the Manchu script to be a syllabic one.
  8. ↑ Gertraude Roth Li (2010). Manchu: A Textbook for Reading Documents (Second Edition) (2 ed.). Natl Foreign Lg Resource Ctr. p. 16. ISBN 0980045959. Retrieved 1 March 2012. Alphabet: Some scholars consider the Manchu script to be a syllabic one. Others see it as having an alphabet with individual letters, some of which differ according to their position within a word. Thus, whereas Denis Sinor aruged in favor of a syllabic theory,30 Louis Ligeti preferred to consider the Manchu script and alphabetical one.31()
  9. ↑ Gorelova, L: "Manchu Grammar", page 59. Brill, 2002.
  10. ↑ Gorelova, L: "Manchu Grammar", page 53. Brill, 2002.
  11. ↑ Gorelova, L: "Manchu Grammar", page 70. Brill, 2002.
  12. ↑ Li, G: "Manchu: A Textbook for Reading Documents", page 21. University of Hawai'i Press, 2000.
  13. ↑ Gorelova, L: "Manchu Grammar", page 74. Brill, 2002.

External links