Yakut

Yakut (саха тыла)

Yakut or Sakha is a Turkic language with about 363,000 speakers
in the Russian Federation, mainly in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)
and also in the Amur, Magadan, Sakhalin regions and the Taimyr
and Evenki autonomous districts.

Yakut first appeared in writing in 1692 as part of a book by the
traveller N. Witsen and published in Amsterdam. The first literary work
in Yakut Reminiscences by A. Y. Uvarovsky
and its German translation was published in 1851 as a part of Otto N.
Böhtlingk’s work About the Yakut language. Böhtlingk
used an alphabet based on Cyrillic with some special characters.

Between 1922-1939 a version of the Latin alphabet devised by S.A. Novgorodov
was used to write Yakut, and since 1939 the Cyrillic alphabet has been used.

Yakut alphabet

Latin alphabet for Yakut

Long vowels and diphthongs

Yakut long vowels and diphthongs

Notes

  • The letters in red are used only in Russian loanwords.
  • the long нь sound is written as ннь, e.g. оонньоо
  • Yakut has vowel harmony:
    back vowels are а, аа, ы, ыы, ыа, о, оо, у, уу and уо;
    front vowels are э, ээ, и, ии, иэ, ө, өө, ү, үү and үө
    back-unrounded vowels are а, аа, ы, ыы and ыа;
    front-unrounded are э, ээ, и, ии and иэ;
    back-rounded vowels are о, оо, у, уу and уо;
    front-rounded are ө, өө, ү, үү and үө
  • Between vowels, с usually becaomes h, e.g. Aлааhым = Aлаас+ым “my Allas”.
  • glide й is not indicated in writing.

Sample text

Дьон барыта бэйэ суолтатыгар уонна быраабыгар тэҥ буолан төрүүллэр. Кинилэр бары өркөн өйдөөх, суобастаах буолан төрүүллэр, уонна бэйэ бэйэлэригэр тылга кииринигэс быһыылара доҕордоһуу тыыннаах буолуохтаах.

Transliteration

Con barıta beye suoltatıgar uonna bıraabıgar
teñ buolan törüüller. Kininler barı
örkön öydööx, suobastaax buolan
törüüller, uonna beye beyeleriger tılga
kiiriniges bıhıılara doğordohuu
tıınnaax buoluoxtaax.

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason
and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

  • Categoria dell'articolo:Lingue
  • Tempo di lettura:3 minuti di lettura