Mongolian writing systems

Various Mongolian writing systems have been created for the Mongolian language over many centuries, using many different kinds of scripts. The oldest and most traditional one is called the Mongolian script. This script has been very important in Mongolian history and is still used today in the Inner Mongolia region of China, as well as in everyday life in Mongolia.

From this traditional script, many new alphabets grew. Some were made to fix problems people saw in the old script, while others were designed to write down languages like Chinese, Sanskrit, and Tibetan. In the 1900s, Mongolia tried using the Latin script for a short time. But soon after, the country changed to a version of the Cyrillic alphabet. This helped people learn to read and write much better, with many more people becoming literate.

Even though Mongolia mostly uses the Cyrillic alphabet now, people in Inner Mongolia and other parts of China still use alphabets based on the older Mongolian script. In March 2020, the Government of Mongolia decided that the traditional Mongolian script should be used along with the Cyrillic script in important papers like identity documents, academic certificates, birth certificates, and marriage certificates. This change was planned to happen by 2025, though people could still choose to use just the Cyrillic script for less formal writing.

Precursors

The Xianbei spoke an early form of the Mongolian language and used Chinese characters to write it down, similar to how the Japanese used Chinese characters long ago. Unfortunately, all of their writings have been lost over time.

Later, the Rouran language was decoded in 2019 using new discoveries from the Brāhmī Bugut and Khüis Tolgoi sites, and it was found to be written in Brahmi script. The Khitan people, who also spoke a related language, created two special writing systems called the Khitan large script and Khitan small script, both based on Chinese characters.

Classic Mongolian scripts

Main article: Mongolian script

Main article: Galik alphabet

Main article: Clear script

The Mongolian language has many writing systems. The traditional Mongolian script began around 1204 when Genghis Khan captured a scribe named Tata-tonga. This scribe adapted the Uyghur alphabet to write Mongol, and it is still used today in Inner Mongolia. One special feature is that it is written vertically from left to right, unlike most other vertical scripts.

Over time, new alphabets were created. In 1587, the Galik alphabet was made to help write words from Tibetan, Sanskrit, Chinese, and Russian. In 1648, the Todo alphabet was created by a Buddhist monk to better match the Oirat language and make writing Tibetan and Sanskrit easier. This script was used by Kalmyks in Russia until 1924 and is still used by some Oirats in Xinjiang, China.

'Phags-pa script (Square script)

Main article: 'Phags-pa script

During the Yuan dynasty, Kublai Khan asked a Tibetan monk, Drogön Chögyal Phagpa, to create a new writing system for the whole empire. Phagpa used his Tibetan script as a base and added symbols for Mongolian and Chinese sounds. This new script became known as the 'Phags-pa script. Though it was not widely used and mostly disappeared after the Yuan dynasty ended in 1368, some experts think it may have helped shape the Korean hangul alphabet.

Soyombo script

Main article: Soyombo script

The Soyombo script is a special way of writing created by a Mongolian monk named Bogdo Zanabazar in the late 1600s. It can be used to write Mongolian, Tibetan, and Sanskrit. One special sign from this script, called the Soyombo symbol, became important for Mongolia and is shown on the country's flag and coat of arms, as well as on money and stamps.

Zanabazar made this script to help translate Buddhist books from Sanskrit and Tibetan. People still see it today in old writings on temples, and it helps experts learn more about how the Mongolian language changed over time.

Horizontal square script

Main article: Horizontal square script

Zanabazar created the horizontal square script (Хэвтээ дөрвөлжин) around the same time, but it wasn’t found again until 1801. This script was inspired by the Tibetan alphabet and was read from left to right. It used special marks above and below letters to show vowels, and a dot below letters to show the end of a syllable.

Today, the horizontal square script is part of the Unicode Standard, known as “Zanabazar Square.” Its 72 characters were added to Unicode in June 2017.

Foreign scripts

Before the 13th century, people used scripts from other cultures like the Uighur and Tibetan scripts to write the Mongolian language. Even during the time of the Mongol Empire, people in different areas often wrote Mongolian using their own local writing systems. Sometimes, Mongolian was written using Chinese characters, like in the surviving copies of The Secret History of the Mongols. People from the Middle East working in administrative jobs often used Perso-Arabic script for their Mongolian documents.

Latin script

Main article: Mongolian Latin alphabet

On February 1, 1930, Mongolia chose to use a Latin alphabet for writing. But by March 25, 1941, they changed their minds. The Latin alphabet was said to be difficult for the Mongolian language because it didn’t show all the sounds correctly. Even though some letters like “y” were used for certain sounds, many letters like f, h, p, and v were hardly ever used. Later, Mongolia started using the Cyrillic script, which is used in many countries like Russia. Today, many people online prefer using the Latin script because it’s easier to type.

Cyrillic script

Main article: Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet

Today, Mongolia mainly uses the Cyrillic script, which is the Russian alphabet with two extra letters: Өө Öö and Үү Üü. This system was introduced in the 1940s and has been the official way to write Mongolian ever since. In March 2020, Mongolia planned to start using the traditional Mongolian script along with Cyrillic in official documents beginning in 2025.