As a rule, learning a foreign language begins with the alphabet. And the first thing one encounters when learning Russian is the Cyrillic alphabet. Most countries in the Western world use the Latin alphabet, so strange letters can scare you off.
Russian belongs to the group of Slavic languages and has a different alphabet from many other Western languages. Here are 10 popular user questions about the Cyrillic alphabet.
What is the Cyrillic alphabet?
The modern Cyrillic alphabet is an extant version of one of the Old Slavonic alphabets. There are currently 33 letters in the Russian language: 10 vowels and 23 consonants. But there are other languages that use Cyrillic characters for writing that are not in the Russian alphabet.
Are the Russian alphabet and the Cyrillic alphabet the same thing?
Not really. The Russian alphabet is just one variant of the Cyrillic script. Since there are several dozen languages that use the Cyrillic alphabet. And it is unfair to put an equal sign between the Russian alphabet and the Cyrillic alphabet.
Does Russian refer to the Slavic or Cyrillic languages?
To avoid confusion in terms, the name "Slavic" refers to a branch of the common Indo-European language family. And there are three Slavic branches: Eastern, Western and Southern. Russian belongs to the East Slavic group.
And the term "Cyrillic" refers directly to the script used to record the Russian language.
Which countries use the Cyrillic alphabet?
Today, the prevalence of Cyrillic alphabet in the world is gradually decreasing. This is due to the fact that many countries of the former Soviet Union began the transition to the Latin alphabet. For example, Kazakhstan until recently used the Cyrillic alphabet, but from 2024 began the transition to the Latin alphabet and plans to finally dispense with the Cyrillic alphabet by 2031.
List of countries that now use the Cyrillic alphabet: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia.
What alphabet was used in Russia before the Cyrillic alphabet appeared?
It is not known how the writing of the ancient Slavs looked like before the Cyrillic alphabet. Only fragmentary information from Bulgarian monks and in the hagiography of Cyril and Methodius has been preserved. It is only known that pagan Slavic peoples used some symbols, rune-like.
In addition, shortly before the introduction of the Cyrillic alphabet, the Greek monks Cyril and Methodius invented an alphabet based on the Greek script. This alphabet is called Glagolitic. It was later supplanted by Cyrillic, as it was more convenient.
Why was the Russian alphabet invented?
In the 9th century, with the spread of Christianity, it became clear that Slavic peoples needed their own alphabet to translate church books. The growing number of believers needed to understand the meaning of the new religion, and for this it was necessary to read sermons in their native language. The Greek alphabet was not suitable for this, because it lacked symbols to represent the sounds of the Old Slavonic language. So a unique alphabet was developed for the Slavs - the Cyrillic alphabet.
Why is the Cyrillic alphabet similar to the Greek alphabet?
The Cyrillic alphabet was based on the Greek alphabet, which is why the letters look so similar. But the Greeks did not have hissing sounds - sh, g, shh, ch, ch. So their alphabet was only taken as a basis. New symbols were added to the existing ones: that's how we got the Cyrillic alphabet.
Why does the Cyrillic alphabet look so clunky?
Many foreigners confuse some Russian letters with Arabic numerals. For example, numeral 3 and the letter "z", numeral 6 and the letter "b", numeral 4 and the letter "ch". In these cases, you simply have to accept the fact that there can be no digits inside a word.
Who invented the Russian alphabet?
The modern Cyrillic alphabet was invented by Clement of Ohrid, a student of the brothers Cyril and Methodius. He lived in the middle of the 9th century in Bulgaria and developed a simple and convenient alphabet based on the Greek alphabet. Slavic peoples quickly spread writing, which allowed them to better understand each other.
When is Cyrillic alphabet day celebrated?
May 24 is the official Day of Slavic Script and Culture. This holiday is celebrated in all countries where the Cyrillic alphabet is used.
To make it easier to understand and learn the letters of the Russian alphabet, you can read on, how a foreigner can learn the Russian alphabet.
If you want your child to learn the language, we invite you to our online school Palme School. We strive to keep not only Russian in the family, but also to pass on the culture and traditions. An application for a trial lesson can be left below.
