Tatar (tatarça / татарча / تاتارچا)

Tatar is a Turkic language with about 5.2 million speakers mainly in the Russian Federation, particularly in the Republic of Tatarstan, and also in the Republic of Bashkortostan and other parts of Russia. Tatar is official recognised as a provincial language in Tatarstan, and is recognised as a minority language in Poland.

There are also Tatar speakers in a number of other countries, including Uzbekistan (702,000), Kazakhstan (104,000) and Turkmenistan (51,800) [source]

Written Tatar

Tatar has been written with a number of different alphabets: before the 9th century AD it was written with the Orkhon alphabet. From the 1870s until 1920 it was written with a version of the Arabic alphabet known as İske imlâ ("Old Orthography"). A modified version of the Arabic alphabet known as Yaña imlâ ("New orthography") was used between 1920 and 1927. Since then it has been written with the Cyrillic alphabet and several of versions of the Latin alphabet.

Arabic alphabet for Tatar (Yaña imlâ)

This version of the Arabic alphabet was used to write Tator from 1920 to 1927.

Arabic alphabet for Tatar (İske imlâ)

Cyrillic alphabet for Tatar (татар әлифбасы)

In 1939 the Cyrillic alphabet was imposed by Stalin for Tatar and other Turkic languages spoken in the Soviet Union.

Cyrillic alphabet for Tatar

Notes

Notes and some corrections provided by 이윤호

Modern Alphabet (Zamanälif)

In 1999 the government of Tatarstan decreed that a new version of the Latin alphabet for Tatar would come into official use alongside Cyrillic from 2001. The Russian Federation overruled this in 2002 and Cyrillic became, and remains, the sole official script for Tatar. In 2012 a new law came into effect in Tatarstan specifying that the new Latin alphabet would be the official way to transliterate the Cyrillc alphabet, and the Yaña imlâ became the standard way to write Tatar in the Arabic alphabet.

Latin alphabet for Tatar (1999)

Download alphabet charts for Tatar (Excel)

Notes

In Russian loanwords, a is pronounced [a] and ç = [tɕ], e = [ɛ], ı = [ɨ], o = [o].

Corrections by Anıl Öztürk

Sample texts

Arabic alphabet (İske imlâ) - 1870s-1920

ارلق كشیلر دا آزاد هم اوز آبرويلري هم حقوقلری یاغیننن تینک بولیپ طوالر. آلرغا عقل هم وجدان برلگان هم بر-برسینا قراطا طوغاننرچا مناسبتتا بولرغا تییشلر.

Arabic alphabet (Yaña imlâ) - 1920-1927

بارلئق كئشئلەر دە ئازات هەم ئوز ئابرویلارئ هەم حۇقوقلارئ یاعئننان تیڭ بولئپ توالار. ئالارعا ئاقئل هەم وۇجدان بیرئلگەن هەم بئر-بئرسئنە قاراتا توعاننارچا مۇناسەبەتتە بولئرعا تیئشلەر

Latin alphabet (Jaꞑalif) - 1927-1939

Вarlьq keşelər də azat həm yz aʙrujlarь həm xoquqlarь jaƣьnnan tiꞑ ʙulьp tualar. Alarƣa aqьl həm vɵçdan ʙirelgən həm ʙer-ʙersenə qarata tuƣannarca mɵnasəʙəttə ʙulьrƣa tieşlər.

Cyrillic alphabet (1940 - present)

Барлык кешеләр дә азат һәм үз абруйлары һәм хокуклары ягыннан тиң булып туалар. Аларга акыл һәм вөҗдан бирелгән һәм бер-берсенә карата туганнарча мөнасәбәттә булырга тиешләр.

Latin alphabet (Zamanälif) - 1999 - present

Barlıq keşelär dä azat häm üz abruyları häm xoquqları yağınnan tiñ bulıp tualar. Alarğa aqıl häm wöcdan birelgän häm ber-bersenä qarata tuğannarça mönasäbättä bulırğa tieşlär.

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)

Corrections provided by Reşat Sabiq

Sample of spoken Tatar

Information about the Tatar language | Numbers | Tower of Babel | Books about Tatar on: Amazon.comand Amazon.co.uk [affilate links]

Links

Information about the Tatar language and alphabets
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatar_language
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatar_alphabet
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/İske_imlâ_alphabet
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaña_imlâ_alphabet
https://www.mustgo.com/worldlanguages/tatar/

Online Tatar lessons and other resources
http://www.tatar.com.ru
http://tugan-tel.com
http://tatar.org.ru
https://anatele.ef.com/partner/anat/

Tatar phrases

Online Tatar dictionaries
http://suzlek.tazbash.ru
http://pauctle.com/tttr

Online Tatar news and radio
http://www.azatliq.org

Turkic languages

Altay, Äynu, Azerbaijani, Bashkir, Chagatai, Chelkan, Chulym, Chuvash, Crimean Tatar, Dolgan, Fuyu Kyrgyz, Gagauz, Ili Turki, Karachay-Balkar, Karaim, Karakalpak, Karamanli Turkish, Kazakh, Khakas, Khalaj, Khorasani Turkic, Krymchak, Kumandy, Kumyk, Kyrgyz, Lop, Nogai, Old Turkic, Qashqai, Romanian Tatar, Salar, Shor, Siberian Tatar, Soyot, Tatar, Teleut, Tofa, Turkish, Turkmen, Tuvan, Urum, Uyghur, Uzbek, Western Yugur, Yakut (Sakha)

Languages written with the Cyrillic alphabet

Abaza, Abkhaz, Adyghe, Aghul, Akhvakh, Akkala Sámi, Aleut, Altay, Alyutor, Andi, Archi, Assyrian / Neo-Assyrian, Avar, Azeri, Bagvalal, Balkar, Bashkir, Belarusian, Bezhta, Bosnian, Botlikh, Budukh, Bulgarian, Buryat, Chamalal, Chechen, Chelkan, Chukchi, Chulym, Chuvash, Crimean Tatar, Dargwa, Daur, Dolgan, Dungan, Enets, Erzya, Even, Evenki, Gagauz, Godoberi, Hinukh, Hunzib, Ingush, Interslavic, Itelmen, Juhuri, Kabardian, Kaitag, Kalderash Romani, Kalmyk, Karaim, Karakalpak, Karata, Karelian, Kazakh, Ket, Khakas, Khanty, Khinalug, Khorasani Turkic, Khwarshi, Kildin Sámi, Kili, Komi, Koryak, Krymchak, Kryts, Kubachi, Kumandy, Kumyk, Kurdish, Kyrgyz, Lak, Lezgi, Lingua Franca Nova, Lithuanian, Ludic, Macedonian, Mansi, Mari, Moksha, Moldovan, Mongolian, Montenegrin, Nanai, Negidal, Nenets, Nganasan, Nivkh, Nogai, Old Church Slavonic, Oroch, Orok, Ossetian, Pontic Greek, Romanian, Rushani, Russian, Rusyn, Rutul, Selkup, Serbian, Shor, Shughni, Siberian Tatar, Sirenik, Slovio, Soyot, Tabassaran, Tajik, Talysh, Tat, Tatar, Teleut, Ter Sámi, Tindi, Tofa, Tsakhur, Tsez, Turkmen, Tuvan, Ubykh, Udege, Udi, Udmurt, Ukrainian, Ulch, Urum, Uyghur, Uzbek, Veps, Votic, Wakhi, West Polesian, Xibe, Yaghnobi, Yakut, Yazghulami, Yukaghir (Northern / Tundra), Yukaghir (Southern / Kolyma), Yupik (Central Siberian)

Languages written with the Latin alphabet

Page last modified: 14.04.24

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