Chaghatay Transcription-Transliteration Method

Consonants (Turkish, Arabic, and Persian)

’ or nil	ا
b, p (with 2 dots missing)	ب
p	پ
t	ت
s̱	ث
j, ch (with 2 dots missing)	ج
ch	چ
ḥ	ح
kh	خ
d	د
ẕ	ذ
r	ر
z	ز
zh	ژ
s	س
sh	ش
ṣ	ص
ż	ض
ṭ	ط
ẓ	ظ
ʿ	ع
gh	غ
f	ف
q	ق
k, g	ک   (ك)
ñ (not for Persian نگ, which should be ng)	نگ or ڭ‎
g	گ
l	ل
m	م
n	ن
w (including silent و in Persian words)	و
h	ه
y	ی
ʾ	ء

 Chaghatay vowels

Back Vowels	a ı o u
Front Vowels	ä e i ö ü

Arabic vowels

Long vowels	ā (آ ـَا)    á (ألف مقصورة) ī (إیـ ـِـيـ ـِي) ū (اُو ـُو)
Short vowels	a (أَ)    i (إِ)    u (أُ)

Persian vowels

Long vowels	ā (آ ـا)   ē (ایـ ــیـ ـی) ī (ایـ ــیـ ـی) ō (او ـو) ū (او ـو)    Majhūl vowels, ē and ō, are to be indicated. E.g., خویش as khwēsh, not khwīsh E.g., روز as rōz, not rūz   Persian non-specific state of noun indicated by suffix ـی was majhūl vowel ē, not ī. E.g.,  قلمی (“a pen”) as qalamē. (Whereas qalamî means “having the quality of pen.”)
Short vowels	a (اَ)    i (اِ)    u (اُ)

Additional Notes for Chaghatay:

 (1) Non-Turkicization of Arabic and Persian is required (unless there is direct evidence of such Turkicization for the text in question). E.g., گُل as gul, not gül, كتاب as kitāb, not kitab.

(2) Only Perso-Arabic final ـه used to mark consonant is transcribed (as h), e.g., پادشاه as pādishāh. Final Perso-Arabic ـه used to mark vowel is not transcribed, e.g., خانه as khāna, نامه as nāma.

(3) Transliteration of Persian words should reflect classical phonology, e.g., یک (“one”) as یَک yak, not یِک yik. Show majhūl vowels, ō and ē. Pay particular attention to vowels marked by final ـه , e.g., به (“to”) as بَه ba, not bi بِه .

(4) Transliterate Arabic article الـ according to classical Arabic phonetics, rather than transcribe it uniformly as al-. E.g., ظهير الدين as Ẓahīru ’d-Dīn, rather than Ẓahīr al-Dīn.

Questions, Comments: l.javanshir.ceswg@gmail.com

Click HERE to follow us on Facebook