Romanization of Russian
There exist many possible systems for
transliterating the
Cyrillic alphabet of the
Russian language to
English or the
Latin alphabet. Such transliteration is necessary for writing Russian names and other words in English text. It is also essential for the input of Russian text into computer by users who either do not have the keyboard or word processor set up for input of Cyrillic, or else they are not capable of
typing rapidly on the distinct Cyrillic keyboard. In the latter case, they would type using a system of transliteration on the
QWERTY keyboard and then use an automated tool to convert the text into Cyrillic.
Note that some phonetic transcription systems are intended for readers of languages other than English, for instance: Russian "'оронин" = English "Voronin" = French "Voronine" = German "Woronin".
Scientific transliteration
Scientific transliteration, also known as the
International Scholarly System, is a system that has been used in
linguistics since the 19th century. It is based on the
Czech and
Croatian Latin alphabet, and formed the basis of the GOST and ISO systems.
GOST
GOST 16876 (1971)
Developed by the National Administration for Geodesy and Cartography at the
USSR Council of Ministers, GOST 16876-71 has been in service for over 30 years and is the only romanization system that does not use
diacritics. Replaced by GOST 7.79-2000.
GOST ST SEV 1362 (1978)
This standard is an equivalent of GOST 16876-71. Adopted as an official standard of the
COMECON.
GOST 7.79 (2002)
GOST 7.79-2000
System of Standards on Information, Librarianship, and Publishing " Rules for Transliteration of the Cyrillic Characters Using the Latin Alphabet is the newest document on transliteration in the series of
GOST standards. This standard is an adoption of
ISO 9:1995 and is now the official standard of both the
Russian Federation and the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
ISO
ISO/R 9
ISO/R 9, established 1954 and updated 1968, was the adoption of the
scientific transliteration by the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO). It covers Russian and seven additional Slavic languages.
ISO 9
ISO 9:1995 is the current transliteration standard from ISO. It is based on its predecessor ISO/R 9:1968, which it deprecates; for Russian they only differ in the treatment of three letters. It is the first language-independent, univocal system of one character for one character equivalents (by the use of diacritics), which faithfully represents the original and allows for reverse transliteration for Cyrillic text in any contemporary language.
United Nations romanization system
The
UNGEGN, a Working Group of the
United Nations, in 1987 recommended a romanization system for geographical names, which was based on
GOST 16876-71. It may be found in some international cartographic products.
ALA-LC
America Library Association & Library of Congress (ALA-LC) romanization tables for Slavic alphabets (1997) are used in North American libraries.
The formal, unambiguous version of the system requires some diacritics and two-letter tie characters, which are often omitted in practice.
BGN/PCGN
The BGN/PCGN system is relatively intuitive for anglophones to read and pronounce. In many publications a simplified form of the system is used to render English versions of Russian names, typically converting
ë to
yo, simplifying
-iy and
-yy endings to
-y, and omitting apostrophes for
ъ and
ь (see
conventional transcription of Russian names, below). It can be rendered using only the basic letters and punctuation found on English-language keyboards: no diacritics or unusual letters are required, although the
Interpunct character (·) can optionally be used to avoid some ambiguity.
This particular standard is part of the
BGN/PCGN romanization system which was developed by the
United States Board on Geographic Names and by the
Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British Official Use. The portion of the system pertaining to the
Russian language was adopted by BGN in
1944, and by PCGN in
1947.
Common systems for romanizing Russian| Cyrillic | Scholary | ISO/R 9:1968 | GOST | UN | ISO 9:1995 | ALA-LC | BGN/PCGN |
|---|
| А а | a | a | a | a | a | a | a |
| Б б | b | b | b | b | b | b | b |
| ' в | v | v | v | v | v | v | v |
| " г | g | g | g | g | g | g | g |
| " д | d | d | d | d | d | d | d |
| Е е | e | e | e | e | e | e | e, ye |
| Ё ё | ë | ë | jo | ë | ë | ë | ë, yë ** |
| Ж ж | ž | ž | zh | ž | ž | zh | zh |
| З з | z | z | z | z | z | z | z |
| И и | i | i | i | i | i | i | i |
| Й й | j | j | j | j | j | ĭ | y |
| К к | k | k | k | k | k | k | k |
| Л л | l | l | l | l | l | l | l |
| М м | m | m | m | m | m | m | m |
| Н н | n | n | n | n | n | n | n |
| О о | o | o | o | o | o | o | o |
| П п | p | p | p | p | p | p | p |
| Р р | r | r | r | r | r | r | r |
| С с | s | s | s | s | s | s | s |
| Т т | t | t | t | t | t | t | t |
| У у | u | u | u | u | u | u | u |
| Ф ф | f | f | f | f | f | f | f |
| Х х | x | ch | kh | h | h | kh | kh |
| Ц ц | c | c | c | c | c | t͡s | ts |
| Ч ч | č | č | ch | č | č | ch | ch |
| Ш ш | š | š | sh | š | š | sh | sh |
| Щ щ | šč | šč | shh | šč | ŝ | shch | shch |
| Ъ ъ | ʺ | ʺ | ʺ | ʺ | ʺ | ʺ * | ʺ |
| Ы ы | y | y | y | y | y | y | y |
| Ь ь | ʹ | ʹ | ʹ | ʹ | ʹ | ʹ | ʹ |
| Э э | è | ė | eh | è | è | ė | e |
| Ю ю | ju | ju | ju | ju | û | i͡u | yu |
| Я я | ja | ja | ja | ja | â | i͡a | ya |
| Pre-1918 letters |
|---|
| І і | i | i | " | ĭ | ì | ī | " |
| Ѳ ѳ | f | ḟ | " | ḟ | f̀ | ḟ | " |
| Ѣ ѣ | ě | ě | " | ě | ě | i͡e | " |
| Ѵ ѵ | i | ẏ | " | ẏ | ỳ | ẏ | " |
| Ancient letters |
|---|
| Ѕ ѕ | dz | " | " | " | ẑ | " | " |
| Ѯ ѯ | ks | " | " | " | " | " | " |
| Ѱ ѱ | ps | " | " | " | " | " | " |
| Ѡ ѡ | ô, o | " | " | " | " | " | " |
| Ѫ ѫ | ǫ, u | " | " | " | ǎ | " | " |
| Ѧ ѧ | ę, ja | " | " | " | " | " | " |
| Ѭ ѭ | jǫ, ju | " | " | " | " | " | " |
| Ѩ ѩ | ję, ja | " | " | " | " | " | " |
Notes:
* ALA-LC:
ъ is not romanized at the end of a word.:
** BGN/PCGN:
ye and
yë are used to indicate
iotation word-initially, and after a vowel,
й,
ъ, or
ь.
The following table describes a method to derive the most common informal
transcriptions of Russian names into the
Latin alphabet, suitable for English-speakers. It is similar to BGN/PCGN transliteration, with several exceptions.
Russian
spelling | English
transliteration | Special provision | Examples |
|---|
| А (а) | A (a) | Аник = Anik
Паганкино = Pagankino |
| Б (б) | B (b) | Болотин = Bolotin
Колбасин = Kolbasin |
| ' (в) | V (v) | 'оронин = Voronin
Привалин = Privalin |
| " (г) | G (g) | "алкин = Galkin
Луговой = Lugovoy |
| H (h) | Петергоф = Peterhof
|
| " (д) | None | "ровяное = Drovanoye
Подгорск = Podgorsk |
| Е (е) | Ye (ye)# In the beginning of words;# after vowels;# after ь;# after ъ.# Ельцин = Yeltsin# Раздольное = Razdolnoye# Юрьев = Yuryev (ь omitted " see ь below);# Подъездной = Podyezdnoy |
| E (e) | Белкин = Belkin |
| Ё (ё) | Yo (yo) | # In the beginning of words;# after vowels;# after ь;# after ъ. | Ёлкино = Yolkino |
| E (e) | "орбачёв = Gorbachev |
| O (o) | Озёрск = Ozorsk |
| Ж (ж) | Zh (zh) | Жиров = Zhirov
Приволжское = Privolzhskoye |
| З (з) | Z (z) | Зорин = Zorin
Обозов = Obozov |
| И (и) | I (i) | (see below)> Иркутск = Irkutsk
'ладивосток = Vladivostok |
| Й (й) | Except in "ый and "ий endings (see below) | Йошкар-Ола = Yoshkar-Ola
Буйск = Buysk |
| I (i) | Край = Krai
Байкал = Baikal |
| J (j) | [Insert an example] |
| К (к) | K (k) | Киров = Kirov
"алкин = Galkin |
| Л (л) | L (l) | Лапинск = Lapinsk
Комсомольск = Komsomolsk |
| М (м) | M (m) | Мичурин = Michurin
Колыма = Kolyma |
| Н (н) | N (n) | Нальчик = Nalchik
Савино = Savino |
| О (о) | O (o) | Оха = Okha
"розный = Grozny |
| П (п) | P (p) | Петроград = Petrograd
Ставрополь = Stavropol |
| Р (р) | R (r) | Родниковое = Rodnikovoye
'ысокогорск = Vysokogorsk |
| С (с) | S (s) | Ступино = Stupino
Бирск = Birsk |
| Т (т) | T (t) | Тавричанка = Tavrichanka
Ростов = Rostov |
| У (у) | U (u) | Улетайск = Uletaysk
Шушенское = Shushenskoye |
| Ф (ф) | F (f) | Фёдоровка = Fyodorovka
Корфу = Korfu |
| Ph (ph) | Иосиф Сталин = Joseph Stalin |
| Х (х) | Kh (kh) | Хабаровск = Khabarovsk
Оха = Okha |
| H (h) | When it is a commonly accepted convention | [Insert an example] |
| Ц (ц) | Ts (ts) | Царское = Tsarskoye
Зарецкий = Zaretsky |
| Ч (ч) | Ch (ch) | Черемшаны = Cheremshany
Зареченск = Zarechensk |
| Tch (tch) | Чайковский = Tchaikovsky |
| Ш (ш) | Sh (sh) | Шадрин = Shadrin
Моршанск = Morshansk |
| Щ (щ) | Shch (shch) | Щукино = Shchukino
Рощинский = Roshchinsky |
| Sch (sch) | Хрущёв = Khruschev |
| ъ (твёрдый знак) | When followed by a vowel | Подъярский = Podyarsky |
| " | [Insert an example] |
| Ы (ы) | Y (y) | (see below)> "авыдов = Davydov |
| ь (мягкий знак) | Omitted# When followed by an iotated vowel;# at the end of words;# before a consonant.# Усолье = Usolye# 'ыхухоль = Vykhukhol# "альнегорск = Dalnegorsk |
| y | Ильинский = Ilyinsky |
| ' | Русь = Rus' |
| Э (э) | E (e) | Элиста = Elista
Тетраэдральный = Tetraedralny |
| Ю (ю) | Yu (yu) # In the beginning of words;# after vowels;# after ь;# after ъ;# When it is a commonly accepted convention. | Юрмала = Yurmala |
| Iu (iu) | |
| U (u) | Козючинск = Kozuchinsk |
| Я (я) | Ya (ya) # In the beginning of words;# after vowels;# after ь;# after ъ;# When it is a commonly accepted convention.Except in an "ия ending (see below) | Ярославль = Yaroslavl
Бурьянск = Buryansk |
| Ia (ia) | When it is a commonly accepted convention. |
| A (a) | |
| Кс (кс) | In names like Alexander, Alexey and Maxim (sometimes) | Александр = Alexander
Алексей = Alexey |
| Ks (ks) | Ксинск = Ksinsk
Моксинский = Moksinsky |
| "ый endings | iy | Красный = Krasniy |
| y | [Insert an example] |
| "ий endings | iy | Синий = Siniy |
| y | Троцкий = Trotsky |
| i | Юрий = Yuri |
| "ия endings | ia | Наталия = Natalia
Якутия = Yakutia |
| iya | Австралия = Avstraliya |
; Notes#
Unicode practices. Unicode supplies special characters that, among other things, are intended to be used for this kind of transliteration of soft and hard signs—namely:
U+02B9 MODIFIER LETTER PRIME (ʹ) and
U+02BA MODIFIER LETTER DOUBLE PRIME (ʺ), repspectively. (Reference:
Draft Unicode 4.1 names list, retrieved 2005, December 14.) The motivation in the design of Unicode behind supplying specialized "
apostrophe-like characters" is that
U+0027 [the simple "typewriter tick mark": ' ] is a particularly overloaded character… and is even used for the representation of things from different categories:
In ASCII it is used to represent a punctuation mark… or a modifier letter. … (Punctuation marks generally break words; modifier letters generally are considered part of a word.) (
Encoding Characters with Multiple Semantic Values, Chapter 6
Writing Systems and Punctuation (pdf) of
Unicode 4.0.)
:Note that unlike the mentioned alternatives (
U+02B9,
U+0027), using
specialized punctuation marks like '
U+2019 RIGHT SINGLE QUOTATION MARK (and "
U+201D RIGHT DOUBLE QUOTATION MARK) for the purpose of transliterating Cyrillic soft (and hard) signs is semantically incorrect (they
break words, whereas the Cyrillic letters
are parts of words); one of the consequences of such practice may be an incorrect treatment of the words by software. Despite this, such practices exist.
*
Cyrillic alphabet*
Early Cyrillic alphabet*
Romanization of Bulgarian*
Romanization of Ukrainian*
Volapuk encoding*
Faux CyrillicKyrillisches Alphabet (from the
German Wikipedia) shows how to transliterate between
Russian and
German.
*
GOST standards*
U.S. Board on Geographic Names Foreign Names Committee Staff, 1994.
Romanization Systems and Roman-Script Spelling Conventions, pp. 84-85.
*
Summary of romanization systems for Russian (
Adobe PDF) by Thomas T. Pederson.
*
United Nations-recommended romanization system for Russian (
Adobe PDF)
*
American Library Association & Library of Congress Romanization*
Russian transliterated (phonetic) keyboard layout*
Russian toponym translations and transliterations database*
Transliteration of Russian into various European languages*
Umschrift des russischen Alphabets"Russian transliteration in several systems, including DIN 1460 (1982) [=ISO/R9:1968], GOST ST SEV 1362 (1978), and BSI BS 2979 (1958)
