The Udmurt Alphabet

Q: What is the Udmurt language?

Udmurt (удмурт кыл, historically called Votyak, ISO 639-3: udm) is a Permic Uralic language [1] spoken by the Udmurt people, chiefly in the Udmurt Republic in the Volga-Kama region of Russia. It has roughly 324,000 speakers and is a co-official language of the Udmurt Republic. Udmurt has an active literary tradition and is used in education, publishing and media. Udmurt State University [1] in Izhevsk and the Institute for Linguistic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences [2] conduct scholarly work on Udmurt grammar, lexicon and orthography.

Q: How many letters are in the Udmurt alphabet?

The Udmurt alphabet has 38 letters [1] . It is based on the Russian Cyrillic alphabet with five added special characters: Ӝ, Ӟ, Ӵ (affricate consonants) and Ӥ, Ӧ (vowels). These extra letters allow the Udmurt sound system, with its distinctive affricates and central vowel, to be written accurately. Udmurt State University [1] maintains this standard orthography, and the Institute for Linguistic Studies (RAS) [2] documents the same 38-letter alphabet in its Permic language research .

Q: Why is Udmurt also called Votyak?

Votyak is the older Russian name for Udmurt [3] . It appears in earlier literature and comparative Uralic studies. Modern usage prefers "Udmurt", the self-designation of the people, but "Votyak" refers to exactly the same language.

Q: What are the special affricate letters in Udmurt?

Udmurt has three special affricate letters [1] : Ӝ (a voiced affricate), Ӟ (a voiced palatal affricate) and Ӵ (a hard voiceless affricate). These sounds are characteristic of Udmurt and the Permic languages, and each requires its own Cyrillic letter with a breve or diaeresis mark. The Institute for Linguistic Studies (RAS) [2] documents how these affricates function in the Udmurt sound system, while Udmurt State University [1] teaches their use in the standard orthography .

Q: Where is Udmurt spoken?

Udmurt is spoken chiefly in the Udmurt Republic [1] in the Volga-Kama region of Russia, with its capital Izhevsk, as well as in neighbouring Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Mari El and other regions where Udmurt communities live. It is a co-official language of the Udmurt Republic.

Q: What language family does Udmurt belong to?

Udmurt belongs to the Permic branch of the Uralic language family [1] , together with Komi. More broadly, it is related to Mari, the Mordvinic languages (Erzya and Moksha), the Finnic languages (Finnish, Estonian) and — at the deepest level — to Hungarian and the Samoyedic languages of Siberia. The Institute for Linguistic Studies (RAS) [2] situates Udmurt within this Uralic context, and ELAR [3] archives Udmurt documentation supporting the study of its place in the Uralic family tree .

Q: How many people speak Udmurt?

Udmurt has roughly 324,000 speakers [1] , making it one of the larger indigenous minority languages of Russia. Speaker numbers have declined with the spread of Russian, but Udmurt retains a strong literary and educational presence in the Udmurt Republic, where it is a co-official language. Udmurt State University [1] supports Udmurt through research and teaching, while the Institute for Linguistic Studies (RAS) [2] and ELAR [3] contribute to the documentation and study of the language .

Q: What is the ISO code for Udmurt?

The ISO 639-3 code for Udmurt is udm [1] . It is used in academic databases to identify the Udmurt language. The historical name "Votyak" refers to the same language and the same ISO code.

Q: How is Udmurt being documented and preserved?

Udmurt is supported by several institutions: Udmurt State University [1] in Izhevsk (dictionaries, grammars and teaching materials), the Institute for Linguistic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences [2] (linguistic research), and the Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR) [3] (field documentation). As a co-official language of the Udmurt Republic with a substantial speaker base, Udmurt benefits from institutional support for education and publishing. This combination of official status and academic documentation keeps the 38-letter Udmurt Cyrillic writing system in active everyday and scholarly use .

Udmurt Alphabet at a Glance

Udmurt (удмурт кыл, historically called Votyak, ISO 639-3: udm) is a Permic Uralic language ^[1] spoken by the Udmurt people, chiefly in the Udmurt Republic in the Volga-Kama region of Russia. It has roughly 324,000 speakers and is a co-official language of the Udmurt Republic
The Udmurt alphabet has 38 letters based on Cyrillic, with five special characters: Ӝ, Ӟ, Ӥ, Ӧ and Ӵ. Three of these (Ӝ, Ӟ, Ӵ) represent affricate consonants distinctive to Udmurt, while Ӥ and Ӧ mark vowel qualities ^[1]
Udmurt State University ^[1] in Izhevsk is a leading centre for Udmurt language and literature, producing dictionaries, grammars and teaching materials that maintain the standard Udmurt orthography
The Institute for Linguistic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences ^[2] researches the Permic languages, documenting Udmurt phonology, its affricate consonants and its 38-letter Cyrillic alphabet
The Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR) ^[3] at SOAS University of London holds Udmurt documentation, providing field recordings and transcribed texts that illustrate the spoken language and its Cyrillic writing
Udmurt belongs to the Permic branch of Uralic ^[1], together with Komi. More broadly it is related to Mari, the Mordvinic languages, the Finnic languages and — at greater distance — Hungarian and the Samoyedic languages of Siberia

Udmurt Vowels

Udmurt has vowel letters including the standard Cyrillic vowels plus the special letters Ӥ (I with diaeresis, a hard i) and Ӧ (O with diaeresis, a mid central vowel). The mid central vowel written Ӧ is a hallmark of Udmurt phonology ^[1].

Udmurt State University ^[1] presents the Udmurt vowel system in its teaching materials, and the Institute for Linguistic Studies (RAS) ^[2] documents these vowels as part of its research into the Permic languages.

[AH]

[YEH]

[YO]

[EE]

[OH]

[OO]

[IH]

[EH]

[YOO]

[YAH]

[AH]

as in "father"

[YEH]

as in "yet"

[YO]

as in "yore"

[EE]

as in "see"

[OH]

as in "more"

[OO]

as in "moon"

[IH]

back unrounded vowel, like a dark "i"

[EH]

as in "bed"

[YOO]

as in "you"

[YAH]

as in "yard"

Udmurt Consonants

Udmurt uses the Russian Cyrillic consonants plus three special affricate letters — Ӝ, Ӟ and Ӵ — shown separately as special characters. These affricates are a defining feature of Udmurt, distinguishing it from many other Uralic languages ^[1].

Udmurt State University ^[1] and the Institute for Linguistic Studies (RAS) ^[2] document the Udmurt consonant system, including how the affricates pattern within the Permic consonant inventory.

[B]

[V]

[G]

[D]

[ZH]

[Z]

[Y]

[K]

[L]

[M]

[N]

[P]

[R]

[S]

[T]

[F]

[KH]

[TS]

[CH]

[SH]

[B]

as in "bat"

[V]

as in "van"

[G]

as in "go"

[D]

as in "dog"

[ZH]

as in "measure"

[Z]

as in "zoo"

[Y]

as in "yes"

[K]

as in "key"

[L]

as in "lamp"

[M]

as in "man"

[N]

as in "not"

[P]

as in "pen"

[R]

rolled r

[S]

as in "sun"

[T]

as in "top"

[F]

as in "fun"

[KH]

as in Scottish "loch"

[TS]

as in "cats"

[CH]

as in "church"

[SH]

as in "ship"

Udmurt Special Characters

Udmurt has five special characters: Ӝ and Ӟ (voiced affricates), Ӵ (a hard voiceless affricate), Ӥ (a hard i-vowel) and Ӧ (a mid central vowel). The soft sign Ь marks palatalisation as in Russian Cyrillic ^[1].

Udmurt State University ^[1] and the Institute for Linguistic Studies (RAS) ^[2] use these characters consistently, keeping the 38-letter Udmurt writing system stable across publishing and education.

[DZH]

[DZ]

[EE]

[OE]

[CH (hard)]

Udmurt Digits

Udmurt uses Arabic numerals (0–9). Native Udmurt number words: нуль (0), одиг (1), кык (2), куинь (3), ньыль (4), вить (5), куать (6), сизьым (7), тямыс (8), укмыс (9).

Udmurt numerals such as куинь (3) and вить (5) share Permic roots with Komi, reflecting the shared ancestry documented by Udmurt State University ^[1] and the Institute for Linguistic Studies (RAS) ^[2] in their Permic comparative research.

[нуль]

[одиг]

[кык]

[куинь]

[ньыль]

[вить]

[куать]

[сизьым]

[тямыс]

[укмыс]

[нуль]

Udmurt: нуль

[одиг]

Udmurt: одиг

[кык]

Udmurt: кык

[куинь]

Udmurt: куинь

[ньыль]

Udmurt: ньыль

[вить]

Udmurt: вить

[куать]

Udmurt: куать

[сизьым]

Udmurt: сизьым

[тямыс]

Udmurt: тямыс

[укмыс]

Udmurt: укмыс

[AH]

[B]

[V]

[G]

[D]

[YEH]

[YO]

[ZH]

[DZH]

[Z]

[DZ]

[EE]

[Y]

[K]

[L]

[M]

[N]

[OH]

[OE]

[P]

[R]

[S]

[T]

[OO]

[F]

[KH]

[TS]

[CH]

[CH (hard)]

[SH]

[SHCH]

[IH]

[EH]

[YOO]

[YAH]

Expand All Collapse All

What is the Udmurt language?

How many letters are in the Udmurt alphabet?

Why is Udmurt also called Votyak?

What are the special affricate letters in Udmurt?

Where is Udmurt spoken?

What language family does Udmurt belong to?

How many people speak Udmurt?

What is the ISO code for Udmurt?

How is Udmurt being documented and preserved?

References:

[1] Udmurt State University (Удмуртский государственный университет), Izhevsk, Udmurt Republic. "Udmurt Language and Literature Studies" — the university is a leading centre for research on the Udmurt language (удмурт кыл, ISO 639-3: udm), a Permic Uralic language of the Udmurt Republic, Russia, documenting its 38-letter Cyrillic alphabet with special characters Ӝ, Ӟ, Ӥ, Ӧ, Ӵ. Retrieved from Udmurt State University
[2] Institute for Linguistic Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences (ILS RAS), St Petersburg. "Permic Languages Research — Udmurt" — the institute researches the Permic branch of Uralic (Udmurt and Komi), analysing Udmurt phonology, morphology and its extended Cyrillic alphabet with breve and diaeresis characters. Retrieved from Institute for Linguistic Studies, RAS
[3] Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR), SOAS University of London. "Udmurt Language Documentation" — ELAR holds documentation of Udmurt (Votyak), a Permic Uralic language of the Volga-Kama region of Russia, including recordings illustrating its Cyrillic orthography. Retrieved from Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR)