Votyak is a historical name for the Udmurt language (удмурт кыл, ISO 639-3: udm) [1] , a Permic Uralic language of the Udmurt Republic in the Volga-Kama region of Russia. The name was used in older Russian and comparative Uralic literature. Modern usage prefers "Udmurt", the self-designation of the people. Udmurt State University [1] and the Institute for Linguistic Studies (RAS) [2] use "Udmurt" in current materials, but "Votyak" still appears in older scholarly works.

The Votyak Alphabet — Historical Name for Udmurt, the Permic Uralic Language of the Udmurt Republic, Russia

Q: Are Votyak and Udmurt the same language?

Yes. Votyak and Udmurt are the same language [1] , with ISO 639-3 code udm. Both names refer to the Permic Uralic language of the Udmurt Republic. "Votyak" is simply the older name; all current academic work uses "Udmurt". Udmurt State University [1] , the Institute for Linguistic Studies (RAS) [2] and ELAR [3] catalogue their materials under "Udmurt". If you find "Votyak" in older literature, it refers to the same Udmurt language .

Q: How many letters are in the Votyak (Udmurt) alphabet?

The Udmurt (Votyak) 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.

Q: What are the special affricate letters in Votyak (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, each requiring its own Cyrillic letter with a breve or diaeresis mark. The Institute for Linguistic Studies (RAS) [2] documents how these affricates function, while Udmurt State University [1] teaches their use in the standard orthography .

Q: Where is Votyak (Udmurt) spoken?

Votyak (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 Votyak (Udmurt) belong to?

Udmurt (Votyak) belongs to the Permic branch of the Uralic language family [1] , together with Komi. More broadly, it is related to Mari, the Mordvinic languages, the Finnic languages 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 documentation supporting the study of its place in the Uralic family tree .

Q: How many people speak Votyak (Udmurt)?

Udmurt (Votyak) has roughly 324,000 speakers [1] , one of the larger indigenous minority languages of Russia. Speaker numbers have declined, 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 of the language .

Q: What is the ISO code for Votyak?

The ISO 639-3 code for Votyak is udm [1] — the same as Udmurt, since both names refer to the identical language. The historical name "Votyak" and the modern name "Udmurt" share this single code.

Q: How is Votyak (Udmurt) being documented?

Udmurt (Votyak) 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, keeping its 38-letter Cyrillic writing system in active everyday and scholarly use .

Votyak Alphabet at a Glance

Votyak is a historical name for Udmurt (удмурт кыл, ISO 639-3: udm), a Permic Uralic language ^[1] of the Udmurt Republic in the Volga-Kama region of Russia, with roughly 324,000 speakers. The name "Votyak" was used in older Russian and scholarly literature; modern usage prefers the self-designation "Udmurt"
The Votyak/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 uses "Udmurt" in its current research and teaching, producing dictionaries, grammars and materials that maintain the standard orthography. "Votyak" survives mainly in historical references
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 under the "Udmurt / udm" identifier, even where older materials use the "Votyak" label
Udmurt (Votyak) belongs to the Permic branch of Uralic ^[1], together with Komi, and more broadly is related to Mari, the Mordvinic languages, the Finnic languages and — at greater distance — Hungarian and the Samoyedic languages

Votyak (Udmurt) Vowels

The Votyak/Udmurt alphabet has vowel letters including the standard Cyrillic vowels plus 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 in 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"

Votyak (Udmurt) Consonants

The Votyak/Udmurt alphabet 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 ^[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"

Votyak (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 writing system stable across publishing and education.

[DZH]

[DZ]

[EE]

[OE]

[CH (hard)]

Votyak (Udmurt) Digits

Votyak/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 "Votyak"?

Are Votyak and Udmurt the same language?

How many letters are in the Votyak (Udmurt) alphabet?

What are the special affricate letters in Votyak (Udmurt)?

Where is Votyak (Udmurt) spoken?

What language family does Votyak (Udmurt) belong to?

How many people speak Votyak (Udmurt)?

What is the ISO code for Votyak?

How is Votyak (Udmurt) being documented?

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)