Unlocking the Universe of Languages
While most Cyrillic alphabets look fairly similar, the Chechen language introduces a unique "curveball" that looks like a number 1. Discover the "Palochka" (Ӏ), a graphical modifier that unlocks the…
Explore the fascinating political history of the Ukrainian alphabet, where a single letter can act as a revolutionary symbol. This post delves into why the Soviet Union banned the letter…
Explore the fascinating linguistic divide in Belarus, where the choice between the official "Narkamaŭka" spelling and the classical "Taraškievica" is more than just grammar—it's a political statement. This article delves…
Separated by the Aras River and two centuries of divergent history, the Azerbaijani language exists in a unique sociolinguistic split: one language spoken by millions but written in two completely…
In the 20th century, Azerbaijani speakers were forced to change their official alphabet three times—from Perso-Arabic to Latin, to Cyrillic, and back to Latin. This article explores the political maneuvers…
Tajik is the only variety of the Persian language officially written in Cyrillic, a result of turbulent 20th-century Soviet policies that saw the script change three times in two decades.…
An alphabet is more than just a tool for writing; it's a flag, a declaration of identity. In Central Asia, nations like Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are embroiled in "alphabet wars,"…
The Soviet Union's language policy was a dramatic paradox, beginning with the revolutionary promotion of over 100 minority languages through the *korenizatsiya* (indigenization) program. This ambitious project, which created new…