As a rule, learning a foreign language begins with the alphabet. And the first thing foreigners learning Russian encounter is the Cyrillic alphabet. Most countries in the Western world use the Latin alphabet, so it is easier for an English speaker to learn Spanish or French. And not so much because these languages have a common alphabet, but because they belong to the same language group. Russian, as we know, belongs to the group of Slavic languages and has a different alphabet. We have collected 10 popular user questions about Cyrillic alphabet and will give you comprehensive answers to them.
The reading time is 4 minutes.
What is the Cyrillic alphabet?
The modern Cyrillic alphabet is an extant version of one of the Old Slavonic alphabets. Currently, the Russian alphabet, which uses the Cyrillic alphabet, has 33 letters, of which 10 are vowels and 23 are consonants. But there are other languages that use Cyrillic characters for writing. Each of them may have additional characters that are not present in the Russian alphabet.
Are the Russian alphabet and the Cyrillic alphabet the same thing?
In general, yes. But if you look deeper, the Russian alphabet is just one variant of the Cyrillic script. Since there are several dozen languages in the world that use the Cyrillic alphabet. And to put an equal sign between the Russian alphabet and the Cyrillic alphabet is unfair to these languages.
Does Russian refer to the Slavic or Cyrillic languages?
In order to avoid confusion in terms, we will tell you more about it. The name "Slavic" refers to a branch of the common Indo-European language family. And Slavic branches there are three - eastern, western and southern. And the Russian language belongs to the East Slavic group.
And the term "Cyrillic" refers directly to the script used to record the Russian language. Thus, Russian is one of the Slavic languages that is written using the Cyrillic alphabet.
Which countries use the Cyrillic alphabet?
Today, the prevalence of Cyrillic alphabet in the world is gradually decreasing. This is due to the fact that many countries of the former Soviet Union are gradually switching to the Latin alphabet. For example, Kazakhstan used the Cyrillic alphabet until recently. But from 2024, the country has begun the transition to the Latin alphabet and plans to finally dispense with the Cyrillic alphabet by 2031.
List of countries that now use the Cyrillic alphabet:
Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia.
What alphabet was used in Russia before the Cyrillic alphabet appeared?
It is not known what the writing of the ancient Slavs looked like before the appearance of the Cyrillic alphabet. Unfortunately, only fragmentary information from Bulgarian monks and in the hagiography of Cyril and Methodius has been preserved. It is only known that pagan Slavic peoples used certain symbols, rune-like.
Also shortly before the Cyrillic alphabet appeared, the Greek monks Cyril and Methodius invented an alphabet based on the Greek script. This alphabet is called Glagolitic. The Cyrillic alphabet later superseded it because it was more convenient to use.
Why was the Russian alphabet invented?
In the 9th century, with the spread of Christianity, it became clear that Slavic peoples needed their own alphabet to translate church books. The growing number of believers needed to understand the meaning of the new religion, and for this it was necessary to read sermons in their native language. The Greek alphabet was not suitable for this, because it lacked symbols to represent the sounds of the Old Slavonic language. So a unique alphabet was developed for the Slavs - the Cyrillic alphabet.
Why is the Cyrillic alphabet similar to the Greek alphabet?
The Cyrillic alphabet was based on the Greek alphabet, which is why the letters look so similar. But the Greeks did not have hissing sounds - sh, g, shh, shh, ch, and some others, so their alphabet was only taken as a basis. New symbols were added to the existing ones to denote the missing ones, and the Cyrillic alphabet was obtained.
Why does the Cyrillic alphabet look so clunky?
Many foreigners confuse some Russian letters with Arabic numerals. For example, digit 3 and the letter "z", digit 6 and the letter "b", digit 4 and the letter "ch". Here you just have to get used to it and accept the fact that there can't be numbers inside a word, they are letters.
Who invented the Russian alphabet?
The modern Cyrillic alphabet was invented by Clement of Ohrid, a student of the brothers Cyril and Methodius. He lived in the middle of the 9th century in Bulgaria and developed a simple and convenient alphabet based on the Greek alphabet. This allowed the Slavic peoples to quickly spread writing and better understand each other.
When is Cyrillic alphabet day celebrated?
May 24 is the official Day of Slavic Script and Culture. This holiday is celebrated in all countries where the Cyrillic alphabet is used - Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Bulgaria, Serbia, Macedonia and others.
Conclusion
To make it easier to understand and learn the letters of the Russian alphabet, see our article:
How a foreigner can learn the Russian alphabet
Russian language lessons at Palme School online school are designed for children from 4 to 14 years old living outside Russia. We aim to preserve not only the Russian language, but also to pass on the culture and traditions. All classes at our school can be tried for free. Leave an application in the form below and our manager will sign you up for an introductory lesson.
