Mongolian

Mongolian is written using a modified form of the Cyrillic script, officially introduced in 1946 for use in the Mongolian People’s Republic. This writing system replaced the traditional Mongolian vertical script in everyday administration and education, aligning the language more closely with Soviet-era linguistic reforms.

The Mongolian writing system is an alphabet, meaning each letter typically represents a single sound. It is largely phonemic, with a relatively consistent relationship between written symbols and spoken pronunciation, though vowel harmony plays an important role in word structure.

The modern Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet contains 35 letters. It is based on the Russian Cyrillic alphabet but includes two additional vowels: Ө and Ү, which represent front rounded vowel sounds that are essential to Mongolian phonology.

Mongolian is written from left to right and is used in education, media, literature, and digital communication within Mongolia. While the traditional vertical Mongolian script has seen a cultural revival, Cyrillic remains the dominant everyday writing system.

A key linguistic feature of Mongolian is vowel harmony, where vowels within a word must belong to compatible phonetic groups. This rule influences spelling patterns and helps maintain consistent pronunciation across word forms.

Visually, the Mongolian Cyrillic script closely resembles Russian but stands apart through the inclusion of distinct characters like Ө and Ү, which give the language its unique phonetic identity.

In summary, the Mongolian alphabet is a Cyrillic-based system adapted to express the phonology of the Mongolian language, combining Russian orthographic structure with language-specific vowel expansion.