Official script

An official script is a writing system that is specifically designated to be official in the constitutions or other applicable laws of countries, states, and other jurisdictions. Akin to an official language, an official script is much rarer. It is used primarily where an official language is in practice written with two or more scripts. As, in these languages, use of script often has cultural or political connotations, proclamation of an official script is sometimes criticised as having a goal of influencing culture or politics or both. Desired effects also may include easing education, communication and some other aspects of life.

List of official scripts

Below is a partial list of official scripts used in different countries. Those in italics are states that have limited international recognition.

• Azerbaijan – Azeri Latin alphabet
• Bangladesh – Bengali script
• Brunei – Rumi script (Latin) and Jawi script
• Ethiopia – Ge'ez script
• Bosnia and Herzegovina:
  • Republika Srpska – Cyrillic
• China, People's Republic of (mainland China) – Simplified Chinese[1]
  • Hong Kong SAR – Traditional Chinese (de facto), Latin script[2]
  • Macau SAR – Traditional Chinese (de facto), Latin script
  • Inner Mongolia region – Mongolian alphabet, Simplified Chinese
  • Tibet region – Tibetan alphabet, Simplified Chinese
  • Xinjiang region – Uyghur Ereb Yéziqi,[3] Simplified Chinese
  • Guangxi region – Zhuang Latin alphabet, Simplified Chinese
• Croatia – Croatian alphabet[4]
• Georgia – Georgian alphabet
• India – Devanagari
  • Hindi,[5] Marathi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Bhojpuri, Bhili, Magahi, Kurukh, Dogri, Konkani – Devanagari
  • Gujarati – Gujarati alphabet
  • Kashmiri – Perso-Arabic script, Devanagari
  • Kannada – Kannada alphabet
  • Kutchi language – Gujarati alphabet
  • Punjabi – Gurmukhi
  • Malayalam – Malayalam alphabet
  • Bengali – Bengali alphabet
  • Oriya – Oriya alphabet
  • Assamese language – Assamese script
  • Maithili – Devanagari
  • Tamil – Tamil alphabet
  • Telugu – Telugu alphabet
  • Tulu language – Kannada alphabet
  • Konkani language – Devanagari, Kannada alphabet
  • Lepcha language – Lepcha script
  • Limbu language – Limbu script
  • Meitei language – Bengali alphabet, Meitei Mayek script
  • Urdu – Perso-Arabic script
• Iran – Perso-Arabic alphabet[6]
• Kazakhstan – Cyrillic (Kazakh, Russian) and Latin (Kazakh)
• Korea (both) – Chosŏn'gŭl/Hangul (de facto)[7] and Hanja (traditional)[8]
• Macedonia – Macedonian alphabet[9]
• Malaysia – Rumi script (Latin), Jawi script is recognised.[10]
• Moldova – Latin alphabet[11]
• Mongolia – Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet and Mongolian script[12]
• Montenegro – Cyrillic and Latin script[13]
• Philippines – Filipino Latin alphabet (de facto), Baybayin (traditional)[14][15]
• Russian Federation – Cyrillic (Russian alphabet)[16]
• Serbia – Cyrillic (Serbian Cyrillic script)[17]
• Taiwan[18] – Traditional Chinese
• Turkey – Turkish Latin alphabet
• Vietnam – Vietnamese Latin alphabet

Historical

• In the USSR, numerous languages were Latinised during the 1920s–1930s. In the late 1930s the Latinisation campaign was canceled and all newly romanized languages were converted to Cyrillic.

See also

• Official language
• Spelling reform

References

1. National People's Congress of China, "The law of national all-purpose language and character in the People's Republic of China".
2. After the announcement of Simplified Chinese in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau didn't follow the change, making Traditional Chinese the de facto official script. (Hong Kong and Macau were still colonies at that time, and their current constitutions don't state whether Tradition Chinese or Simplified Chinese is to be used. Both places continued to use Traditional Chinese after handover.see List of languages written in Chinese characters and derivatives of Chinese characters )
3. Xinjiang Languages and characters, "Uyghur Language and characters".
4. Constitution of Croatia, Article 12: "Basic Provisions". Croatian Parliament. Archived from the original on 9 September 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2011. The Croatian language and the Latin script shall be in official use in the Republic of Croatia.
5. "Official Language Act - Official Language: Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India". socialjustice.nic.in. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
6. Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Official Language, Script, Calendar, and Flag of the Country.
7. Alton, David; Chidley, Rob (2013). Building Bridges: Is There Hope for North Korea?. Oxford: Lion Books. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-7459-5598-8.
8. Article 14 of the Framework Act on Korean Language prefers hangul but also allows hanja in parentheses, in cases prescribed by South Korean Presidential Decree.
9. Constitution of Macedonia, Article 7: "Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia". Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2011. The Macedonian language, written using its Cyrillic alphabet, is the official language in the Republic of Macedonia.
10. "National Language Acts 1963/67". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. The script of the national language shall be the Rumi script: provided that this shall not prohibit the use of the Malay script, more commonly known as the Jawi script, of the national language.
11. Constitution of Moldova, Article 13: "Title I. General Principles". Official Website of the President of Moldavia. Archived from the original on 29 August 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2011. (1) The national language of the Republic of Moldova is Moldovan, and its writing is based on the Latin alphabet.
12. "Official Documents to be in Mongolian Script". UB Post (in Chinese). 21 June 2011. Archived from the original on 1 November 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
13. "Vlada Crne Gore". www.vlada.me. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
14. Norman de los Santos. "SAVING ENDANGERED PHILIPPINE NATIVE SCRIPTS IN A MODERN DIGITAL WORLD THROUGH TYPOGRAPHY, TECHNOLOGY, AND STANDARDIZATION" (PDF). Lingdy.aacore.jp. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
15. "Baybayin Buhayin: National Script Act". Baybayinbuhayin.blogspot.com. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
16. In Russian, the designation of Cyrillic as an official script (2001) has the consequence that the official languages of national Republics of Russia have to be written in the Cyrillic script in all official institutions and education. The passing of the law was met with particular resistance and criticism in the Republic of Tatarstan, as it replaced the Turkish Latin alphabet which the local government tried to promote in education after the dissolution of USSR.see List of languages in Russia
17. Constitution of Serbia, Article 10: "I Constitution Principles". Government of Serbia. Archived from the original on 2 May 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2011. Serbian language and Cyrillic script shall be in official use in the Republic of Serbia.
18. Control by Republic of China