Tajik language, alphabet and pronunciation

Tajik (a.k.a. Galcha) is the the variety of Persian spoken in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Afghanistan by about 4.4 million people. The Persian language in this region was renamed Tajik by Stalin in 1932 in order to distance Persian speakers in Central Asia from Persian speakers in Iran.

Before 1928, Tajik was written with a version of the Perso-Arabic script, then with the Latin alphabet between 1928 to 1940, then with a modified version of the Cyrillic alphabet thereafter. In 1989, the Tajik government passed a law calling for the reintroduction of the Arabic alphabet. There are also some people in favour of switching to the Latin alphabet.

Perso-Arabic script for Tajik (‫اﻟﻔﺒﺎﯼ ﺗﺎﺟﮑﯽ‬)

Perso-Arabic script for Tajik

Latin alphabet for Tajik

Cyrillic alphabet for Tajik (алифбои тоҷикӣ)

Cyrillic alphabet for Tajik

Tajik sample text in the Arabic script

تمام آدمان آزاد به دنيا مى آيند و از لحاظ منزلت و حقوق با هم برابرند. همه صحب عقل و وجدانند، بايد نسبت به يكديگر برادروار مناسبت نمايند.

Transliteration
tmạm ậdmạn ậzạd bh dnyạ mỵ ậynd w ạz lḥạẓ mnzlt w ḥqwq bạ hm brạbrnd. hmh ṣḥb ʿql w wjdạnnd, bạyd nsbt bh ykdygr brạdrwạr mnạsbt nmạynd.

Tajik sample text in the Latin alphabet

Tamomi odamon ozod ba dunyo meojand va az lihozi manzilatu huquq bo ham barobarand. Hama sohibi aqlu viçdonand, bojad nisbat ba jakdigar barodarvor munosabat namojand.

Tajik sample text in the Cyrillic alphabet

Тамоми одамон озод ба дунё меоянд ва аз лиҳози манзилату ҳуқуқ бо ҳам баробаранд. Ҳама соҳиби ақлу виҷдонанд, бояд нисбат ба якдигар бародарвор муносабат намоянд.

Transliteration
Tamomi odamon ozod ba dunë meoând va az lix̧ozi manzilatu x̧uķuķ bo x̧am barobarand. X̧ama sox̧ibi aķlu viç̌donand, boâd nisbat ba âkdigar barodarvor munosabat namoând.

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Tajik language courses and dictionaries