Yakut (саха тыла)

Yakut or Sakha is a Turkic language with about 363,000 speakers in the Russian Federation, mainly in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and also in the Amur, Magadan, Sakhalin regions and the Taimyr and Evenki autonomous districts.

Yakut first appeared in writing in 1692 as part of a book by the traveller N. Witsen and published in Amsterdam. The first literary work in Yakut Reminiscences by A. Y. Uvarovsky and its German translation was published in 1851 as a part of Otto N. Böhtlingk's work About the Yakut language. Böhtlingk used an alphabet based on Cyrillic with some special characters.

Between 1922-1939 a version of the Latin alphabet devised by S.A. Novgorodov was used to write Yakut, and since 1939 the Cyrillic alphabet has been used.

Yakut alphabet

Latin alphabet for Yakut

Long vowels and diphthongs

Yakut long vowels and diphthongs

Notes

The letters in red are used only in Russian loanwords.
the long нь sound is written as ннь, e.g. оонньоо
Yakut has vowel harmony:
back vowels are а, аа, ы, ыы, ыа, о, оо, у, уу and уо;
front vowels are э, ээ, и, ии, иэ, ө, өө, ү, үү and үө
back-unrounded vowels are а, аа, ы, ыы and ыа;
front-unrounded are э, ээ, и, ии and иэ;
back-rounded vowels are о, оо, у, уу and уо;
front-rounded are ө, өө, ү, үү and үө
Between vowels, с usually becaomes h, e.g. Aлааhым = Aлаас+ым "my Allas".
glide й is not indicated in writing.

Sample text

Дьон барыта бэйэ суолтатыгар уонна быраабыгар тэҥ буолан төрүүллэр. Кинилэр бары өркөн өйдөөх, суобастаах буолан төрүүллэр, уонна бэйэ бэйэлэригэр тылга кииринигэс быһыылара доҕордоһуу тыыннаах буолуохтаах.

Transliteration

Con barıta beye suoltatıgar uonna bıraabıgar teñ buolan törüüller. Kininler barı örkön öydööx, suobastaax buolan törüüller, uonna beye beyeleriger tılga kiiriniges bıhıılara doğordohuu tıınnaax buoluoxtaax.

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)

Useful phrases in Sakha / Yakut