Colonel William A. Phillips

ISO 9 is an international standard establishing a system for the transliteration into Latin characters of Cyrillic characters constituting the alphabets of many Slavic and non-Slavic languages.[1]

Published on February 23, 1995 by the International Organization for Standardization,[2] the major advantage ISO 9 has over other competing systems is its univocal system of one character for one character equivalents (by the use of diacritics), which faithfully represents the original spelling and allows for reverse transliteration, even if the language is unknown.

Earlier versions of the standard, ISO/R 9:1954, ISO/R 9:1968 and ISO 9:1986, were more closely based on the international scholarly system for linguistics (scientific transliteration), but have diverged in favour of unambiguous transliteration over phonemic representation. The edition of 1995 supersedes the edition of 1986.[1]

ISO 9:1995

The standard features three mapping tables: the first covers contemporary Slavic languages, the second older Slavic orthographies (excluding letters from the first), and the third non-Slavic languages (including most letters from the first). Several Cyrillic characters included in ISO 9 are not available as pre-composed characters in Unicode, nor are some of the transliterations; combining diacritical marks have to be used in these cases. Unicode, on the other hand, includes some historic characters that are not dealt with in ISO 9.

Transliteration table

The following combined table shows characters for various Slavic, Iranian, Romance, Turkic, Uralic, Mongolic, Caucasian, Tungusic, Paleosiberian and other languages of the former USSR which are written in Cyrillic.

ISO 9:1995
Cyrillic Latin
Char Char Unicode Description
А а A a
Ӓ ӓ Ä ä 00C4 00E4 a diaeresis
Ӓ̄ ӓ̄ Ạ̈ ạ̈ 00C4+0323 00E4+0323 a diaeresis and dot below
Ӑ ӑ Ă ă 0102 0103 a breve
А̄ а̄ Ā ā 0100 0101 a macron
Ӕ ӕ Æ æ 00C6 00E6 ae ligature
А́ а́ Á á 00C1 00E1 a acute
А̊ а̊ Å å 00C5 00E5 a ring
Б б B b
В в V v
Г г G g
Ґ ґ 0047+0300 0067+0300 g grave
Ѓ ѓ Ǵ ǵ 01F4 01F5 g acute
Ғ ғ Ġ ġ 0120 0121 g dot
Ҕ ҕ Ğ ğ 011E 011F g breve
Һ һ 1E24 1E25 h dot
Д д D d
Ђ ђ Đ đ 0110 0111 d stroke
Е е E e
Ӗ ӗ Ĕ ĕ 0114 0115 e breve
Ё ё Ë ë 00CB 00EB e diaeresis
Є є Ê ê 00CA 00EA e circumflex
Ж ж Ž ž 017D 017E z caron
Җ җ Ž̦ ž̦ 017D+0326 017E+0326 z caron and comma below[3]
Ž̧ ž̧ 017D+0327 017E+0327 z caron and cedilla[3]
Ӝ ӝ 005A+0304 007A+0304 z macron
Ӂ ӂ 005A+0306 007A+0306 z breve
З з Z z
Ӟ ӟ 005A+0308 007A+0308 z diaeresis
Ӡ ӡ Ź ź 0179 017A z acute
Ѕ ѕ 1E90 1E91 z circumflex
И и I i
Ӣ ӣ Ī ī 012A 012B i macron
И́ и́ Í í 00CD 00ED i acute
Ӥ ӥ Î î 00CE 00EE i circumflex
Й й J j
І і Ì ì 00CC 00EC i grave
Ї ї Ï ï 00CF 00EF i diaeresis
І̄ і̄ Ǐ ǐ 01CF (012C) 01D0 (012D) i caron (or breve)
Ј ј ǰ 004A+030C 01F0 j caron
Ј̵ ј̵ 004A+0301 006A+0301 j acute
К к K k
Ќ ќ 1E30 1E31 k acute
Ӄ ӄ 1E32 1E33 k dot below
Ҝ ҝ 004B+0302 006B+0302 k circumflex
Ҡ ҡ Ǩ ǩ 01E8 01E9 k caron
Ҟ ҟ 004B+0304 006B+0304 k macron
Қ қ 004B+0326 006B+0326 k comma below[3]
Ķ ķ 0136 0137 k cedilla[3]
К̨ к̨ 004B+0300 006B+0300 k grave
Ԛ ԛ Q q
Л л L l
Љ љ 004C+0302 006C+0302 l circumflex
Ԡ ԡ 004C+0326 006C+0326 l comma below[3]
Ļ ļ 013B 013C l cedilla[3]
М м M m
Н н N n
Њ њ 004E+0302 006E+0302 n circumflex
Ң ң 004E+0326 006E+0326 n comma below[3]
Ņ ņ 0145 0146 n cedilla[3]
Ӊ ӊ 1E46 1E47 n dot below
Ҥ ҥ 1E44 1E45 n dot
Ԋ ԋ Ǹ ǹ 01F8 01F9 n grave
Ԣ ԣ Ń ń 0143 0144 n acute
Ӈ ӈ Ň ň 0147 0148 n caron
Н̄ н̄ 004E+0304 006E+0304 n macron
О о O o
Ӧ ӧ Ö ö 00D6 00F6 o diaeresis
Ө ө Ô ô 00D4 00F4 o circumflex
Ӫ ӫ Ő ő 0150 0151 o double acute
Ӧ̄ о̄̈ Ọ̈ ọ̈ 00D6+0323 00F6+0323 o diaeresis and dot below
Ҩ ҩ Ò ò 00D2 00F2 o grave
О́ о́ Ó ó 00D3 00F3 o acute
О̄ о̄ Ō ō 014C 014D o macron
Œ œ Œ œ 0152 0153 oe ligature
П п P p
Ҧ ҧ 1E54 1E55 p acute
Ԥ ԥ 0050+0300 0070+0300 p grave
Р р R r
С с S s
Ҫ ҫ Ș ș 0218 0219 s comma below[3]
Ş ş 015E 015F s cedilla[3]
С̀ с̀ 0053+0300 0073+0300 s grave
Т т T t
Ћ ћ Ć ć 0106 0107 c acute
Ԏ ԏ 0054+0300 0074+0300 t grave
Т̌ т̌ Ť ť 0164 0165 t caron
Ҭ ҭ Ț ț 021A 021B t comma below[3]
Ţ ţ 0162 0163 t cedilla[3]
У у U u
Ӱ ӱ Ü ü 00DC 00FC u diaeresis
Ӯ ӯ Ū ū 016A 016B u macron
Ў ў Ŭ ŭ 016C 016D u breve
Ӳ ӳ Ű ű 0170 0171 u double acute
У́ у́ Ú ú 00DA 00FA u acute
Ӱ̄ ӱ̄ Ụ̈ ụ̈ 00DC+0323 00FC+0323 u diaeresis and dot below
Ụ̄ ụ̄ 016A+0323 016B+0323 u macron and dot below
Ү ү Ù ù 00D9 00F9 u grave
Ұ ұ 0055+0307 0075+0307 u dot
Ԝ ԝ W w
Ф ф F f
Х х H h
Ҳ ҳ 0048+0326 0068+0326 h comma below[3]
1E28 1E29 h cedilla[3]
Ц ц C c
Ҵ ҵ 0043+0304 0063+0304 c macron
Џ џ 0044+0302 0064+0302 d circumflex
Ч ч Č č 010C 010D c caron
Ҷ ҷ 0043+0326 0063+0326 c comma below[3]
Ç ç 00C7 00E7 c cedilla[3]
Ӌ ӌ 0043+0323 0063+0323 c dot below
Ӵ ӵ 0043+0308 0063+0308 c diaeresis
Ҹ ҹ Ĉ ĉ 0108 0109 c circumflex
Ч̀ ч̀ 0043+0300 0063+0300 c grave
Ҽ ҽ 0043+0306 0063+0306 c breve
Ҿ ҿ C̨̆ c̨̆ 0043+0328+0306 0063+0328+0306 c ogonek[3] and breve
Ш ш Š š 0160 0161 s caron
Щ щ Ŝ ŝ 015C 015D s circumflex
Ъ ъ ʺ 02BA modifier letter double prime[4]
Ы ы Y y
Ӹ ӹ Ÿ ÿ 0178 00FF y diaeresis
Ы̄ ы̄ Ȳ ȳ 0232 0233 y macron
Ь ь ʹ 02B9 modifier letter prime[4]
Э э È è 00C8 00E8 e grave
Ә ә 0041+030B 0061+030B a double acute
Ӛ ӛ À à 00C0 00E0 a grave
Ю ю Û û 00DB 00FB u circumflex
Ю̄ ю̄ Û̄ û̄ 00DB+0304 00FB+0304 u circumflex and macron
Я я Â â 00C2 00E2 a circumflex
Ѣ ѣ Ě ě 011A 011B e caron
Ѫ ѫ Ǎ ǎ 01CD 01CE a caron
Ѳ ѳ 0046+0300 0066+0300 f grave
Ѵ ѵ 1EF2 1EF3 y grave
Ӏ 2021 double dagger
ʼ ʼ 02BC modifier apostrophe
ˮ ˮ 02EE modifier double apostrophe

National adoptions

Date Region Name Descriptive name
1995-06-01 France NF ISO 9:1995-06-01 [5] Information et documentation - Translittération des caractères cyrilliques en caractères latins - Langues slaves et non slaves.
1995-09-29 Sweden SS-ISO 9 [6] Translitterering av kyrilliska bokstäver till latinska - Slaviska och icke-slaviska språk
1997 Romania SR ISO 9:1997 [7] Informare şi documentare. Transliterarea caracterelor chirilice în caractere latine. Limbi slave şi neslave
1997-12-11 Croatia HRN ISO 9:1997 [8] Informacije i dokumentacija—Transliteracija ćiriličnih u latinične znakove za slavenske i neslavenske jezike (ISO 9:1995)
2000 Poland PN-ISO 9:2000 [9] Informacja i dokumentacja. Transliteracja znaków cyrylickich na znaki łacińskie — Języki słowiańskie i niesłowiańskie
2002 Lithuania LST ISO 9:2002 Informacija ir dokumentai. Kirilicos rašmenų transliteravimas lotyniškais rašmenimis. Slavų ir ne slavų kalbos
2002-07-01 Russia GOST 7.79-2000 System A Система стандартов по информации, библиотечному и издательскому делу. Правила транслитерации кирилловского письма латинским алфавитом
2002-10 Czechia ČSN ISO 9 (010185)[10] Informace a dokumentace - Transliterace cyrilice do latinky - slovanské a neslovanské jazyky
2005-03-01 Italy UNI ISO 9:2005[11] Informazione e documentazione - Traslitterazione dei caratteri cirillici in caratteri latini - Linguaggi slavi e non slavi
2005-11-01 Slovenia SIST ISO 9:2005[12] Informatika in dokumentacija – Transliteracija ciriličnih znakov v latinične znake – Slovanski in neslovanski jeziki
2011 Estonia EVS-ISO 9:2011[13] Informatsioon ja dokumentatsioon. Kirillitsa translitereerimine ladina keelde. Slaavi ja mitte-slaavi keeled
2013 GCC: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates GSO ISO 9:2013 [14] التوثيق والمعلومات - الحروف السير يليه بترجمة إلى اللغة اللاتينية - السلافيه وغير اللغات السلافيه

Sample text

The following text is a fragment of the Preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Bulgarian:[15]

Като взе предвид, че признаването на достойнството, присъщо на всички членове на човешкия род,
на техните равни и неотменими права представлява основа на свободата, справедливостта и мира в света,
Kato vze predvid, če priznavaneto na dostojnstvoto, prisʺŝo na vsički členove na čoveškiâ rod,
na tehnite ravni i neotmenimi prava predstavlâva osnova na svobodata, spravedlivostta i mira v sveta,

ISO/R 9

ISO Recommendation No. 9, published 1954 and revised 1968, is an older version of the standard, with different transliteration for different Slavic languages, reflecting their phonemic differences. It is closer to the original international system of Slavist scientific transliteration.

A German adaptation of this standard was published by the Deutsches Institut für Normung as DIN 1460 (1982) for Slavic languages and supplemented by DIN 1460-2 (2010) for non-Slavic languages.

The languages covered are Bulgarian, Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Serbo-Croatian and Macedonian. For comparison, ISO 9:1995 is shown in the table below.

Alternative schemes: ISO/R 9:1968 permits some deviations from the main standard. In the table below, they are listed in the columns alternative 1 and alternative 2.

  1. The first sub-standard defines some language-dependent transliterations for Belarusian (BE), Bulgarian (BG), Russian (RU), and Ukrainian (UK).
  2. The second sub-standard permits, in countries where tradition favours it, a set of alternative transliterations, but only as a group. It is identical to the British Standard 2979:1958 for Cyrillic romanization.[16]
ISO/R 9:1954, ISO/R 9:1968 and ISO 9:1995
Cyrillic R 1954 R 1968 1995 RU BE UK BG SH MK
basic alt. 1 alt. 2
А а A a A a A a Yes
Б б B b B b B b Yes
В в V v V v V v Yes
Г г G g G g H h (BE, UK) G g Yes Regional Yes
Ґ ґ Ġ ġ G g G̀ g̀ No Yes No
Д д D d D d D d Yes
Ѓ ѓ Ǵ ǵ Ǵ ǵ Ǵ ǵ No Yes
Ђ ђ Đ đ Đ đ Đ đ No Yes No
Е е E e E e E e Yes
Ё ё Ë ë Ë ë Ë ë Yes No
Є є Je je Je je Ê ê No Yes No
Ж ж Ž ž Ž ž Zh zh Ž ž Yes
З з Z z Z z Z z Yes
Ѕ ѕ Dz dz Dz dz Ẑ ẑ No Yes
И и I i, Y y I i Y y (UK) I i Yes No Regional Yes
I і I i Ī ī I i (BE, UK) Ì ì Archaic Yes No
Ї ї Ji ji Ï ï Ï ï No Yes No
Й й J j J j Ĭ ĭ J j Yes No
Ј ј J j J j Ĵ ĵ Y y J̌ ǰ No Yes
К к K k K k K k Yes
Л л L l L l L l Yes
Љ љ Lj lj Lj lj Ĺ ĺ L̂ l̂ No Yes
М м M m M m M m Yes
Н н N n N n N n Yes
Њ њ Nj nj Nj nj Ń ń N̂ n̂ No Yes
О о O o O o O o Yes
П п P p P p P p Yes
Р р R r R r R r Yes
С с S s S s S s Yes
Т т T t T t T t Yes
Ќ ќ Ḱ ḱ Ḱ ḱ Ḱ ḱ No Yes
Ћ ћ Ć ć Ć ć Ć ć No Yes No
У у U u U u U u Yes
Ў ў Ŭ ŭ Ŭ ŭ Ŭ ŭ No Yes No
Ф ф F f F f F f Yes
Х х H h H, h Ch ch (BE, RU, UK) Kh kh H h Regional Yes
Ц ц C c C c Ts ts C c Yes
Ч ч Č č Č č Ch ch Č č Yes
Џ џ Dž dž Dž dž Dj dj Dĵ dĵ D̂ d̂ No Yes
Ш ш Š š Š š Sh sh Š š Yes
Щ щ Šč šč, Št št Šč šč Št št (BG) Shch shch Ŝ ŝ Yes No Yes Regional No
Ъ ъ[17][18] Ă ă, " ʺ Ă ă (BG) ʺ Yes Archaic Regional No
Ы ы Y y Y y Y y Yes No
Ь ь ʹ ʹ ʹ Yes No
Ѣ ѣ Ě ě Ě ě Ě ě Archaic No
Э э E̊ e̊ E̊ e̊ È è Yes No
Ю ю Ju ju Ju ju Yu yu Û û Yes No
Я я Ja ja Ja ja Ya ya  â Yes No
", ’ Archaic Yes No Regional
Ѫ ѫ[17] Ȧ ȧ ʺ̣ Ȧ ȧ (BG) Ǎ ǎ No Archaic No
Ѳ ѳ Ḟ ḟ Ḟ ḟ F̀ f̀ Archaic No
Ѵ ѵ Ẏ ẏ Ẏ ẏ Ỳ ỳ Archaic No

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b "ISO 9:1995: Information and documentation -- Transliteration of Cyrillic characters into Latin characters -- Slavic and non-Slavic languages". International Organization for Standardization. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  2. ^ "ISO 9:1995". www.standard.no.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q The "informative" Annex A of ISO 9:1995 uses ISO 5426 0x52 hook to left which can be mapped to Unicode's comma below U+0326 (while the ISO 5426 also has 0x50 cedilla which can be mapped to Unicode's cedilla U+0327), it also uses ISO 5426 0x53 hook to right which can be mapped to Unicode's ogonek U+0328. See for example Evertype.com's ISO 5426 Archived 2020-10-21 at the Wayback Machine mapping to Unicode or Joan M. Aliprand's Finalized Mapping between Characters of ISO 5426 and ISO/IEC 10646-1 Archived 2020-08-02 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ^ a b Evertype.com: ISO 5426 mapping to Unicode Archived 2020-10-21 at the Wayback Machine; Joan M. Aliprand: Finalized Mapping between Characters of ISO 5426 and ISO/IEC 10646-1 Archived 2020-08-02 at the Wayback Machine; The Unicode Standard: Spacing Modifier Letters Archived 2019-06-13 at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ^ "DIN - German Institute for Standardization". Archived from the original on 3 February 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  6. ^ "Standard - Information and documentation - Transliteration of Cyrillic characters into Latin characters - Slavic and non-Slavic languages SS-ISO 9 - Swedish Institute for Standards, SIS".
  7. ^ "Magazin ASRO". magazin.asro.ro. Archived from the original on 13 February 2019.
  8. ^ "HRVATSKI NORMATIVNI DOKUMENT". Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Sklep PKN". sklep.pkn.pl.
  10. ^ "ČSN ISO 9 (010185)". www.technicke-normy-csn.cz.
  11. ^ "Uni Iso 9:2005".
  12. ^ "Spletna trgovina SIST - SIST ISO 9:2005".
  13. ^ "EVS-ISO 9:2011". EVS.
  14. ^ "GSO ISO 9:2013 - متجر المواصفات - Ministry of Industry, Commerce & Tourism - Kingdom of Bahrain". Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  15. ^ "OHCHR | Universal Declaration of Human Rights - Bulgarian (Balgarski)". OHCHR.
  16. ^ Hans H. Wellisch (1978), The Conversion of Scripts: Its Nature, History, and Utilization, New York City: Wiley, p. 262, Wikidata Q104231343
  17. ^ a b In Bulgarian, ъ and ѫ are not transliterated at the end of a word (where it occurred in the pre-1945 orthography).
  18. ^ In Russian and Belarusian, ъ is not transliterated at the end of a word (where it occurred in the pre-1918 orthography).

External links