Additional letters
This is a compilation of additional letters in the main scripts of the world.
Arabic script
The basic Arabic abjad has 28 letters: ح ج ث ت ب ا ص ش س ز ر ذ د ق ف غ ع ظ ط ض ي و ه ن م ل ك. Some languages have adapted it by including additional letters:
پ: Arabic, Balochi, Kashmiri, Khowar, Kurdish, Pashto, Persian, Punjabi, Sindhi, Urdu, Uyghur
ٻ: Saraiki, Sindhi
ڀ: Sindhi
ٺ: Sindhi
ٽ: Sindhi
ٿ: Rajasthani, Sindhi
ﭦ: Kashmiri, Punjabi, Urdu
ټ: Pashto
چ: Kashmiri, Kurdish, Pashto, Persian, Punjabi, Urdu
څ: Pashto
ځ: Pashto
ڊ: Saraiki
ډ: Pashto
ڌ: Sindhi
ڈ: Kashmiri, Punjabi, Urdu
ݙ: Saraiki
ڕ: Kurdish
ړ: Ormuri, Torwali
ژ: Kurdish, Pashto, Persian, Punjabi, Urdu, Uyghur
ڑ: Punjabi, Urdu
ږ: Pashto
ݭ: Gawri, Ormuri
ݜ: Shina
ښ: Pashto
ڜ: Moroccan Arabic
ڠ: Malay
ڥ : Algerian Arabic, Tunisian Arabic
ڤ: Kurdish, Malay
ڨ: Algerian Arabic, Tunisian Arabic
ک: Sindhi
ݢ: Malay
گ: Pashto, Kurdish, Kyrgyz, Mesopotamian Arabic, Persian, Punjabi, Urdu, Uyghur
ګ: Pashto
ڱ: Sindhi
ڳ: Saraiki, Sindhi
ڪ: Sindhi
ڬ: Malay
ڭ: Algerian Arabic, Kyrgyz, Moroccan Arabic, Uyghur
ڵ: Kurdish
لؕ : Punjabi
ݪ: Gawri, Marwari
ڽ: Malay
ڻ: Sindhi
ݨ: Punjabi, Saraiki
ڼ: Pashto
ۏ: Malay
ۋ: Kyrgyz, Uyghur
ۆ: Kurdish, Uyghur
ۇ: Kyrgyz, Uyghur
ۅ: Kyrgyz
ی: Pashto
ې: Pashto, Uyghur
ىٓ: Saraiki
ێ: Kurdish
ۍ: Pashto
ئ: Pashto, Punjabi, Saraiki, Urdu
ھ: Kurdish, Punjabi, Urdu, Uyghur
ے: Punjabi, Urdu
Cyrillic script
The basic Cyrillic alphabet includes 29 letters: А а Б б В в Г г Д д Е е Ж ж З з И и Й й К к Л л М м Н н О о П п Р р С с Т т У у Ф ф Х х Ц ц Ч ч Ш ш Щ щ Ь ь Ю ю Я я. Most languages use additional letters:
Ӕ ӕ: Ossetian
Ä ӓ: Hill Mari, Kildin Sámi
Ӑ ӑ: Chuvash
Ґ ґ: Belarusian, Rusyn, Ukrainian
Ӷ ӷ: Abkhaz
Ѓ ѓ: Macedonian
Г' г': Kurdish
Гъ гъ: Avar, Ossetian
Гь гь: Avar
Гӏ гӏ: Avar
Ғ ғ: Azerbaijani, Bashkir, Tajik, Uzbek
Дә дә: Abkhaz
Дж дж: Bulgarian, Ossetian
Дз дз: Bulgarian, Ossetian
Ђ ђ: Montenegrin, Serbian
Ѕ ѕ: Macedonian
Ҙ ҙ: Bashkir
Є є: Rusyn, Ukrainian
Ә ә: Abkhaz, Azerbaijani, Bashkir, Dungan, Kalmyk, Kurdish, Tatar
Ә' ә': Kurdish
Ё ё: Azerbaijani, Bashkir, Buryat, Chuvash, Dungan, Hill Mari, Khalkha, Kildin Sámi, Komi-Permyak, Kyrgyz, Meadow Mari, Ossetian, Russian, Rusyn, Tajik, Tatar, Ukrainian, Uzbek
Ӗ ӗ: Chuvash
Ӂ ӂ: Moldovan
Җ җ: Dungan, Kalmyk
Жә жә: Abkhaz
З́ з́: Montenegrin
Ӡ ӡ: Abkhaz
Ӡә ӡә: Abkhaz
І і: Avar, Belarusian, Rusyn, Ukrainian
Ї ї: Rusyn, Ukrainian
Ӣ ӣ: Tajik
Ҋ ҋ: Kildin Sámi
Ј ј: Azerbaijani, Kildin Sámi, Macedonian, Montenegrin, Serbian
Ҝ ҝ: Azerbaijani
Қ қ: Abkhaz, Tajik, Uzbek
Қь қь: Abkhaz
Ҡ ҡ: Bashkir
Ҟ ҟ: Abkhaz
Ҟь ҟь: Abkhaz
Ќ ќ: Macedonian
К' к': Kurdish
Къ къ: Avar, Ossetian
Кь кь: Abkhaz, Avar
Кӏ кӏ: Avar
Кӏкӏ кӏкӏ: Avar
Кк кк: Avar
Ӆ ӆ: Kildin Sámi
Љ љ: Macedonian, Montenegrin, Serbian
Ӎ ӎ: Kildin Sámi
Ӊ ң: Bashkir, Dungan, Kalmyk, Kildin Sámi, Kyrgyz, Tatar
Ҥ ҥ: Meadow Mari
Ӈ ӈ: Kildin Sámi
Њ њ: Macedonian, Montenegrin, Serbian
Ө ө: Azerbaijani, Bashkir, Buryat, Kalmyk, Khalkha, Kyrgyz, Tatar
Ö ӧ: Hill Mari, Komi-Permyak, Kurdish, Meadow Mari
Ԥ ԥ: Abkhaz
П' п': Kurdish
Ҧ ҧ: Abkhaz
Пъ пъ: Ossetian
Ҏ ҏ: Kildin Sámi
Р' р': Kurdish
Ҫ ҫ: Bashkir, Chuvash
С́ с́: Montenegrin
Ҭ ҭ: Abkhaz
Ҭә ҭә: Abkhaz
Т' т': Kurdish
Тә тә: Abkhaz
Тъ тъ: Ossetian
Тӏ тӏ: Avar
Ћ ћ: Montenegrin, Serbian
Ӱ ӱ: Hill Mari, Meadow Mari
Ӳ ӳ: Chuvash
Ў ў: Belarusian, Dungan, Uzbek
Ӯ ӯ: Tajik
Ү ү: Azerbaijani, Bashkir, Buryat, Dungan, Kalmyk, Khalkha, Kyrgyz, Tatar
Ҳ ҳ: Abkhaz, Tajik, Uzbek
Хъ хъ: Ossetian
Хь хь: Abkhaz
Хӏ хӏ: Avar
Ҳ ҳ: Abkhaz
Ҳә ҳә: Abkhaz
Һ һ: Azerbaijani, Bashkir, Buryat, Kalmyk, Kildin Sámi, Kurdish, Tatar
Һ' һ': Kurdish
Ҵ ҵ: Abkhaz
Ҵә ҵә: Abkhaz
Цә цә: Abkhaz
Цъ цъ: Ossetian
Цц цц: Avar
Цӏ цӏ: Avar
Цӏцӏ цӏц: Avar
Џ џ: Abkhaz, Macedonian, Montenegrin, Serbian
Џь џь: Abkhaz
Ҹ ҹ: Azerbaijani
Ҷ ҷ: Azerbaijani, Tajik
Ч' ч': Kurdish
Чъ чъ: Ossetian
Чӏ чӏ: Avar
Чӏчӏ чӏчӏ: Avar
Ҽ ҽ: Abkhaz
Ҿ ҿ: Abkhaz
Шь шь: Abkhaz
Шә шә: Abkhaz
’: Belarusian, Ukrainian
Ъ ъ: Azerbaijani, Bashkir, Chuvash, Dungan, Hill Mari, Khalkha, Komi-Permyak, Meadow Mari, Ossetian, Russian, Rusyn, Tajik, Tatar, Uzbek
Ҍ ҍ: Kildin Sámi
Ы ы: Abkhaz, Azerbaijani, Bashkir, Belarusian, Buryat, Chuvash, Dungan, Hill Mari, Khalkha, Kildin Sámi, Komi-Permyak, Kyrgyz, Meadow Mari, Moldovan, Ossetian, Russian, Tatar
Ӹ ӹ: Hill Mari
Ҩ ҩ: Abkhaz
Э э: Azerbaijani, Bashkir, Belarusian, Buryat, Chuvash, Dungan, Hill Mari, Kalmyk, Khalkha, Kildin Sámi, Komi-Permyak, Kyrgyz, Kurdish, Meadow Mari, Moldovan, Ossetian, Russian, Tajik, Tatar, Uzbek
Ӭ ӭ: Kildin Sámi
Ԛ ԛ: Kurdish
Ԝ ԝ: Kurdish
Devanagari script
The basic Devanagari abugida includes 48 letters: अ आ इ ई उ ऊ ऋ ए पॅ ऐ ओ औ अं अः ॲं क ख ग घ ङ ह च छ ज झ ञ य श ट ठ ड ढ ण र ष त थ द ध न ल स प फ ब भ म व. But some languages add additional ones:
ॠ: Sanskrit
ऌ: Sanskrit
ॡ: Sanskrit
ॲ: Marathi
ऑ: Marathi
क़: Hindi
ख़: Hindi
ग़: Hindi
ॻ: Saraiki, Sindhi
ज़: Hindi
ॼ: Saraiki, Sindhi
झ़: Hindi
ॾ: Saraiki, Sindhi
फ़: Hindi
ड़: Hindi
ढ़: Hindi
ॿ: Saraiki, Sindhi
ळ: Gharwali, Konkani, Marathi, Rajasthani, Sanskrit
ॸ: Marwari
Geʽez script
The basic Geʽez abugida consists of 217 letters: ሀ ሁ ሂ ሃ ሄ ህ ሆ ለ ሉ ሊ ላ ሌ ል ሎ ሏ ሐ ሑ ሒ ሓ ሔ ሕ ሖ ሗ መ ሙ ሚ ማ ሜ ም ሞ ሟ ፙ ሠ ሡ ሢ ሣ ሤ ሥ ሦ ሧ ረ ሩ ሪ ራ ሬ ር ሮ ሯ ፘ ሰ ሱ ሲ ሳ ሴ ስ ሶ ሸ ሹ ሺ ሻ ሼ ሽ ሾ ሷ ቀ ቁ ቂ ቃ ቄ ቅ ቆ ቋ በ ቡ ቢ ባ ቤ ብ ቦ ቧ ተ ቱ ቲ ታ ቴ ት ቶ ቷ ቸ ቹ ቺ ቻ ቼ ች ቾ ኀ ኁ ኂ ኃ ኄ ኅ ኆ ኋ ነ ኑ ኒ ና ኔ ን ኖ ኗ አ ኡ ኢ ኣ ኤ እ ኦ ኧ ከ ኩ ኪ ካ ኬ ክ ኮ ኳ ወ ዉ ዊ ዋ ዌ ው ዎ ዐ ዑ ዒ ዓ ዔ ዕ ዖ ዘ ዙ ዚ ዛ ዜ ዝ ዞ ዟ የ ዩ ዪ ያ ዬ ይ ዮ ደ ዱ ዲ ዳ ዴ ድ ዶ ዷ ገ ጉ ጊ ጋ ጌ ግ ጎ ጓ ጠ ጡ ጢ ጣ ጤ ጥ ጦ ጧ ጰ ጱ ጲ ጳ ጴ ጵ ጶ ጷ ጸ ጹ ጺ ጻ ጼ ጽ ጾ ጿ ፀ ፁ ፂ ፃ ፄ ፅ ፆ ፈ ፉ ፊ ፋ ፌ ፍ ፎ ፏ ፚ ፐ ፑ ፒ ፓ ፔ ፕ ፖ ፗ. Certain languages use additional letters:
ቈ ቊ ቋ ቌ ቍ: Amharic, Bilen, Tigrinya
ኈ ኊ ኋ ኌ ኍ: Amharic, Bilen
ኰ ኲ ኳ ኴ ኵ: Amharic, Bilen, Tigrinya
ጐ ጒ ጓ ጔ ጕ: Amharic, Bilen, Tigrinya
ቐ ቑ ቒ ቓ ቔ ቕ ቖ: Amharic, Bilen, Harari, Tigre, Tigrinya
ቘ ቚ ቛ ቜ ቝ: Tigrinya
ቨ ቩ ቪ ቫ ቬ ቭ ቮ: Amharic, Bilen, Harari, Tigrinya
ⶓ ⶔ ጟ ⶕ ⶖ: Bilen
ኘ ኙ ኚ ኛ ኜ ኝ ኞ: Amharic, Bilen, Harari, Tigrinya
ኸ ኹ ኺ ኻ ኼ ኽ ኾ: Amharic, Harari, Tigrinya
ዀ ዂ ዃ ዄ ዅ: Amharic, Bilen, Tigrinya
ዠ ዡ ዢ ዣ ዤ ዥ ዦ: Amharic, Bilen, Tigre, Tigrinya
ጀ ጁ ጂ ጃ ጄ ጅ ጆ: Amharic, Bilen, Harari, Tigrinya
ጘ ጙ ጚ ጛ ጜ ጝ ጞ: Bilen, Tigre
ጨ ጩ ጪ ጫ ጬ ጭ ጮ: Amharic, Bilen, Harari, Tigrinya
Hebrew script
The basic Hebrew abjad has 22 letters: א ב ג ד ה ו ז ח ט י ך/כ ל ם/מ ן/נ ס ע ף/פ ץ/צ ק ר ש ת. Yiddish adds two more:
וו וי יי: Yiddish
בֿ: Yiddish
Latin script
The basic Latin alphabet consists of 26 letters: A a B b C c D d E e F f G g H h I i J j K k L l M m N n O o P p Q q R r S s T t U u V v W w X x Y y Z z. Many languages add special characters:
Countries between parentheses are added to distinguish between different languages that have the same name.
Æ æ: Danish, English, Faroese, Icelandic, Kawésqar, Lule Sámi, Norwegian, Southern Sámi, Yaghan
Ɑ ɑ (Latin alpha): Duka, Fe’fe’, Mbembe, Mbo, Tigon
Ð ð (eth): Anii, Elfdalian, Faroese, Icelandic
Ǝ ǝ (turned E): Anii, Bangolan, Bissa, Bura, Kanuri, Kposo, Lama, Lukpa, Ngizim, Tamahaq, Tamasheq, Turka, Yom
Ə ə (schwa): Awing, Bafut, Bulu, Daba, Dazaga, Dii, Ewondo, Fe’fe’, Gude, Kamwe, Kasena, Kemezung, Kpelle, Lyélé, Mada, Makaa, Manengumba, Mfumte, Mofu-Gudur, Mundang, Mundani, Ngas, Nso, Nuni, Parkwa, Tarok, Teda, Temne, Vengo, Vute, Yom, Zulgo-Gemzek
Ɛ ɛ (Latin epsilon): Abidji, Adele, Adjukru, Aghem, Ahanta, Ait Seghrouchen, Ait Warain, Aja (Benin), Akan, Anii, Anyin, Ayizo, Bafia, Bafut, Baka (Cameroon), Bambara, Baoulé, Bariba, Basa (Cameroon), Beni Snous, Bhele, Bissa, Boko, Busa (Nigeria), Central Atlas Tamazight, Cerma, Chakosi, Dagaare, Dan, Dangme, Dendi, Dii, Dinka, Djerbi, Duala, Dyula, Ewe, Ewondo, Ghomara, Iznasen, Kabyle, Kako, Kemezung, Kenyang, Kposo, Kyode, Lika, Lingala, Lupka, Maasai, Mandi (Cameroon), Manenguba, Mangbetu, Matmata, Mbelime, Medumba, Mzab-Wargla, Nawdm, Ngiemboon, Ngomba, Noni, Nuer, Sanhaja de Srair, Shawiya, Shenwa, Shilha, Tarifit, Tem, Tigon, Turka, Yoruba, Zuwara
Ɣ ɣ (Latin gamma): Air Tamajaq, Dagbani, Dinka, Ewe, Kabiye, Kabyle, Kpelle, Kposo, Lukpa, Tamahaq, Tamasheq, Tawellemet, Wakhi
ɤ (ram’s horn/baby gamma): Dan, Goo
I ı (Dotless): Crimean Tatar, Gagauz, Kazakh, Turkish
Ɪ ɪ (small capital): Kulango, Lomakka
Ɩ ɩ (iota): Bissa, Kabiye
Kʼ ĸ (kra): Inuttitut
Ł ł (L with stroke): Gwich’in, Iñupiaq, Kashubian, Navajo, Polish, Silesian, Sorbian, Venetian
Ŋ ŋ (eng): Aghem, Iñupiaq, Kemezung, Lukpa, Mandi (Cameroon), Medumba, Mundani, Nawdm, Ngiemboon, Ngomba, Noni, Northern Sámi, Nuer, Skolt Sámi, Tem, Tigon, Wuzlam
Ɔ ɔ (open O): Aghem, Akan, Bafia, Baka, Bambara, Baoulé, Bariba, Bassa, Boko, Dii, Dinka, Duala, Dyula, Ewe, Ewondo, Kako, Kemezung, Kposo, Lika, Lingala, Maasai, Mandi (Cameroon), Manenguba, Mangbetu, Mbelime, Medumba, Mundani, Nawdm, Ngiemboon, Ngomba, Nuer, Tem, Tigon, Turka, Yoruba
Œ œ: French, Lombard
Ʀ ʀ (small capital R): Alutiiq
ẞ ß (Eszett): German
Þ þ (thorn): Icelandic
Ɥ ɥ (turned H): Dan
Ʊ ʊ (upsilon): Anii, Anyin, Foodo, Lukpa, Tem, Yom
Ʌ ʌ (turned V): Dan, Ch’ol, Oneida, Temne, Tepehuán, Wounaan
Ʒ ʒ (ezh): Aja, Dagbani, Laz, Skolt Sámi
Ɂ ɂ (glottal stop): Chipewyan, Ditidaht, Dogrib, Halkomelem, Kutenai, Lushootseed, Nuu-chah-nulth, Slavey, Thompson
Ꞌ ꞌ (saltillo): Central Sama, Mexicanero, Mi'kmaq, Nahuatl, Nawat, Rapa Nui, Tlapane
Tibetan script
The basic Tibetan abugida is formed by 34 letters: ཀ ཁ ག ང ཅ ཆ ཇ ཉ ཏ ཐ ད ན པ ཕ བ མ ཙ ཚ ཛ ཝ ཞ ཟ འ ཡ ར ལ ཤ ས ཧ ཨ ཨི ཨུ ཨེ ཨོ. Balti uses four additional characters:
ཫ: Balti
ཬ: Balti
ཁ༹: Balti
ག༹: Balti
73 notes
·
View notes
"The Ghost and Molly McGee", Ten Years After
Molly’s ongoing work to improve the economic, cultural, and mental well-being of Brighton has earned her the love and respect of everyone in town, a few write-ups in statewide and national publications… and a full scholarship to the University of Iowa’s civil and environmental engineering program. She’s returned to Brighton, working for City Hall as assistant city planner (with her dad as her boss, which isn’t awkward at all, really) while earning her master’s online.
Molly wasn’t alone while she attended UI—Libby was her dormmate all four years that she was there. She earned a scholarship of her own, majoring in English. She also returned to Brighton after graduating, becoming a part-time reporter for the town newspaper while helping run her mother’s bookstore. All of this is in addition to her literary career. Matias, her father, took a second look at the fantasy novel she wrote and realized it was publication-worthy. It wasn’t a best seller, but the royalties from this and two other books Libby has written since let her live comfortably and pursue her passions in life. Her latest project is a series of books helping small children understand and live with the effects of divorce.
Molly and Ollie hit a rough patch after an admittedly stupid argument during their senior year of high school, and their two-month breakup proved just as hard on their respective families as it was on each other. They got back together just in time for graduation from Brighton High, only to part ways as Molly went to UI and Oliver headed for Iowa State. But they carried out a successful medium-distance relationship (it was only a two-hour drive between the two campuses).
Ollie has parlayed his experience as a researcher for his parents’ MeTube videos into a career as a freelance researcher for an assortment of psychological and medical foundations. While he travels all over the Midwest and occasionally beyond, he’s based out of Brighton… specifically, the rental house he shares with Molly. Ollie and Molly are practically married already, but their parents are eager for them to make it official. The couple are waiting a while to save enough money to stage the dream wedding and after-party they always wanted without breaking the bank.
Several years ago, an ill-advised deal involving a shipment of counterfeit designer smartwatches and the Uzbek mafia landed Darryl in hotter water than usual. He’s lucky all he got away with was lockdown in juvie until his 21st birthday… which got commuted to two hundred hours of community service and time served due to an unexpected (and slightly suspicious) governor’s pardon. At any rate, the whole debacle soured Darryl on similar schemes. He’s kept his nose clean since then, barring a few school detentions. He takes business courses at a local community college with plans to transfer to a four-year institution this fall. His current side hustle involves promotions and advertising for assorted boutiques and under-21 nightclubs that have popped up in Brighton's revitalized downtown.
June lives away from home, majoring at Drake University. But she remains Darryl’s best friend, the only person outside his family who’s consistently been there for him after his schemes blew up in his face—figuratively and almost literally; she was the one who detected that leak in the ammonium nitrate storage tank Darryl stashed out near the water tower. They even dated for a while before mutually acknowledging the situation was “weird” and deciding they were better off as friends. On a related note, maybe Esther shouldn’t have paid out all that money to have her wedding dress remade.
Pete and Sharon are still happily married. Pete takes great pride in the improvements he’s helped make for his adopted hometown of Brighton, and he’s especially flattered that his daughter is following in his footsteps. The town’s successes have become Pete’s successes—in the last ten years, he’s fixed up the family home and bought his first non-used car. He’s even dusted off his vinyl for a few gigs at some of the new clubs downtown. Meanwhile, Sharon offers painting classes at the local community center and retirement home. These days, she primarily uses her Gig Pig account to set up painting parties in and around town, sometimes as far out as Perfektborg.
The Chens’ enlightenment about the true nature of ghosts has led them to step away from their “Ghost Chaser Chens” MeTube channel. Ruben has had far more luck marketing his brand of small-batch root beer, now available in grocery and convenience stores all over the state. Recently, Esther inspired Ruben to introduce a “spiked” version flavored with Habanero peppers. Reception has been mixed.
Grandma Nin and her friend Patty are the self-described “Bad Girls of Brighton Hills”, but their adventures have proven more constructive than mischievous. They’ve organized concerts at the bandshell, joined the Senior Construction Crew on home-repair projects for needy families, and hosted a weekly potluck dinner/board game session in the home’s cafeteria. These dinners always feature Patty’s homemade gumbo—Nin helped her fine-tune the recipe so now it’s actually edible.
The McGees look forward to David and Emmie’s annual visits, a chance to catch up with family and connect with their heritage. The Thai lessons Molly took on Triolingo have helped her feel slightly more at ease when the Suksais come to call. Also, Sharon has tried practicing some Thai dishes, with Pete’s assistance and (critically) while Nin isn’t in the vicinity.
A year after Davenport’s closed its doors, the family rolled the dice and started a supermarket specializing in organic groceries, local produce, and hard-to-find foreign brands… items Bizmart couldn’t or wouldn’t accommodate. The gamble paid off, and Davenport's Turnip Patch sells and ships to customers across the region—yes, even to Perfektborg. (Sharon and Nin are frequent visitors since they carry Thai specialties like jackfruit, pandan extract, and even durian.) Andrea maintains the store’s computer systems but pointedly avoids appearing in advertising. She’s back on her socials, but not as an influencer. Her “Girl Code” series on MeTube provides tips and tricks for entry-level coding enthusiasts. The videos feature occasional cameos by her girlfriend Alina, who’s also taken an interest in the subject.
Three months after Scratch cast off his Chairman’s robes, they settled upon the recently departed spirit of a retired manager of an IRS branch office. Since then, the Ghost Council has basked in bureaucratic bliss, leaving the denizens of Ghost World alone and happy. Not long after Todd left, Molly conducted a séance and told Geoff what happened to Scratch. He realizes it will be a while before he sees his friend again, but at least he has Jeff to keep him company.
Todd and Adia have photographed wild horse herds in Montana, kayaked off the Antarctic Peninsula, biked through Croatia, snorkeled with manta rays in Hawaii, and helped refurbish a centuries-old mosque in Brunei… and that’s just in the last year! Their adventures included a meditation retreat in India where Todd astrally projected his spirit out of his body for a few minutes. He “came back” talking about a young lady back in Brighton who showed him how to live even though he was already “dead”. On their next swing back to the United States, Molly is the first person they plan to visit.
67 notes
·
View notes
Please note that the families listed here were chosen purely by number of speakers, as those would be the most likely to be spoken. There are still MANY more language families not listed
Some of these have over a thousand languages so I cant list all of them, but I'll list a few languages from each family and the generam geography of it under the cut
Austronesian
Languages spoken mostly in Southeast Asian archipeligos including Indonesian, Malay, Javanese (NOT Japanese), and Tagalog, among others
Sino-Tibetian
Languages spoken mostly arround East and Southeast Asia along with some parts of Central Asia including Chinese (all dialects), Burmese, Tibetic languages, and Nepali, among others
Indo-European
Languages spoken mostly around Europe and South-Southwest Asia including English, all romance languages, Greek, Albanian, German, Hindi, Bengali, and Sanskrit, among others
Afro-Asiatic
Languages spoken mostly around Northern ans Northeaster Africa, and West Asia including Egyptian, Hebrew, Arabic, Amharic, and Hausa, among others
Fun fact! When counted as a single language, Arabic alone is spoken by over half of the native speakers of Afro-Asiatic languages
Atlantic-Congo
Languages spanning most of Africa exclusing Northern parts including Fula, Wolof, Swahilli, Kirundi, Luhya, Makua, Xhosa, and Shona languages, among others
Fun fact! This family has the most languages of any language family at 1,453 total!
Dravidian
Languages spoken mostly in souther India, along with surrounding countries, including Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Brahui, among others
Turkic
Languages spoken in many countries throughout (mostly central/centeal western) Asia and Eastern Europe including Turkish, Azerbaijani, Uzbek, Uyghur, and Kazakh, among others
Fun fact! While we mostly think of Turkic languahes being from Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Proto-Turkic actually originates from East Asia around China and Mongolia! It's seldom spoken there anymore
Japonic
Languages spoken mostly in Japan (Note: NOT including the Ainu languages) including Japanese, Ryukyuan, and Hachijō, among others
Fun fact! Japanese was considered an isolate language (a language with no other languages in its family) until the Ryukyuan languages joined it in the Japonic family.
It also has the lowest number of languages of the ones listed, with 13 languages.
Should Koreanic have made it onto the list (It was JUST bekow Kra-Dai for # of speakers), that would be the lowest with only 2 languages!
Austroasiatic
Languages spoken mostly around South through East Asia Including Vietnamese, Khmer, Tagalog, among others
Fun fact! Two-thirds of people who speak an Austroasiatic language speak Vietnamese
Kra-Dai
Languages spoken mostly in Southeast Asia and Southern China including Thai, Lao, Bê, among others
49 notes
·
View notes
History of Tan Tui
Tan T'ui or Spring Leg 譚腿 / 潭腿 / 彈腿- This style could be one of the oldest styles that is still widely practiced today. In the past, it was required that all high schools have physical education and that Tan T'ui be part of its curriculum. Every student had to learn Tan T'ui before they could graduate in China. During the Sung Dynasty, Tan T'ui was regarded as a complete style. The techniques within the set were all practical and easily used. There are many versions on the origin of the style.
The first theory is recorded in the text, Liu Ho Style by an unknown author. It states that Liu Ho Style uses Tan T'ui as one of their basic foundation sets because it contains only a few moves and is easy to learn. There is a section on the origins of Tan T'ui. It states "There was a monk out preaching and traveling. On the road he saw two roosters fighting. The red rooster was larger than the white skinny rooster. After a while, the white rooster was losing and tried running away. The red rooster gave chase. The white rooster ran to the base of a hill which was a dead end and could not run any further. The red rooster caught up. Having no choice, the white rooster sprang up and struck the red rooster with both its talons. The red rooster fell down dead with its belly cut open. Seeing this, the monk thought, `If a man could practice so his legs were strong, it would be the same as a weak person overcoming the strong'. After a few years of study, he developed the ten (10) rows of Tan T'ui.
Second Theory: The Chinese Moslems or the Hui give credit to a Hui native of Xinjiang, Chamir (Cha Shang Yir) (1568 A.D - 1644 A.D.) as the creator of Tan T'ui Style. During the prime of his life on the coast of Fukein, Japanese pirates were raiding the coast. The government of the Ming Dynasty ordered their troops to the coast to battle against the Japanese pirates. Chamir joined the army and was assigned to go south. As the soldiers were marching down the coast under harsh conditions, Chamir was taken ill in a mountain village, Liaocheng, in Guanxian County, in Shangtung Province and was left behind to recuperate. The local peasants treated him until he was well. Chamir repaid their kindness by teaching the Twenty-eight (28) Rows of Tan T'ui (Spring Legs) which he devised and performed for many years. The boxing style consisted of 28 routines, which were put in alphabetical order, according to the Arabic language commonly used by the Hui. The monks at the nearby Shandong Long Tan Temple learned of the Tan Tui system from the locals and later incorporated it into their fighting routines that they practiced. Later the Twenty-eight (28) Rows were condensed into Ten (10) Rows of Tan T'ui (Spring Legs).
This is indeed an interesting information except the fact that there was no Hui Muslims (Chinese Muslims) in Xinjiang During Ming Dynasty, they came to Xinjiang after the Qing Dynasty invasion of Xinjiang in 19th century. The name "Xinjiang itself was introduced by Chinese invaders in 1884. Secondly, his Chinese name was Cha Shang Yir, which to me does not sound like a real Chinese name but rather a Chinese translation of his name. His Muslim name was Chamir but I don't see how the Chinese would get Cha Shang Yir from that... I think Cha Mu Er would seem more likely. So now I am wondering two things. First do the Hui take Muslim names or just use their Chinese name? Second if Chamir was his Muslim name and Cha Shang Yir was his Chinese name did he have a third name that was his birth name?
Besides, the article mentioned that he used Arabic scripture which was used by Uighurs at that time and still being used today. From this analysis, he might be a Uighur, or by a remote chance an Uzbek or Tatar. If the name "Chamir" is correctly translated into English, he cannot be a Hui moslem. Well then that pretty much proves that he could not be Hui and therefore he did not exist and the Muslim did not create Tan Tui as many current people believe is true.
Third Theory: Many people assumed the first character in Tan T'ui was the surname 譚 of the creator of the style. This would translate into Tan's Legs Style. As the story goes, Tan was very good fighter from Henan and had developed these set of techniques. his skill was deep and abundant, he defeated all challengers. His students who taught his method therefore used “Tan” in the name. He is credited as the individual who brought the style to the Shao lin Monastery. Others say he is credited as the first one who brought the style out from the Shao lin Monastery. The Shaolin version mentioned earlier uses a different “tan” altogether (彈), meaning “springy”, “snapping”, or “to shoot”, describing a quality of the kicking rather than a source of the system.
Fourth Theory: Shaolin's Tan Tui is given credit to Monk Xian Ji who while in residence at the temple in Ling Qing Tan Temple in Shandong Province during the Ming Dynasty. It is said that he traded Shaolin's famous Lohan Fist routine for their Tan Tui routine. Also, Xian Ji is said to have also added an additional 2 roads to the original 10 Road Tan Tui Routine.
Fifth Theory: Tang Dynasty. The city of Ling Qing is situated between the warring factions of the Song, Liao and Jin Courts. An infantry solider named Kun Lung Dai Shi took refuge in the Lung Tan Temple located within Ling Qing City. Becoming a Monk at this temple Kun Lung formulated the routine Tan Tui (Pond Legs) with 10 Roads. It is said that this set was created in order to counter the Liao & Jin's superior upper body grappling skills. Ling Qing City became a major trading center due to the Canals built during the Yuan Dynasty. For this reason, it is believed that Tan Tui was able to spread throughout China.
The Sixth and last theory states that the word, Tan(潭} is the abbreviation for a monastery in Shangtung Province called Lung T'an Ssu (山東龍潭寺). The founder of Tan T'ui has been attributed to a monk named Hsuan Kung. He was known to have travelled widely in the northern part of China. He was searching for simple movements in exercises to form an elementary base. After much time, he returned to Lung T'an Monastery and reflected on his observations. Hsuan Kung later developed ten (10) rows of techniques for both left and right sides and it contained approximately one hundred and fifty (150) movements.
Although scholars have argued that the last theory is probably the correct origin for Tan T'ui Style, there exist two (2) problems in their argument and can only be solved by indirect proof. First, there was no monastery found or recorded in the Shantung Province and secondly the Lung T'an Monastery is located in the Honan Province. It is common knowledge that the geography does change over a period of time. Almost one thousand years has passed since the origin of Tan T'ui and unfortunately much of the physical and man-made surrounding in Shantung Province have changed and or no longer in existence. Because of this, there is little or no physical evidence to show that there once stood a Lung T'an Monastery. Also, with the rise and fall of different dynasties, the burning of books was a common ritual. Any recorded history of a Lung T'an Monastery in Shantung Province could have been destroyed. The most logical theory on the origin of Tan T'ui is that the Shao lin Monastery in Honan Province is located near a lake called Lung and on the other side of the lake is a monastery called Lung T'an. Tan T'ui could have originated in this monastery and very easily have crossed the lake to the Shao lin Monastery.
In recent history, Chin Woo Association was the first Public Gymnasium founded (in 1910) for the purpose of making Martial Arts training available to anyone (who could pay). The recognized founder was Huo Yun Jia, an exponent of the Mizong System. Part of this system was a version of the 10 Road Tan Tui that Huo Yun Jia demonstrated often. Due to his sudden death not many of his students had the opportunity to learn this version. Chao Lien Ho was hired to head up the organization and as part of his task he formulated a specific curriculum. While an exponent of Mizong he also had studied various Shaolin based systems as well. The first form required to be studied by beginner students is a 12 Road Tan Tui. While it is not sure where this version comes from, it has become the most popular version taught throughout the Chinese Martial Arts due to the fame of the Chin Woo. It is thought Chao Lien Ho took the 10 Road Mizong Tan Tui and evolved it into the current12 Road Chin Woo Version.
To add to the confusion, the school of Honan Shaolin states their oral history says Tan Tui came from a student named Ji Xiang Tan (济相潭) and he brought Tan Tui to Shaolin during the Ming Dynasty. Their Tan Tui set was named Xiang Ji Tan Tui 相济潭腿.
Two-person Tan Tui was created by Chao Lien Ho in the Jing Mo Association and became part of their curriculum in 1915. Rare chart of 12 row is shown here:
Summary
In general, there are styles that practice different versions of Tan Tui. Historically, 10 row is believed to be the first set (originated in the Longtan Temple in Shandong Province and was created by Master Kun Lun.). This Tan Tui is called Linging Tan Tui. Generally, BSL teaches 10 rows, Mi Jong teaches 10 rows, Northern styles such as Eagle Claw who are connected to Jing Mo teach 12 rows. Huo Yuen Chia brought his 10-row version from Mi Jong and added with the help of other Northern masters such as BSL, Eagle Claw, Cha, Mi Jong, etc.) two rows to the 10-row version. Seven Star Praying Mantis teaches 14 rows (credit to Master Lo Kwan Yu), A Wu Tang School in Taiwan teaches a 16 row, and Ch'a style teaches a 28 row. There are also a Shaolin Tan Tui developed by Ji Xiang Tan (济相潭) in the Ming Dynasty who brought Tan Tui to Shaolin. By combining Kun Lun's version with Lohan and added two more rows, the 12-row set was named Xiang Ji Tan Tui 相济潭腿. And there is another version known as Jiaomen Tan Tui as practiced by the Hui people. Jiao means Hui Sect This one is a 10-row set. Last Tongbei Tan Tui has their own version which is a combination of different sections of their techniques from Tongbei. It consists of 12 rows.
Source of Information:
1. Oral Transmission from Sifu Wong Jackman
2. Charts of Tan Tui from Sifu Wong Jackman
3. Chinese Martial Arts and the Hui, Kung Fu Magazine Form by Gene Ching 1990 to 2005.
4. Mkma.net (web site)
5. Moslem Kung fu: The Fist of the Bodyguards by Ted Mancuso 1999, Inside Kung fu Magazine
6. Northern Shaolin Twelve Row Tan Tui by Chao Lin Ho Ching Wu, Shanghai 1920
7. Tam Tui, Northern Shaolin Snapping Leg by Alexander I. Co, Inside Kung Fu December 1984-1989.
8. Tan Tui by Chang, Wu Lum #7 1983 (Chinese)Tan Ti the 17 Form Method by Robert Le, Ancient Sets of Kung Fu, Volume 1, #2, #3, #4, #5,
9. Ten Fundamental Chinwoo Routines, Tantui and Gongliquan by Lam Wing-Ki and Ying Fun-fong, IBSN 962-85291-5-3 2000.
10. Tom Toy: Springing Legs, Their History and Relation to Shaolin, by Shaolin Instiute.com, November, 2003.
Chinese Books
1. 10 Row Tan Tui by Wong,1983
2. 12 Rows Tan Tui Methods by Wong, Taiwan, 1966, Reprint
3. 12 Row Tan Tui by Wong, Uk, reprint
4. Northern Fist China Best, by Yang, HK, 1970
5. Northern Fist, by Chu, HK, 1969, reprint
6. South, North Fist Best Chinese Fist Arts by Li, HK, Reprint
34 notes
·
View notes