Cyrillicderived

Cyrillicderived is a term used to describe writing systems that are based on or derived from the Cyrillic script. The Cyrillic alphabet originated in the First Bulgarian Empire in the 9th century, developed by the disciples of Cyril and Methodius, to write Slavic languages. Over the centuries it was adapted for many other languages, leading to a family of Cyrillic-derived alphabets.

Today, Cyrillic-derived alphabets are used across Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. Prominent Slavic examples include Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Belarusian, Macedonian, and Serbian Cyrillic, as well as Bosnian. Non-Slavic users include Mongolian Cyrillic, Kazakh Cyrillic, Kyrgyz Cyrillic, Tajik Cyrillic, and various languages of the Uralic and Turkic families such as Bashkir, Tatar, Komi, Udmurt, Chuvash, Sakha (Yakut), Kalmyk, and Buryat. Some languages employ more than one script, or have shifted between scripts at different times, and there are ongoing policy debates about Latin versus Cyrillic for national orthographies in some regions.

Characteristics of Cyrillic-derived alphabets typically involve adapting the original set of Cyrillic letters to match local phonology. This often includes language-specific letters, digraphs, or diacritics to represent sounds not present in other languages using Cyrillic. The result is a family of alphabets that are visually distinct yet historically connected, reflecting a shared heritage while preserving linguistic diversity.

In modern use, many Cyrillic-derived scripts are supported by Unicode and are used in education, media, and government. Some countries promote Cyrillic for identity and cultural reasons, while others adopt Latin scripts for international integration, creating ongoing evolution in the Cyrillic-derived family.