kyrilliinen

Kyrillic, also known as Cyrillic script, is an alphabetic writing system used by many Slavic languages, as well as several non-Slavic languages. It was developed by the Byzantine monk Cyril and his brother Methodius in the 9th century, based on the Greek alphabet. The script is named after Cyril, who is also known as Saint Cyril.

The Cyrillic alphabet consists of 33 letters, each representing a consonant or vowel sound. It is written from left to right and is used in a variety of languages, including Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Serbian, and Macedonian. The script has also been adapted for use with several non-Slavic languages, such as Mongolian, Kazakh, and Chuvash.

The Cyrillic script has evolved over time, with various modifications and additions to the original alphabet. For example, the Russian alphabet includes six additional letters that are not found in the original Cyrillic alphabet. Similarly, the Ukrainian alphabet includes the letter "ґ" (ghe), which is used to represent the sound /ɦ/.

Despite its widespread use, the Cyrillic script has faced criticism and controversy in some contexts. For example, in the Soviet Union, the use of the Cyrillic script was seen as a symbol of Russian cultural dominance, and efforts were made to promote the use of the Latin alphabet for non-Russian languages. However, the Cyrillic script remains an important and widely used writing system today.