Mizo Language - Writing System

Writing System

Christian missionaries started developing an alphabet for the language by adapting the Italian alphabet and the Hunterian system of transliteration. The 25 letters used for writing in Mizo language are:

Letter a aw b ch d e f g ng h i j k
Name listen listen listen listen listen listen listen listen listen listen listen listen listen
Letter (contd.) l m n o p r s t ṭ u v z
Name (contd.) listen listen listen listen listen listen listen listen listen listen listen listen

A circumflex ^ was later added to the vowels to indicate long vowels, viz., â, ê, î, ô, û, which were insufficient to fully express Mizo tone. Recently, a leading newspaper in Mizoram, Vanglaini, the magazine Kristian Ṭhalai, and other publishers began using á, à, ä, é, è, ë, í, ì, ï, ó, ò, ú, ù, ü to indicate the long intonations and tones. However, this does not differentiate the different intonations that short tones can have.

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