transliteration

[trans-lit-uh-rey-shuhn, tranz-]

noun

1. the act, process, or result of writing letters or words using the corresponding characters of another alphabet or writing system.

   If you are new to Jewish prayer, the complete transliterations in this prayer book will enable you to pronounce the Hebrew words and participate fully in services.

Word History and Origins

Origin of transliteration¹

transliterate ( def. ) + -ion ( def. )

Example Sentences

Even to native English speakers, the transliteration of familiar words into an alphabet with imperfectly matched consonants — lacking, for example, a precise “F” or “R” sound — can be confusing.

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Hanukkah - also spelled Chanukah or other transliterations from Hebrew - is Judaism’s “festival of lights.”

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“The meeting almost certainly concerned, at least in part, Prigozhin’s public accusations and resulting tension with Shoygu,” the document says, using an alternative transliteration of the minister’s name.

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However, most of the time his uniform still sports the Chinese transliteration, and Chinese-speaking broadcasters announce him using tonal Mandarin and soft Gs, rather than the hard Gs of the Indigenous tongue.

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He wanted to make a small number of good Urdu poems accessible by presenting each in three different scripts — in the original Urdu; in Devanagari, the script of Hindi; and in English transliteration.

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Related Words

• adaptation 
• explanation 
• reading 
• rendering 
• rendition 
• transcription 
• version