Russia Handwriting: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 01:32, 9 December 2022

In order to read Russian handwriting it is important to understand the language. Be sure to use the wiki articles Russia Languages and the Russian Genealogical Word List to help you.

Overview[edit | edit source]

Russian is a variation of the Cyrillic alphabet. It has a printed and script form, both of which have changed over time. The most important changes to be aware of are those made in the 1918 spelling revision that removed several letters.

Here is the Russian alphabet printed, in script, with English transcriptions and pronunciations. Note that some letters have multiple lowercase forms. Russian Alphabet Key (PDF).

Field Guide to Russian Letters is another online resource that includes the obsolete letters, and multiple handwritten examples.

Tutorials and Classes[edit | edit source]

Reading Russian Handwriting Records on the FamilySearch Learning Center is a very helpful video lessons series. They allow you to learn the Cyrillic letters, practice identifying them and their sounds, explore common column headings in Russian records (Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Jewish, and Lutheran church records), and practice reading handwritten examples.

The Russia "How to" Guides are read along lessons that teach the Cyrillic alphabet and how to read birth, marriage, and death records with accompanying activities.
Two handouts from a FamilySearch Library class on the Russian Alphabet and Russian Script are available.

Word Lists[edit | edit source]

Russian Genealogical Word List
Doukhobor Genealogy (under "Russian Terms." These are all transliterated and there is no Cyrillic)
Cornell Lexicon Bridge (a resource from Cornell University)

Dictionaries[edit | edit source]

Gramota (online Russian dictionary in Russian)
Cambridge English-Russian Dictionary
Dict.com Russian-English Dictionary

Online Russian Keyboard[edit | edit source]

Russian Type It

Books[edit | edit source]

In Their Words: A Genealogist's Translation Guide to Polish, German, Latin, and Russian Documents (Volume 2) by Jonathan D. Shea and William F. Hoffman

Other Resources[edit | edit source]

Translation Aids from the Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe
Russian Alphabet with sound and letter formation.
Field Guide to Russian Letters that includes the obsolete letters and multiple handwritten examples of each letter.

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-See the [https://www.familysearch.org/learn/researchcourses Reading Handwritten Records Series] of free online classes available at [http://www.familysearch.org familysearch.org]. This series includes interactive lessons about&nbsp;Russian handwriting.
+In order to read Russian handwriting it is important to understand the language. Be sure to use the wiki articles [[Russia Languages]] and the [[Russian Genealogical Word List]] to help you.
-Russian Cyrillic '''block letters''' are show in the Germans from Russia "[[Germans from Russia Language and Languages|Language and Languages]]" section.
+===Overview===
-For examples of Cyrillic '''italic font''' [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Cyrillic-italics-nonitalics.png click here]. Dramatically different letters are highlighted in yellow.
+Russian is a variation of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrillic_script Cyrillic alphabet]. It has a printed and script form, both of which have changed over time. The most important changes to be aware of are those made in the 1918 spelling revision that removed several letters.
-For examples of Cyrillic '''cursive''' (handwritten script) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Russian_Cursive_Cyrillic.png click here].
+Here is the Russian alphabet printed, in script, with English transcriptions and pronunciations. Note that some letters have multiple lowercase forms.
+[[Media:Russian Alphabet Key.pdf|Russian Alphabet Key]] (PDF).
-Word lists that are general or that address specific topics are good resources to use in reading Russian records:
+[http://allbell.tripod.com/cursive/field.html Field Guide to Russian Letters] is another online resource that includes the obsolete letters, and multiple handwritten examples.
-*[http://www.doukhobor.org/Terms-General.htm Word list from Doukobor.org. Has the misfortune of not being in Cyrillic]
+===Tutorials and Classes===
-*[http://genealogia.lt/ksiega-gosci.html Short list of terms in Roman script]&nbsp;
-*[http://www.gramota.ru/slovari/dic/?word=&all=x Online Russian dictionary. Site in Russian]
-*[http://lexiconbridge.com/rdt/rdt_des.htm Excellent online dictionary from Cornell University]
-[[Category:Russia]] [[Category:Handwriting]]
+*[https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/lesson/76 Reading Russian Handwriting Records] on the FamilySearch Learning Center is a very helpful video lessons series. They allow you to learn the Cyrillic letters, practice identifying them and their sounds, explore common column headings in Russian records (Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Jewish, and Lutheran church records), and practice reading handwritten examples.
+*The [[Russia "How to" Guides]] are read along lessons that teach the Cyrillic alphabet and how to read birth, marriage, and death records with accompanying activities.
+*Two handouts from a FamilySearch Library class on the [[media:FHL Handout Russian Alphabet.pdf|Russian Alphabet]] and [[media:FHL Handout Russian Script.pdf|Russian Script]] are available.
+===Word Lists===
+*[[Russian Genealogical Word List]]
+*[http://www.doukhobor.org/names.html#Terms Doukhobor Genealogy] (under "Russian Terms." These are all transliterated and there is no Cyrillic)
+*[https://www.lexiconbridge.com/ Cornell Lexicon Bridge] (a resource from Cornell University)
+===Dictionaries===
+*[http://gramota.ru/slovari/info/ Gramota] (online Russian dictionary in Russian)
+*[https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-russian/ Cambridge English-Russian Dictionary]
+*[https://www.dict.com/russian-english Dict.com Russian-English Dictionary]
+=== Online Russian Keyboard ===
+[https://russian.typeit.org Russian Type It]
+===Books===
+In Their Words: A Genealogist's Translation Guide to Polish, German, Latin, and Russian Documents (Volume 2) by Jonathan D. Shea and William F. Hoffman
+===Other Resources===
+*[https://www.sggee.org/SGGEE2009/research/translation_aids.html Translation Aids] from the Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe
+*[http://www.russianforeveryone.com/RufeA/Lessons/Introduction/Alphabet/Alphabet.htm Russian Alphabet] with sound and letter formation.
+*[http://allbell.tripod.com/cursive/field.html Field Guide to Russian Letters] that includes the obsolete letters and multiple handwritten examples of each letter.
+[[Category:Russia Language and Handwriting]]
+[[Category:Language and Handwriting]]
+[[Category:Handwriting]]