Transliteration

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Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus trans- + liter-) in predictable ways, such as Greek ⟨α⟩ → ⟨a⟩, Cyrillic ⟨д⟩ → ⟨d⟩, Greek ⟨χ⟩ → the digraph ⟨ch⟩, Armenian ⟨ն⟩ → ⟨n⟩ or Latin ⟨æ⟩ → ⟨ae⟩.^[1]

For instance, for the Modern Greek term "Ελληνική Δημοκρατία", which is usually translated as "Hellenic Republic", the usual transliteration to Latin script is ⟨Ellīnikī Dīmokratia⟩, and the name for Russia in Cyrillic script, "Россия", is usually transliterated as ⟨Rossiya⟩, but is pronounced exactly the same way as "Россия".

Transliteration is the process of representing or intending to represent a word, phrase, or text in a different script or writing system. Transliterations are designed to convey the pronunciation of the original word in a different script, allowing readers or speakers of that script to approximate the sounds and pronunciation of the original word. Transliterations do not change the pronunciation of the word. Thus, in the Greek above example, ⟨λλ⟩ is transliterated ⟨ll⟩ though it is pronounced exactly the same way as [l], or the Greek letters, ⟨λλ⟩. ⟨Δ⟩ is transliterated ⟨D⟩ though pronounced as [ð], and ⟨η⟩ is transliterated ⟨ī⟩, though it is pronounced [i] (exactly like ⟨ι⟩) and is not long.

Transcription, conversely, seeks to capture sound, but phonetically approximate it into the new script; "Ελληνική Δημοκρατία" corresponds to [elinicí ðimokratía]^[2] in the International Phonetic Alphabet. While differentiation is lost in the case of [i], note how the letter shape ⟨κ⟩ becomes either [c] or [k] depending on the vowel that follows it. [Elinicí ðimokratía] is also pronounced slightly differently than the original Greek pronunciation, as it is a phonetic approximation: a transcription, rather than a transliteration.

Angle brackets ⟨ ⟩ may be used to set off transliteration, as opposed to slashes / / for phonemic transcription and square brackets for phonetic transcription. Angle brackets may also be used to set off characters in the original script. Conventions and author preferences vary.