Romanization | Definition, Systems & Examples
Romanization is the process of converting text from a non-Roman (or Latin) script into the Roman alphabet.
- The Hebrew “שלום” becomes sh’lom, meaning “hello.”
- The Russian “Москва” becomes Moskva, meaning “Moscow.”
- The Thai “ข้าว” becomes khao, meaning “rice.”
The Roman alphabet
The Roman alphabet, also known as the Latin alphabet, is the alphabet originally developed by the Ancient Romans. Since its creation, the Roman alphabet has become one of the most widely used scripts in the world.
Some languages that use the Roman alphabet are: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Catalan, Basque, Indonesian, Dutch, German, Irish, Norwegian, Finnish, Polish, Czech, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Hawaiian, and Māori.
Languages that use the Roman alphabet today may add or subtract letters from those 26. For example:
- The Spanish alphabet adds “ñ.”
- The Danish and Norwegian alphabets add “æ,” “ø,” and “å.”
- The Icelandic alphabet doesn’t include “c,” “q,” “w,” or “z,” but includes “ð,” “þ,” “æ,” and “ö.”
Romanization definition
There are two definitions of romanization. In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of a text that does not use the Roman alphabet into the Roman script.
Culturally, romanization refers to the expansion of the Roman Empire’s territory and influence, and how this affected the cultures of the populations the Romans encountered.
- Acculturation is an exchange where two cultures influence each other, but both retain their original features.
- Integration is when different cultures live together, respecting and maintaining their cultural identities while participating in the broader society.
- Assimilation is the process by which a minority culture gradually adopts the practices, beliefs, and identity of the dominant culture, often losing its distinctiveness.
These processes played important roles in shaping the relationship between the Romans and the various peoples they encountered, with all three helping to define the cultural process of romanization.
This article focuses on romanization in the linguistic sense. When romanizing a foreign language, there are two primary processes used: transliteration and transcription.
Transliteration is the process of converting a word from the original script to the Roman script with a focus on mapping individual characters. Transcription focuses on representing the pronunciation of the original language using the Roman alphabet.
For translations, try QuillBot’s free Translator, which can work with 50 languages.
Romanization is useful for various reasons. A few key use cases are:
- Travel and place names – Romanizing the names of places or signs related to tourism allows travelers to read them in the Roman alphabet, making navigation easier.
- Language learning – Romanization can help language learners with pronunciation, as long as consistent systems are used. This is especially true if a learner’s primary goal is to speak—and not necessarily write—another language.
- Digital contexts – Many digital keyboards and platforms are based on the Roman script. Romanization helps speakers of languages with non-Roman scripts use these technologies more easily.
Romanization of specific languages
One of the best practices of romanization is to be consistent. To that end, there are many romanization systems, each with its own method and guidelines. Systems generally focus on romanizing one specific language, though sometimes one system may romanize various, related languages.
For example, ISO 9 is a system that romanizes languages that use the Cyrillic script (e.g., Russian, Ukrainian, and Bulgarian). Below are some other examples of the romanization systems used for specific languages.
Korean romanization
Korean is written using Hangul, which is a syllabic alphabet (meaning symbols represent sounds, not words).
The two dominant systems for the romanization of Hangul are:
- Revised Romanization, the official system used in South Korea since 2000
- McCune–Reischauer, used almost exclusively in academic Korean studies
| Original Korean word | Revised Romanization | McCune–Reischauer | English translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 김치 | Kimchi | Kimch’i | Fermented cabbage |
| 강남 | Gangnam | Kangnam | District in Seoul |
| 태권도 | Taekwondo | T’aekwŏndo | Korean martial art |
| 커피 | Keopi | K’ŏp’i | Coffee |
| 사람 | Saram | Saram | Person |
Chinese romanization
Romanizing Mandarin Chinese can be challenging for several reasons. First, Mandarin uses a logographic script, meaning characters represent semantic units (e.g., words) instead of sounds. Second, it is a tonal language, where tones affect the meaning of a word.
The dominant international standard for the romanization of Mandarin is Hanyu Pinyin. It was developed in the 1950s by a team of Chinese linguists, and today it’s also used to help teach Chinese children Mandarin pronunciation and as an input method for Chinese computers.
Apart from Pinyin, there are other systems, including:
- Wade–Giles, common in older English texts that predate Pinyin and still used by some academics today
- Yale Romanization, created at Yale university during World War II to help American soldiers communicate with their Chinese counterparts
| Original Mandarin word | Hanyu Pinyin | Wade–Giles | Yale | English translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 北京 | Běijīng | Pei-ching | Beiching | Beijing |
| 汉语 | Hànyǔ | Han-yü | Hanyw | Chinese language |
| 你好 | Nǐ hǎo | Ni hao | Nee how | Hello |
| 学校 | Xuéxiào | Hsüeh-hsiao | Shyweh-shyao | School |
| 朋友 | Péngyǒu | P’eng-yu | Puhng-yo | Friend |
Japanese romanization
Japanese is written using kanji (a logographic script) and kana (a syllabic script). There are various romanization systems for Japanese, but the three main ones are:
- Hepburn, developed in 1867 for accurate pronunciation by English speakers
- Kunrei-shiki, the system used by the Japanese government, based on the older Nihon-shiki system
- Nihon-shiki, which more closely follows Japanese syllabary and has a 1:1 relation of Roman characters to kana
| Original Japanese word | Hepburn | Kunrei-shiki | Nihon-shiki | English translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 東京 | Tōkyō | Tôkyô | Tôkyô | Tokyo |
| こんにちは | Konnichiwa | Konnitiwa | Konnitiwa | Hello |
| ありがとう | Arigatō | Arigatou | Arigatou | Thank you |
| 友達 | Tomodachi | Tomodati | Tomodati | Friend |
| 本 | Hon | Hon | Hon | Book |
| 水 | Mizu | Mizu | Mizu | Water |
However, romanized Japanese is rarely used in daily writing in Japan, except as an input method on computers.
Arabic romanization
The Arabic script is used to write many languages (e.g., Arabic, Persian, Urdu), and there is no single dominant romanization system due to the wide variety of dialects and regional variations.
Rather, different systems are used for academic, geographical, or practical purposes depending on region and context. A few examples of romanization systems for Arabic are:
- American Library Association–Library of Congress (ALA-LC), used in academic contexts to prioritize precise representation of the Arabic script through accent marks
- United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN), used for place names and official documents
- Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft (DMG), used in German academia for linguistic precision
- Arabic chat alphabet, developed ad-hoc by Arab youth to communicate via computers and mobile phones
| Original Arabic word | ALA-LC | UNGEGN | DMG | Chat | English translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| القاهرة | al-Qāhirah | al-Qāhirah | al-Qāhira | al-Qahira | Cairo |
| الرياض | al-Riyāḍ | ar-Riyāḍ | ar-Riyāḍ | Riyadh | Riyadh |
| شارع | shāriʿ | shāriʿ | šāriʿ | share3 | Street |
| صديق | ṣadīq | sadeeq | ṣadīq | sadeeq | Friend |
| جميل | jamīl | jameel | ǧamīl | jameel | Beautiful |
- It uses numerals and a combination of letters instead of diacritics (the accent marks seen in other systems, e.g., “ā” or “ṣ”)
- It romanizes an informal dialect and not the more formal Standard Arabic
Frequently asked questions about romanization
- What is Hangul romanization?
-
Hangul romanization is the romanization of Korean. “Hangul” is the name for the writing system used in the Korean language.
For example, the Hangul “우유” could be romanized as “uyu.” Romanization methods include transliteration and transcription.
QuillBot’s Translator can detect Hangul and translate it to English.
- What is the romanization of Hebrew?
-
The romanization of Hebrew is the conversion of Hebrew text into Roman script.
For example, the romanization of the Hebrew word “לחיים” is “l’chaim,” while the translation to English is “cheers.” Romanization methods include transliteration and transcription.
QuillBot’s free Translator can translate between Hebrew and 49 other languages.
- What is a diacritic?
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A diacritic is a mark applied to a letter to indicate specific sounds, stress, tone, or other linguistic features that are not represented by the base letter alone.
Some examples of diacritics are:
- The acute accent, seen on the “o” and “a” in ¿Cómo estás?” (How are you in Spanish)
- The circumflex, seen on the “e” in the French word “forêt,” meaning forest
- The umlaut, seen on the “u” in “über,” German for “over”
Diacritics are sometimes used in romanization and transliteration to represent sounds that exist in one language but don’t exist in another.
QuillBot’s Translator can handle diacritics when translating between 50 languages.
- What is a digraph?
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A digraph is a combination of two letters that together represent a single sound (e.g., “ch,” “sh,” or “ng” in English).
Digraphs are used in romanization to express sounds that exist in other languages but not in the Roman script. For example, in Pinyin romanization, “zh” represents a sound in Mandarin similar to “j.”
Romanization is a type of transliteration, which differs from translation, which converts meaning. If you need to translate, try QuillBot’s free Translator.
- What is romaji?
-
Romaji refers to the romanization of Japanese, or the conversion of Japanese into the Roman script. It helps non-native speakers read and pronounce Japanese words without knowing Japanese scripts.
“Romaji” is a transliteration to the Roman alphabet of a Japanese word meaning “Roman letters.”
If you want to translate the meaning of other Japanese words, try QuillBot’s Translator.
