transliterate
Rewrite in letters
To transliterate is to convert text from one writing system to another, representing sounds rather than meanings.
Russian Михаил becomes Mikhail in Latin letters; Japanese 東京 becomes Tokyo.
Transliteration differs from translation—it renders how words sound, not what they mean.
The librarian transliterated the Greek titles for the catalog.
Script-to-alphabet conversion process
- latinizationAdapting to Roman patterns
- anglicizationAdapting to English conventions
- hiraganaJapanese phonetic alphabet
- katakanaJapanese phonetic writing system
Persons in a narrative
- lettersAlphabetic characters or mail
- glyphsCarved symbolic figures
- alphabetLanguage's letter system
- orthographyStandard writing conventions
diacritics · digraphs · graphemes · symbols · marks · accents · umlauts · cedillas
Manner of speaking words
- phonemesMinimal sound distinctions
- soundsAudible vibrations
- articulationClear vocal expression
- vocalizationProducing sounds with voice
syllables · accent · diction · stress · vowels · consonants · tone · aspiration
Written version of speech
- conversionAct of changing states
- renderingInterpretive depiction or performance
- mappingDiagram of correspondences
- substitutionExchange of one for another
transformation · adaptation · representation · transposition · encoding · decoding · respelling · approximation
romanization
Script-to-alphabet conversion process
- latinizationAdapting to Roman patterns
- anglicizationAdapting to English conventions
- hiraganaJapanese phonetic alphabet
characters
Persons in a narrative
orthography · diacritics · digraphs · graphemes · symbols · marks · accents · umlauts · cedillas
pronunciation
Manner of speaking words
- phonemesMinimal sound distinctions
- soundsAudible vibrations
- articulationClear vocal expression
vocalization · syllables · accent · diction · stress · vowels · consonants · tone · aspiration · glottal
transcription
Written version of speech
- conversionAct of changing states
- renderingInterpretive depiction or performance
- mappingDiagram of correspondences
substitution · transformation · adaptation · representation · transposition · encoding · decoding · respelling · approximation · standardization
- communicateexpress, convey, communicate, tell, share
transliteratetranslate
Express in another language
interpret · paraphrase · transcribe · gloss · localize
transliteration, transliterated, transliterating, transliterates, transliterations