In an historic shift, official business in Mongolia must now be conducted in both Cyrillic and the traditional Mongolian bichig script. The requirement was brought in on January 2 under a new dual-script policy that applies to national local government bodies.

Cyrillic, introduced in the 1940s under Soviet influence, has served as Mongolia's primary writing system for the past 80 years. The policy providing an official role for bichig, outlined in Article 7.2 of the Mongolian Language Law, reflects a renewed effort to integrate Mongolia's cultural heritage into modern governance.

Amarsanaa Erdenebileg, a senior developer at a startup in Ulaanbaatar, expressed some scepticism about the shift to the dual-script system. He estimated that only 30% to 50% of the people he knows can read and write bichig. "We’re all taught it for two years in high school," said Amarsanaa, noting that the practical use of the script varies significantly.

"My friend, who works in government, was not happy about [the change requiring the use of] it. She said there’s a lot of writing in her job, and it’s more difficult to write in Mongolian script. Or maybe it’s just because we’re so used to Cyrillic," added Amarsanaa.

In 2021, a nationwide survey assessed public servants' readiness to adopt the traditional script. Of the approximately 150,000 respondents, over half expressed a readiness, but 46.4% voiced reservations. Govi-Altai Province showed the highest readiness, with 74.7% of its public servants prepared to use both scripts.

Further analysis of 200,000 public servants revealed that 53.6% had begun learning the traditional script at elementary school.

The traditional Mongolian script, with its Mongol Empire origins dating from the 13th century, is written vertically and read from left to right.

Amarsanaa observed that Cyrillic was introduced in Mongolia during the 20th century to strengthen ties with Russia. “I think one reason we changed from Mongolian script to Cyrillic in the first place was because of the situation at the time,” he said. But he added that the alignment with Russia might be less relevant today, saying: "Russian hasn’t been influential for our generation.”

The transition to the dual-script system poses challenges for those unfamiliar with bichig script. In response, the government has initiated educational programmes aimed at training civil servants and the public to adapt to the change.

Reactions to the dual-script policy have been mixed: some applaud it as a revival of cultural heritage, others voice concerns about the practicality of implementing it nationwide.
 

Mongolian calligraphy of a poem, White Cloud,  composed and brush-written by Injinash Banchinval in the 19th century (Credit: Vanchinbalyn Injinash, cc, public domain).

Chinguun Batsaikhan, a bank credit risk model developer in Ulaanbaatar, shared his thoughts on the policy.

Chinguun said he believed that most people would likely support the initiative because it helps preserve core cultural principles. He also pointed out practical challenges, particularly the lack of fluency in the traditional script among the population. “I know very few people who read and write Mongolian script fluently. I don’t think young kids are learning it fluently,” he said, adding that Mongolian script is typically offered as an optional course rather than a required part of the curriculum.

Jack Weatherford, author of Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, emphasised the historical and cultural significance of the change.

“I cannot respond to the practical issues—of which there are many. This issue is about not only national pride but heritage,” he said.

Weatherford recalled how Genghis Khan gave the Mongols two monumental gifts: the adaptation of the Uyghur script for writing Mongolian in 1204 and the unification of the Mongol nation in 1206. “It is important that he created the written language first as a foundation for law, which would be written in blue books and recorded for his descendants,” he added.

The writer also highlighted how the Mongol script has endured through history despite attempts to replace it. “Kublai Khan tried to change to a new alphabet, but he failed. The people stuck with the alphabet given to them by their founder, Genghis Khan,” Weatherford said, also pointing out that during the Qing imperial dynasty of China, even the Manchu rulers used the Mongol script as one of the official scripts of their empire, alongside Chinese characters.

Graduate student Bat-Amgalan Enkhtaivan shared his perspective on Mongolia’s dual-script policy and its cultural implications. Discussions about the potential loss of the traditional script had been taking place for more than a decade, he said, while also expressing concerns about the growing influence of English. "Even Cyrillic is under threat because of English. The younger generation is heavily influenced by it, as many aim to study or work abroad. English is becoming a dominant course in schools, starting at a very young age," Bat-Amgalan added.

Alongside the growing use of English, it is apparent that people prefer to use the Latin script in social media and informal communication, according to Amarsanaa. When writing Mongolian in text messages and on platforms like Facebook, Mongolians, particularly young people, often choose the Latin script, he said, adding: "When it comes to important communication, though, people prefer and need Cyrillic—it makes things seem more professional."

Amarsanaa also explained that the early adoption of Latin script in Mongolia wasn’t entirely a choice. "In the early days of mobile phones, they didn’t support Cyrillic script, so we had to use Latin letters," he said. "During my lifetime, phones have always had Latin script, but they haven’t always had Cyrillic."

Amarsanaa also highlighted the unique challenge of using a Russian keyboard when writing Mongolian Cyrillic, which includes two letters not found in Russian Cyrillic: Ө and Ү. "It still bothers us with some fonts because they don’t support or even recognise these letters," he said.

The Mongolian bichig script is ornate and challenging for most people to write by hand. However, with the use of computers, using it may not be significantly more difficult than using Latin or Cyrillic scripts.

Since bichig was specifically designed for the Mongolian language, it could ultimately prove to be a better fit. Echoing Weatherford’s sentiments, it can be said that the primary motivation for the script switch may be cultural.

Bat-Amgalan emphasised how “preserving culture and heritage is important.” However, acknowledging the challenges of the abrupt change, he added: “But this might be a somewhat aggressive way to do it.”