Transliteration of Foreign Languages

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00662R000100070049-4
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 29, 1998
• Sequence Number: 49
• Publication Date: June 8, 1949
• Content Type: MF

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O Approved For Rye eas -RDP75-Qa662R000100070049-4
P 8 June 1949
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MEMORANDUM FOR THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS
Transliteration of Foreign Languages
References! A. Memo from AD/OO' to Chief, ICAPS and the Assistant
Directors for OCD, ORE and OSO, dated 25 Oct 1948,
subject: "Transliteration and Standardization of
Spelling of Foreign Personal Names."
B. Memo from DAD/OSO to AD/OO dated 25 Oct 1948,
same subject.
C. Memo from Chief, ICAPS to AD/OO dat ed 27 Oct 1948,
same su bject.
D. Memo from AD/ORE to AD/OO dated 28 Oct 1948, same
subject.
E. Memo from AD/OCD to AD/00 dated 28 Oct 1948, same
subject.
1. Reference A proposed that a CIA committee be formed of repre-
sentatives of the various offices concerned with the problem of transliteration
especially insofar as it pertained to foreign personal names.
2. In view of the favorable response to this proposal as contained in
References B to E, a CIA Transliteration Committee was formed of
representatives from ICAPS, ORE, OCD and 00. Acting Chief, FDB was
elected Chairman of this Committee which has held meetings on this sub-
ject as it related to the Slavic languages and Chinese, Japanese and Korean.
3. To facilitate coordination with the IAC agencies in this matter,
working committees were formed for related languages or language groups
and IAC participation in the deliberations and findings of these working
committees was obtained through Chief, ICAPS.
4. Due to the urgent need for a solution to this problem as it relates
to Russian and Korean, the following recommendations of the Committee
covering the Slavic languages and the ideographic Far Eastern languages
are presented at this time. These are in consonance with the current BGN
system for geographical names on languages for which the Board has a
system.
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5. The Committee recommends the following transliteration procedures
be adopted by CIA not only for personal names but for all transliteration
purposes:
a. For the Russian language, the BGN system.
b. For Ukrainian and Belorussian, the system drawn up by the
Committee.
c. For Bulgarian, the BGN system.
d. For Serbian, the Creatian alphabet.
e. For Chinese, the Wade-Giles system. (This is a routine
recommendation, as this system is presently used by all government
offices).
f. For Japanese, the Hepburn system. (This is also routine, as
this system was used during the war by all agencies and is wbll
established).
g. For Korean, the Mc Cune-Reisehauer system.
It is further recommended:
a. That, inasmuch as IAC representatives participated in the
working committees, the IAC agencies be approached with a view toward
their formal adoption of the systems recommended above.
b. That a directive be issued to all CIA Offices to employ the
systems recommended above, if approved.
c. That the system=tables be prepared in multiple copies for
dissemination to eahh person in CIA concerned with transliteration
for any purpose.
/s/ .1; J. BAGNALL,
Chairman,
CIA Transliteration Committee
cc: ICAPS
ORE
OCD
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