Pronunciation: [ʌnɹˈə͡ʊmɐnˌa͡ɪzd] (IPA) 
The spelling of the word "unromanized" can be a bit confusing due to the presence of the silent "z". In IPA phonetic transcription, the word is spelled as /ˌʌnˈroʊmənaɪzd/. The "u" is pronounced as "uh", the "o" as "oh", and the "a" as "ay". The "z" sound is represented by "z" but is not pronounced. "Unromanized" means something that has not been written or transliterated in the Roman alphabet.
The term "unromanized" refers to something that has not been subjected to the process of romanization. Romanization is the conversion or representation of a language or writing system into the Latin alphabet, which is commonly used in the Western world. It involves transliterating or transcribing the characters, sounds, or symbols of a non-Latin script into their closest equivalents using the Latin alphabet.
In the context of languages, particularly those with non-Latin scripts, unromanized implies that the original script or writing system has not been replaced or converted into the Latin alphabet. As a result, the text, words, or phrases remain in their original form, with the non-Latin characters or symbols intact.
The concept of unromanized is often applied to diverse languages, such as Chinese, Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Greek, Russian, or Hebrew, where characters, ideograms, or other non-Latin systems are used for writing. In these cases, the unromanized version of a text would involve the representation of the language using the original script, without transcribing it into the Latin alphabet.
Furthermore, unromanized can also pertain to proper nouns, place names, or terms from different languages that have not undergone romanization. In this sense, the original spelling, characters, or symbols are maintained, making the pronunciation and comprehension of the term challenging for those unfamiliar with the language or script.
The word "unromanized" is derived from the combination of the prefix "un-" and the term "romanized".
The prefix "un-" is commonly used to indicate negation or reversal. It suggests the opposite meaning of the word that follows it. For example, "unhappy" means not happy.
The term "romanized" is derived from the word "Roman", which refers to the civilization and culture of ancient Rome, as well as the Latin language they used. "Romanized" refers to the process of adapting a writing system or language to the Roman or Latin script. It is often used when referring to languages that are traditionally written in non-Roman scripts, like Cyrillic or Arabic, when they are transliterated into the Latin alphabet.
Therefore, "unromanized" means not romanized or not adapted to the Roman or Latin script.
