Russian alphabet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The modern Russian alphabet is a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet. It was introduced into Kievan Rus' at the time of its conversion to Christianity (988), or, if certain archeological finds are correctly dated, at a slightly earlier date.
The alphabet as shown here is the printed form. Handwritten Russian letters look significantly different.
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[edit] The alphabet
The Russian alphabet is as follows: (Hear it )
| Capital | Small | Name | Old Name1 | IPA | English Example | Numerical Value19 | Unicode (Hex) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| А | а | а [a] |
азъ [as] |
/a/ | a in car | 1 | U+0410 / U+0430 |
| Б | б | бэ [bɛ] |
буки ['bu.kʲɪ] |
/b/ or /bʲ/ | b in bit | - | U+0411 / U+0431 |
| В | в | вэ [vɛ] |
вѣди ['vʲe.dʲɪ] |
/v/ or /vʲ/ | v in vine | 2 | U+0412 / U+0432 |
| Г | г | гэ [gɛ] |
глаголь [glʌ'golʲ] |
/g/ | g in go | 3 | U+0413 / U+0433 |
| Д | д | дэ [dɛ] |
добро [də'bro] |
/d/ or /dʲ/ | d in do | 4 | U+0414 / U+0434 |
| Е | е4 | е [jɛ] |
есть [jesʲtʲ] |
/jɛ/ or / ʲɛ/ | ye in yet | 5 | U+0415 / U+0435 |
| Ё | ё4,7 | ё [jo] |
- | /jo/ or / ʲo/ | yo in yolk | - | U+0401 / U+0451 |
| Ж | ж | жэ [ʐɛ] |
живѣте [ʐɨ'vʲɵ.tʲə] |
/ʐ/ | g in genre, s in pleasure, or zh (voiced retroflex fricative) | - | U+0416 / U+0436 |
| З | з | зэ [zɛ] |
земля [zʲɪ'mlʲa] |
/z/ or /zʲ/ | z in zoo | 7 | U+0417 / U+0437 |
| И | и4 | и [i] |
иже ['i.ʐɨ] |
/i/ or / ʲi/ | ee in see | 8 | U+0418 / U+0438 |
| Й | й | и краткое [i 'kra.tkəjɪ] |
и съ краткой [i s 'kra.tkəj] |
/j/ | y in boy | - | U+0419 / U+0439 |
| К | к | ка [ka] |
како ['ka.kə] |
/k/ or /kʲ/ | k in kitten | 20 | U+041A / U+043A |
| Л | л | эль [ɛlʲ] |
люди ['lʲu.dʲɪ] |
/l/ or /lʲ/ | l in lamp | 30 | U+041B / U+043B |
| М | м | эм [ɛm] |
мыслѣте ['mɨ.slʲɪ.tʲɪ] |
/m/ or /mʲ/ | m in map | 40 | U+041C / U+043C |
| Н | н | эн [ɛn] |
нашъ [naʂ] |
/n/ or /nʲ/ | n in not | 50 | U+041D / U+043D |
| О | о | o [o] |
онъ [on] |
/o/ | o in folk | 70 | U+041E / U+043E |
| П | п | пэ [pɛ] |
покой [pʌ'koj] |
/p/ or /pʲ/ | p in pet | 80 | U+041F / U+043F |
| Р | р | эр [ɛr] |
рцы [rʦɨ] |
/r/ or /rʲ/ | r in roll (roll your tongue while pronouncing this letter) | 100 | U+0420 / U+0440 |
| С | с | эс [ɛs] |
слово ['slo.və] |
/s/ or /sʲ/ | s in see | 200 | U+0421 / U+0441 |
| Т | т | тэ [tɛ] |
твердо [tvʲɛ.rdə] |
/t/ or /tʲ/ | t in tip | 300 | U+0422 / U+0442 |
| У | у | у [u] |
укъ [uk] |
/u/ | oo in boot | 400 | U+0423 / U+0443 |
| Ф | ф | эф [ɛf] |
фертъ [fʲɛrt] |
/f/ or /fʲ/ | f in face | 500 | U+0424 / U+0444 |
| Х | х | ха [xa] |
хѣръ [xʲɛr] |
/x/ | no english equivalent, sounds like ch in scots loch (as in Loch Ness) (voiceless velar fricative) | 600 | U+0425 / U+0445 |
| Ц | ц | це [ʦɛ] |
цы [ʦɨ] |
/ʦ/ | ts in sits | 900 | U+0426 / U+0446 |
| Ч | ч | че [ʨɛ] |
червь [ʨervʲ] |
/ʨ/ | ch in chip | 90 | U+0427 / U+0447 |
| Ш | ш | ша [ʂa] |
ша [ʂa] |
/ʂ/ | sh in shut (voiceless retroflex fricative) | - | U+0428 / U+0448 |
| Щ | щ | ща [ɕːa] |
ща [ɕtɕa] |
/ɕː/ | sh in sheer (sometimes followed by ch in chip such as the phrase "fresh cheese) (voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative) |
- | U+0429 / U+0449 |
| Ъ | ъ | твёрдый знак ['tvʲо.rdəj 'znak] |
еръ [jer]; Yer |
Note2 | a sign which after a consonant enhances its pronunciation | - | U+042A / U+044A |
| Ы | ы | ы [ɨ] |
еры ['jɛ.rɨ] |
/ɨ/5 | i in ill | - | U+042B / U+044B |
| Ь | ь | мягкий знак ['mʲækʲɪj 'znak] |
ерь [jerʲ] |
/ ʲ/3 | a sign which after a consonant softens its pronunciation | - | U+042C / U+044C |
| Э | э6 | э ['ɛ ə.bʌ'ro.tnəjɪ] |
- | [ɛ] | e in met | - | U+042D / U+044D |
| Ю | ю | ю4 [ju] |
ю [ju] |
/ju/ or / ʲu/ | u in use | - | U+042E / U+044E |
| Я | я4,16,17 | я [ja] |
я [ja] |
/ja/ or / ʲa/ | ya in yard | - | U+042F / U+044F |
| letters eliminated in 1918 | |||||||
| І | і8 | - | і десятеричное [i] |
/i/ or / ʲi/ | Like и | 10 | |
| Ѳ | ѳ9 | - | ѳита [fʲɪ'ta] |
/f/ or /fʲ/ | Like ф | 9 | |
| Ѣ | ѣ10 | - | ять [jætʲ]; Yat |
/jɛ/ or / ʲɛ/ | Like е | - | |
| Ѵ | ѵ11 | - | ижица ['i.ʐɨ.tsə] |
/i/ or / ʲi/ | Like и | - | |
| letters in disuse by the 18th century18 | |||||||
| Ѕ | ѕ14 | - | зѣло ['zʲɛ.lə] |
/dz/, /z/ or /zʲ/ | Like з | 6 | |
| Ѯ | ѯ12 | - | кси [ksʲi] |
/ks/ or /ksʲ/ | Like кс | 60 | |
| Ѱ | ѱ12 | - | пси [psʲi] |
/ps/ or /psʲ/ | Like пс | 700 | |
| Ѡ | ѡ13 | - | омега [ʌ'mʲɛ.gə] |
/o/ | Like о | 800 | |
| Ѫ | ѫ | - | юсъ большой ['jus bʌlʲ'ʂoj], Yus |
/u/,/ju/ or / ʲu/15 | Like у or ю | - | |
| Ѧ15 | ѧ15 | - | юсъ малый ['jus 'mɑ.lɨj] |
/ja/ or / ʲa/16 | Like я | - | |
| Ѭ | ѭ | - | юсъ большой іотированный ['jus bʌlʲ'ʂoj jʌ'tʲi.rə.vən.nɨj] |
/ju/ or / ʲu/15 | Like ю | - | |
| Ѩ | ѩ | - | юсъ малый іотированный ['jus 'mɑ.lɨj jʌ'tʲi.rə.vən.nɨj] |
/ja/ or / ʲa/15 | Like я | - | |
The consonant letters represent both “hard” and “soft” (palatalised, represented in IPA with a < ʲ >) phonemes, depending (with some exceptions) on whether the iotated or softening vowel letters follow. The transcriptions of the names of the letters attempt to reflect the reduction of non-stressed vowels. See Russian phonology for details.
[edit] The names of the letters
1. Until approximately 1900, mnemonic names inherited from Church Slavonic were used for the letters. They are given here in the pre-1918 orthography of the post-1708 civil alphabet.
The reading of the letters' names in the traditional order produces a message to the people from the creators of the alphabet:
| аз буки веди | I know letters |
| глаголь добро есть | "To speak is a beneficence" or "The word is property" |
| живете зело, земля, и иже и како люди | "Live, while working heartily, people of the Earth, in the manner people should obey" Живите, трудясь |
| мыслете наш он покой | "try to understand the Universe (the world that is around)" |
| рцы слово твердо | "carry the knowledge ("word" here refers to "knowledge") firmly" |
| ук ферт хер | "The knowledge is fertilized by the Creator, knowledge is the gift of God" |
| цы червь ша ер ять юс | "Try harder, to understand the Light of the Creator" |
[edit] The non-vocalized letters
2. The hard sign ъ is used to separate prefixes from a succeeding iotated vowel. Its original pronunciation, lost by 1400 at the latest, was that of a very short middle schwa-like sound, /ŭ/ but likely pronounced [ə] or [ɯ]
3. The soft sign ь indicates that the preceding consonant is palatalized. This is important as palatalization is phonemic in Russian. For example, "брат" (brother) and "брать" (to take"). [Ref. 3]
The original pronunciation of the soft sign, lost by 1400 at the latest, was that of a very short fronted reduced vowel /ĭ/ but likely pronounced [ɪ] or [jɪ].
[edit] The vowels
4. The vowels е, ё, и, ю, я indicate a preceding palatal consonant and with the exception of и are iotated (with a preceding /j/) when written at the beginning of a word or following another vowel (initial и was iotated until the nineteenth century).
5. The ы is an old Common Slavonic tense intermediate vowel, thought to have been preserved better in modern Russian than in other Slavic languages. It was originally nasalized in certain positions: OR камы /'ka.mɨ̃/ R камень /'ka.mʲɪnʲ/ "rock". Its written form developed as follows: ъ + і > ъı > ы.
6. The э was introduced in 1708 to distinguish the non-iotated/non-palatalizing /ɛ/ from the iotated/palatalizing one. The original usage had been е for the uniotated /ɛ/, ѥ or ѣ for the iotated, but ѥ had dropped out of use by the sixteenth century.
7. The ё, introduced by Karamzin in 1797, marks a /jo/ sound that has historically developed from /je/ under stress, a process that continues today. The letter ё is optional: it is formally correct consistently to write e for both /je/ and /jo/. None of the several attempts in the twentieth century to mandate the use of ё have stuck, and today it is conceded that computer input has further weakened it.
[edit] Letters eliminated in 1918
8. The і ("Decimal I"), identical in pronunciation to и, was used exclusively immediately in front of other vowels and the й ("Short I") (for example, патріархъ [pətrʲɪ'arx] "patriarch") and in the word міръ [mʲir] "world" and its derivatives, to distinguish it from the word миръ [mʲir] "peace" (the two words are actually etymologically cognate[Ref. 2] and not arbitrarily homonyms).[Ref. 1]
9. The ѳ ("Fita"), from the Greek theta, was identical to ф in pronunciation, but was used etymologically.
10. The ѣ ("Yat") originally had a distinct sound, but by the middle of the eighteenth century had become identical in pronunciation to е in the standard language. Since its elimination in 1918, it has remained a political symbol of the old orthography.
11. The ѵ ("Izhitsa"), from the Greek upsilon, was identical to и in pronunciation, as in Byzantine Greek, but was used etymologically; though by 1918 it had become very rare.
[edit] Letters in disuse by 1750
12. The ѯ and ѱ are Greek letters xi and psi, used etymologically though inconsistently in secular writing until the eighteenth century, and more consistently to the present day in Church Slavonic.
13. The ѡ is the Greek letter omega, identical in pronunciation to о, used in secular writing until the eighteenth century, but to the present day in Church Slavonic, mostly to distinguish inflexional forms otherwise written identically.
14. The ѕ corresponded to a more archaic /dz/ pronunciation, already absent in East Slavic at the start of the historical period, but kept by tradition in certain words until the eighteenth century in secular writing, and in Church Slavonic to the present day.
15. The yuses had become, according to linguistic reconstruction, irrelevant for East Slavic phonology already at the beginning of the historical period, but were introduced along with the rest of the Cyrillic alphabet. The letters ѭ and ѩ had largely vanished by the twelfth century. The uniotated ѫ continued to be used, etymologically, until the sixteenth century. Thereafter it was restricted to being a dominical letter in the Paschal tables. The seventeenth-century usage of ѫ and ѧ (see next note) survives in contemporary Church Slavonic.
16. The letter ѧ was adapted to represent the iotated /ja/ я in the middle or end of a word; the modern letter я is an adaptation of its cursive form of the seventeenth century, enshrined by the typographical reform of 1708.
17. Until 1708, the iotated /ja/ was written ıa at the beginning of a word. This distinction between ѧ and ıa survives in Church Slavonic.
18. Although it is usually stated that the letters labelled "fallen into disuse by the eighteenth century" in the table above were eliminated in the typographical reform of 1708, reality is somewhat more complex. The letters were indeed originally omitted from the sample alphabet, printed in a western-style serif font, presented in Peter's edict, along with the modern letter и, but were reinstated under pressure from the Russian Orthodox Church in a later variant of the modern typeface. Nonetheless, they fell completely out of use in secular writing by 1750.
[edit] Numeric values
19. The numerical values correspond to the Greek numerals, with ѕ being used for digamma, ч for koppa, and ц for sampi. The system was abandoned for secular purposes in 1708, after a transitional period of a century or so; it continues to be used in Church Slavonic.
[edit] Keyboard layout
Russian keyboard layout for Microsoft Windows computers:
[edit] See also
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- Russian language
- Romanization of Russian
- Russian phonology
- Cyrillic alphabet
- Russian orthography
- Reforms of Russian orthography
- Church Slavonic
[edit] References
- ^ (Russian) P. Smirnovskiy. A Textbook in Russian Grammar. Part I. Etymology 26th edition, ca. 1915. (In Russian. П. Смирновскій. Учебникъ русской грамматики. Часть І. Этимологія 26 изд. (A Djvu file.) — Rule 4 for writing і on p. 4.
- ^ (Russian) Max Vasmer's Russian Etymological Dictionary — the etymology of the Russian word мир ("world", "peace"), found in the query result for мир at an online version of the Russian translation of the dictionary (retr. 16 October 2005).
- ^ Learn the Russian alphabet
