"gene kalutskiy" <
sunne-@...> wrote:
original article:
http://www.egroups.com/group/cybalist/?start=926
> Yes, by 'U' I meant the Russian back 'i' sound commonly transcribed as
> 'y'. I just used the 'U' for convenience, to make it clear what sound
> correspondence I was looking for. Oh well, "rytik" probably IS derived
> from "ryt'" = to dig. Still, it was a good try.
>
> Gene
One more thing on my use of 'U' for the Russian 'back i' sound. I
really don't like to use 'y' to transcribe it because it creates a lot
of confusion - the same letter is also used to transcribe the 'short
i', and I've come across quite a few Slavic last names with both sounds
present in them. Slavic 'back i' is a very peculiar sound not found in
most other IE branches (I think Portuguese has it, but I can't remember
any more). When people who don't speak Russian see this letter in a
Russian word, they first think of a sound like in English "yes", then
of a French 'u' sound...
Anyway, I think it's all quite ambiguous and I wish there was a
different way of transcribing it.
Gene
PS: For those unfamiliar with the sound in question, try to pronounce a
long 'u' as in "foot" but with your lips stretched as if you were
saying the long 'i' as in "feet".