Speaking of pronunciation

[gh]

"too expensive"?

[gm]

It's pronounced 'Throatwobbler Mangrove'

(hat tip to Monty Python)

[Pego]

I visited Pittsbura in Pennsylvania once.

Did you eat a samwich there?

[tandfman]

I doubt it, but maybe a sammich.

[Pego]

I doubt it, but maybe a sammich.

Right.

[gh]

from the NY Times daily briefing this morning


How would you spell ‘Київ’?

This week, The Times adopted a new spelling for Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, the Romanization of the Ukrainian Київ.
The previous version, Kiev, is a transliteration from the Russian: Киев.
The Times is rarely an early adopter in altering place names, waiting until there is a sense that most readers would be familiar with the new word. For instance, the paper quit using Bombay only in 2004, almost a decade after the Indian authorities officially recognized the city as Mumbai.
Craig Whitney, a former foreign correspondent who went on to become our standards editor, recalled that airline flight information had been listed as Mumbai for years. “Clearly,” he said, “we waited long enough to see if it was sticking.”
Most Americans were introduced to Ukraine’s capital during the Soviet era, so they’ve seen “Kiev” for decades. But the U.S. Board on Geographic Names switched to Kyiv in June, and U.S. diplomats have been widely heard in the impeachment hearings in Washington using the Ukrainian pronunciation (or at least coming close with “Keev”).
Chicken kiev, however, will probably stay the same.

[Atticus]

I've often noticed that Russian names can have multiple spellings. Some (same) names can end in

y

or

i

or

iy

or

yy

or even

iyy

[bambam1729]

I've often noticed that Russian names can have multiple spellings.

It depends on the transliteration system you use and also if you transliterate into English or some other language. On Olympedia, we have standardized it, using an algorithm to transliterate according to the Encyclopedia Britannica system for Russian Cyrillic into English.

That yields:

Yury

But if you transliterate into French it is Iouri, and into German it becomes Jurij, so you see all sorts of things.

As EGH pointed out for Kyiv, Ukrainian Cyrillic (and Bulgarian) are slightly different.

[Trickstat]

It depends on the transliteration system you use and also if you transliterate into English or some other language. On Olympedia, we have standardized it, using an algorithm to transliterate according to the Encyclopedia Britannica system for Russian Cyrillic into English.

That yields:

Yury

But if you transliterate into French it is Iouri, and into German it becomes Jurij, so you see all sorts of things.

As EGH pointed out for Kyiv, Ukrainian Cyrillic (and Bulgarian) are slightly different.

A good example is the Russian surname that in English is usually spelt Yevsyukov. In German it tends to be Jewsjukow.

[Master403]

I lived in the suburbs for 4 years and the authentic Philly Cheesesteak (and local Pizza) are far beyond any place else's!

OMG. You're going to be covered in cheese, thick crust, thin crust, sardines, canadian bacon, pineapples, and other ingredients. I'm going to sit back and watch. This should be fun.