Izhitsa
Encyclopedia
Izhitsa is a letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet
. It was used to represent ypsilon (Υ, υ) in words derived from Greek
, such as (sünodǔ, 'synod'). It represented the same sound /i/ as the normal letter и in Russian. It was based on the Glagolitic Izhitsa
Izhitsa is a letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet
. It was used to represent ypsilon (Υ, υ) in words derived from Greek
, such as (sünodǔ, 'synod'). It represented the same sound /i/ as the normal letter и in Russian. It was based on the Glagolitic Izhitsa
Izhitsa is a letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet
. It was used to represent ypsilon (Υ, υ) in words derived from Greek
, such as (sünodǔ, 'synod'). It represented the same sound /i/ as the normal letter и in Russian. It was based on the Glagolitic Izhitsa
Izhitsa is a letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet
. It was used to represent ypsilon (Υ, υ) in words derived from Greek
, such as (sünodǔ, 'synod'). It represented the same sound /i/ as the normal letter и in Russian. It was based on the Glagolitic Izhitsa
Izhitsa is a letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet
. It was used to represent ypsilon (Υ, υ) in words derived from Greek
, such as (sünodǔ, 'synod'). It represented the same sound /i/ as the normal letter и in Russian. It was based on the Glagolitic Izhitsa
Izhitsa is a letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet
. It was used to represent ypsilon (Υ, υ) in words derived from Greek
, such as (sünodǔ, 'synod'). It represented the same sound /i/ as the normal letter и in Russian. It was based on the Glagolitic Izhitsa
Izhitsa is a letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet
. It was used to represent ypsilon (Υ, υ) in words derived from Greek
, such as (sünodǔ, 'synod'). It represented the same sound /i/ as the normal letter и in Russian. It was based on the Glagolitic Izhitsa
Izhitsa is a letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet
. It was used to represent ypsilon (Υ, υ) in words derived from Greek
, such as (sünodǔ, 'synod'). It represented the same sound /i/ as the normal letter и in Russian. It was based on the Glagolitic Izhitsa
Izhitsa is a letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet
. It was used to represent ypsilon (Υ, υ) in words derived from Greek
, such as (sünodǔ, 'synod'). It represented the same sound /i/ as the normal letter и in Russian. It was based on the Glagolitic Izhitsa (Ⱛ, ⱛ).
In the Russian language
, the use of izhitsa became progressively rarer during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. At the beginning of the twentieth century, there was only one word with relatively stable spelling with izhitsa: мѵро (müro, 'myrrh
') and its derivatives. The orthographic reform of 1918 does not mention the letter at all, so it “died” with no formal act. The capital form of izhitsa has traditionally been used in Russian books instead of the Roman numeral V.
The traditional spelling of Serbian
was more conservative. It preserved all etymologically motivated izhitsas in words of Greek origin. Vuk Stefanović Karadžić
had reformed the Serbian alphabet in the beginning of the nineteenth century and eliminated the letter, but the old spelling was used in some places as late as the 1880s.
Izhitsa is still in use in the Church Slavonic language. Like Greek ypsilon, it can be pronounced /i/ as и, or /v/ as в. The basic distinction rule is simple: izhitsa with stress and/or aspiration marks is a vowel and therefore pronounced /i/; izhitsa without diacritical marks is a consonant and pronounced /v/. Unstressed /i/-sounding izhitsas are marked with a special diacritical mark, the so-called kendema or kendima (from the Greek word κέντημα ['kjεndima]). The shape of kendema over izhitsa may vary: in books of Russian origin, it typically looks like double grave or sometimes like double acute. In older Serbian books, kendema most often looked like two dots (trema) or might even be replaced by a surrogate combination of aspiration and acute. These shape distinctions (with the exception of aspiration+acute) have no orthographical meaning and must be considered just as font style variations, so the Unicode
name “izhitsa with double grave” (majuscule: Ѷ, minuscule: ѷ) is slightly misleading. Izhitsa with kendema is not a separate letter of the alphabet, but it may have personal position in computer encodings (e.g., Unicode). Historically, izhitsa with kendema corresponds to the Greek ypsilon with trema (or διαλυτικά: Ϋ, ϋ). While in modern editions of ancient and modern Greek the trema is used only to prevent a digraph
(as <ευ> [εv/εf] versus <εϋ> [εi]), Slavonic kendema-usage still continues that of many mediaeval Greek manuscripts, where the "diaeresis
" sign was often used simply to mark an ypsilon or iota as such, irrespective of any other vowels (e.g. δϊαλϋτϊκά, which would not be correct by today's conventions).
The izhitsa is also used in the Romanian Cyrillic alphabet
, used until about 1860.
The Cyrillic letter Izhitsa also used historically in the Cyrillic script version of Aleut
, which this letter used in certain loanwords.
The izhitsa is sometimes used in place of the new IPA symbol for the labiodental flap
because the signs are similar.
Early Cyrillic alphabet
The Early Cyrillic alphabet is a writing system developed in the First Bulgarian Empire in the 9th or 10th century to write the Old Church Slavonic liturgical language...
. It was used to represent ypsilon (Υ, υ) in words derived from Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, such as (sünodǔ, 'synod'). It represented the same sound /i/ as the normal letter и in Russian. It was based on the Glagolitic Izhitsa
Izhitsa is a letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet
Early Cyrillic alphabet
The Early Cyrillic alphabet is a writing system developed in the First Bulgarian Empire in the 9th or 10th century to write the Old Church Slavonic liturgical language...
. It was used to represent ypsilon (Υ, υ) in words derived from Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, such as (sünodǔ, 'synod'). It represented the same sound /i/ as the normal letter и in Russian. It was based on the Glagolitic Izhitsa
Izhitsa is a letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet
Early Cyrillic alphabet
The Early Cyrillic alphabet is a writing system developed in the First Bulgarian Empire in the 9th or 10th century to write the Old Church Slavonic liturgical language...
. It was used to represent ypsilon (Υ, υ) in words derived from Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, such as (sünodǔ, 'synod'). It represented the same sound /i/ as the normal letter и in Russian. It was based on the Glagolitic Izhitsa
Izhitsa is a letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet
Early Cyrillic alphabet
The Early Cyrillic alphabet is a writing system developed in the First Bulgarian Empire in the 9th or 10th century to write the Old Church Slavonic liturgical language...
. It was used to represent ypsilon (Υ, υ) in words derived from Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, such as (sünodǔ, 'synod'). It represented the same sound /i/ as the normal letter и in Russian. It was based on the Glagolitic Izhitsa
Izhitsa is a letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet
Early Cyrillic alphabet
The Early Cyrillic alphabet is a writing system developed in the First Bulgarian Empire in the 9th or 10th century to write the Old Church Slavonic liturgical language...
. It was used to represent ypsilon (Υ, υ) in words derived from Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, such as (sünodǔ, 'synod'). It represented the same sound /i/ as the normal letter и in Russian. It was based on the Glagolitic Izhitsa
Izhitsa is a letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet
Early Cyrillic alphabet
The Early Cyrillic alphabet is a writing system developed in the First Bulgarian Empire in the 9th or 10th century to write the Old Church Slavonic liturgical language...
. It was used to represent ypsilon (Υ, υ) in words derived from Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, such as (sünodǔ, 'synod'). It represented the same sound /i/ as the normal letter и in Russian. It was based on the Glagolitic Izhitsa
Izhitsa is a letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet
Early Cyrillic alphabet
The Early Cyrillic alphabet is a writing system developed in the First Bulgarian Empire in the 9th or 10th century to write the Old Church Slavonic liturgical language...
. It was used to represent ypsilon (Υ, υ) in words derived from Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, such as (sünodǔ, 'synod'). It represented the same sound /i/ as the normal letter и in Russian. It was based on the Glagolitic Izhitsa
Izhitsa is a letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet
Early Cyrillic alphabet
The Early Cyrillic alphabet is a writing system developed in the First Bulgarian Empire in the 9th or 10th century to write the Old Church Slavonic liturgical language...
. It was used to represent ypsilon (Υ, υ) in words derived from Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, such as (sünodǔ, 'synod'). It represented the same sound /i/ as the normal letter и in Russian. It was based on the Glagolitic Izhitsa
Izhitsa is a letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet
Early Cyrillic alphabet
The Early Cyrillic alphabet is a writing system developed in the First Bulgarian Empire in the 9th or 10th century to write the Old Church Slavonic liturgical language...
. It was used to represent ypsilon (Υ, υ) in words derived from Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, such as (sünodǔ, 'synod'). It represented the same sound /i/ as the normal letter и in Russian. It was based on the Glagolitic Izhitsa (Ⱛ, ⱛ).
In the Russian language
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, the use of izhitsa became progressively rarer during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. At the beginning of the twentieth century, there was only one word with relatively stable spelling with izhitsa: мѵро (müro, 'myrrh
Myrrh
Myrrh is the aromatic oleoresin of a number of small, thorny tree species of the genus Commiphora, which grow in dry, stony soil. An oleoresin is a natural blend of an essential oil and a resin. Myrrh resin is a natural gum....
') and its derivatives. The orthographic reform of 1918 does not mention the letter at all, so it “died” with no formal act. The capital form of izhitsa has traditionally been used in Russian books instead of the Roman numeral V.
The traditional spelling of Serbian
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
was more conservative. It preserved all etymologically motivated izhitsas in words of Greek origin. Vuk Stefanović Karadžić
Vuk Stefanovic Karadžic
Vuk Stefanović Karadžić was a Serbian philolog and linguist, the major reformer of the Serbian language, and deserves, perhaps, for his collections of songs, fairy tales, and riddles to be called the father of the study of Serbian folklore. He was the author of the first Serbian dictionary...
had reformed the Serbian alphabet in the beginning of the nineteenth century and eliminated the letter, but the old spelling was used in some places as late as the 1880s.
Izhitsa is still in use in the Church Slavonic language. Like Greek ypsilon, it can be pronounced /i/ as и, or /v/ as в. The basic distinction rule is simple: izhitsa with stress and/or aspiration marks is a vowel and therefore pronounced /i/; izhitsa without diacritical marks is a consonant and pronounced /v/. Unstressed /i/-sounding izhitsas are marked with a special diacritical mark, the so-called kendema or kendima (from the Greek word κέντημα ['kjεndima]). The shape of kendema over izhitsa may vary: in books of Russian origin, it typically looks like double grave or sometimes like double acute. In older Serbian books, kendema most often looked like two dots (trema) or might even be replaced by a surrogate combination of aspiration and acute. These shape distinctions (with the exception of aspiration+acute) have no orthographical meaning and must be considered just as font style variations, so the Unicode
Unicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
name “izhitsa with double grave” (majuscule: Ѷ, minuscule: ѷ) is slightly misleading. Izhitsa with kendema is not a separate letter of the alphabet, but it may have personal position in computer encodings (e.g., Unicode). Historically, izhitsa with kendema corresponds to the Greek ypsilon with trema (or διαλυτικά: Ϋ, ϋ). While in modern editions of ancient and modern Greek the trema is used only to prevent a digraph
Digraph (orthography)
A digraph or digram is a pair of characters used to write one phoneme or a sequence of phonemes that does not correspond to the normal values of the two characters combined...
(as <ευ> [εv/εf] versus <εϋ> [εi]), Slavonic kendema-usage still continues that of many mediaeval Greek manuscripts, where the "diaeresis
Diaeresis
Diaeresis or dieresis may refer to:* Diaeresis , pronunciation of vowels in a diphthong separately, or the division made in a line of poetry when the end of a foot coincides with the end of a word...
" sign was often used simply to mark an ypsilon or iota as such, irrespective of any other vowels (e.g. δϊαλϋτϊκά, which would not be correct by today's conventions).
The izhitsa is also used in the Romanian Cyrillic alphabet
Romanian Cyrillic alphabet
The Romanian Cyrillic alphabet was used to write the Romanian language before 1860–1862, when it was officially replaced by a Latin-based Romanian alphabet. Cyrillic remained in occasional use until circa 1920...
, used until about 1860.
The Cyrillic letter Izhitsa also used historically in the Cyrillic script version of Aleut
Aleut language
Aleut is a language of the Eskimo–Aleut language family. It is the heritage language of the Aleut people living in the Aleutian Islands, Pribilof Islands, and Commander Islands. As of 2007 there were about 150 speakers of Aleut .- Dialects :Aleut is alone with the Eskimo languages in the...
, which this letter used in certain loanwords.
The izhitsa is sometimes used in place of the new IPA symbol for the labiodental flap
Labiodental flap
-External links:* * *...
because the signs are similar.
Computing codes
| character | ||||||||
| Unicode name | CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER IZHITSA |
CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER IZHITSA |
CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER IZHITSA WITH DOUBLE GRAVE ACCENT |
CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER IZHITSA WITH DOUBLE GRAVE ACCENT |
||||
| character encoding | decimal | hex | decimal | hex | decimal | hex | decimal | hex |
| Unicode Unicode Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems... |
1140 | 0474 | 1141 | 0475 | 1142 | 0476 | 1143 | 0477 |
| UTF-8 UTF-8 UTF-8 is a multibyte character encoding for Unicode. Like UTF-16 and UTF-32, UTF-8 can represent every character in the Unicode character set. Unlike them, it is backward-compatible with ASCII and avoids the complications of endianness and byte order marks... |
209 180 | D1 B4 | 209 181 | D1 B5 | 209 182 | D1 B6 | 209 183 | D1 B7 |
| Numeric character reference Numeric character reference A numeric character reference is a common markup construct used in SGML and other SGML-related markup languages such as HTML and XML. It consists of a short sequence of characters that, in turn, represent a single character from the Universal Character Set of Unicode... |
Ѵ | Ѵ | ѵ | ѵ | Ѷ | Ѷ | ѷ | ѷ |