Yery
Encyclopedia
Yery or Yeru is a letter in the Cyrillic alphabet
. It represents the phoneme /i/ after non-palatalised (hard) consonants in the Belarusian
and Russian alphabet
s. Because of phonological processes, the actual realization of /i/ after alveolar consonants (⟨д⟩, ⟨з⟩, ⟨л⟩, ⟨н⟩, ⟨р⟩, ⟨с⟩, ⟨т⟩, or ⟨ц⟩) is retracted to a close central unrounded vowel
[ɨ], or [ʷi] after the labials ⟨б⟩, ⟨в⟩, ⟨м⟩, ⟨п⟩. In Rusyn language it represents a sound that is a bit harder than [ɨ] and close to the Romanian
sound î. In some situations it may occur after palatalised consonants (e.g.: синьый "blue", which is never the case in Russian), and often follows ⟨к⟩, ⟨г⟩, ⟨ґ⟩ and ⟨х⟩.
While vowel letters in the Cyrillic alphabet may be divided into iotated and non-iotated pairs (e.g. ⟨а⟩ and ⟨я⟩, both represent /a/ and the latter denotes a preceding palatalised consonant), ⟨ы⟩ is more complicated; while it appears only after hard consonants, its phonetic value differs from ⟨и⟩ and there is some scholarly disagreement as to whether or not ⟨ы⟩ and ⟨и⟩ denote different phonemes.
Like many Cyrillic letters, originally the letter yery was formed from a ligature: —formed from Yer
⟨ъ⟩ and ⟨і⟩ (formerly written either dotless or with two dots) or Izhe
(⟨и⟩, whose former letterform resembled ⟨н⟩). In mediaeval manuscripts, it is almost without exception found as ⟨ъі⟩ or ⟨ъи⟩. Once the letters ⟨ъ⟩ and ⟨ь⟩ subsequently lost their values as vowels in the Slavic languages
, the current simplified form ⟨ы⟩ evolved.
The letter is usually romanised into English
and most other West European languages as ⟨y⟩, e.g. Krylov
(family name
, Крылов), although ⟨y⟩ may be used for other purposes as well (such as in digraphs
). This spelling matches Polish
, where Latin ⟨y⟩ represents the same sound; Russian ⟨ы⟩ is used to transliterate Polish ⟨y⟩ into Cyrillic (e.g. Maryla – Марыля).
Native Russian words do not begin with ⟨ы⟩ (except for the specific verb ыкать, “to say the ⟨ы⟩-sound″), but many proper and common nouns of non-Russian origin (including some geographical names in Russia
) that begin with this letter do exist, for example Ytyk-Kyuyol
(Ытык-Кюёль), Ygyatta (Ыгыатта), a village and a river in Sakha (Yakutia) Republic respectively, or Eulji Mundeok
(Ыльчи Мундок), a Korean military leader.
In the Ukrainian alphabet
, the sound ɪ (similar to Russian ⟨ы⟩) is denoted by ⟨и⟩, and the letter ⟨ы⟩ is not used in Ukrainian. Conversely, Ukrainian ⟨и⟩ usually (but not always) is transcribed in Russian as ⟨ы⟩.
The letter ⟨ы⟩ is also used in Cyrillic-based alphabets of several Turkic
and Mongolian languages (see the list) where it denotes a darker
vowel ɯ. Corresponding letter in Latin-based scripts is ⟨ı⟩ (dotless I).
Cyrillic alphabet
The Cyrillic script or azbuka is an alphabetic writing system developed in the First Bulgarian Empire during the 10th century AD at the Preslav Literary School...
. It represents the phoneme /i/ after non-palatalised (hard) consonants in the Belarusian
Belarusian alphabet
The Belarusian alphabet is based on the Cyrillic script and is derived from the alphabet of the Old Church Slavonic language. The alphabet has existed in its modern form since 1918 and consists of thirty-two letters...
and Russian alphabet
Russian alphabet
The Russian alphabet is a form of the Cyrillic script, developed in the First Bulgarian Empire during the 10th century AD at the Preslav Literary School...
s. Because of phonological processes, the actual realization of /i/ after alveolar consonants (⟨д⟩, ⟨з⟩, ⟨л⟩, ⟨н⟩, ⟨р⟩, ⟨с⟩, ⟨т⟩, or ⟨ц⟩) is retracted to a close central unrounded vowel
Close central unrounded vowel
The close central unrounded vowel, or high central unrounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound used in some languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is . The IPA symbol is the letter i with a horizontal bar...
[ɨ], or [ʷi] after the labials ⟨б⟩, ⟨в⟩, ⟨м⟩, ⟨п⟩. In Rusyn language it represents a sound that is a bit harder than [ɨ] and close to the Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
sound î. In some situations it may occur after palatalised consonants (e.g.: синьый "blue", which is never the case in Russian), and often follows ⟨к⟩, ⟨г⟩, ⟨ґ⟩ and ⟨х⟩.
While vowel letters in the Cyrillic alphabet may be divided into iotated and non-iotated pairs (e.g. ⟨а⟩ and ⟨я⟩, both represent /a/ and the latter denotes a preceding palatalised consonant), ⟨ы⟩ is more complicated; while it appears only after hard consonants, its phonetic value differs from ⟨и⟩ and there is some scholarly disagreement as to whether or not ⟨ы⟩ and ⟨и⟩ denote different phonemes.
Like many Cyrillic letters, originally the letter yery was formed from a ligature: —formed from Yer
Yer
The letter yer of the Cyrillic alphabet, also spelled jer or er, is known as the hard sign in the modern Russian and Rusyn alphabets and as er golyam in the Bulgarian alphabet...
⟨ъ⟩ and ⟨і⟩ (formerly written either dotless or with two dots) or Izhe
I (Cyrillic)
I is a letter used in almost all ancient and modern Cyrillic alphabets.It commonly represents the close front unrounded vowel , like the pronunciation of ⟨i⟩ in "machine", or the near-close near-front unrounded vowel , like the pronunciation of ⟨i⟩ in "bin".-History:The Cyrillic letter I was...
(⟨и⟩, whose former letterform resembled ⟨н⟩). In mediaeval manuscripts, it is almost without exception found as ⟨ъі⟩ or ⟨ъи⟩. Once the letters ⟨ъ⟩ and ⟨ь⟩ subsequently lost their values as vowels in the Slavic languages
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
, the current simplified form ⟨ы⟩ evolved.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and most other West European languages as ⟨y⟩, e.g. Krylov
Krylov
Krylov Krylov Krylov (masculine or Krylova (feminine) is a common Russian last name, derived from a word literally meaning a wing (крыло́). Alternative spellings are Krilov, Kryloff, Kriloff (masculine) and Krilova (feminine; Крылова)....
(family name
Family name
A family name is a type of surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs. The use of family names is widespread in cultures around the world...
, Крылов), although ⟨y⟩ may be used for other purposes as well (such as in digraphs
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...
). This spelling matches Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
, where Latin ⟨y⟩ represents the same sound; Russian ⟨ы⟩ is used to transliterate Polish ⟨y⟩ into Cyrillic (e.g. Maryla – Марыля).
Native Russian words do not begin with ⟨ы⟩ (except for the specific verb ыкать, “to say the ⟨ы⟩-sound″), but many proper and common nouns of non-Russian origin (including some geographical names in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
) that begin with this letter do exist, for example Ytyk-Kyuyol
Ytyk-Kyuyol
Ytyk-Kyuyol is a village in the Sakha Republic, Russia, located on the left bank of the Tatta River , from Yakutsk. It is the administrative center of Tattinsky Ulus. Population: 6,267 ; 5,658...
(Ытык-Кюёль), Ygyatta (Ыгыатта), a village and a river in Sakha (Yakutia) Republic respectively, or Eulji Mundeok
Eulji Mundeok
Eulji Mundeok was a noted military leader of early 7th century Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Often numbered among the greatest heroes in Korean military history, he defended Goguryeo against the Sui Chinese...
(Ыльчи Мундок), a Korean military leader.
In the Ukrainian alphabet
Ukrainian alphabet
The Ukrainian alphabet is the set of letters used to write Ukrainian, the official language of Ukraine. It is one of the national variations of the Cyrillic script....
, the sound ɪ (similar to Russian ⟨ы⟩) is denoted by ⟨и⟩, and the letter ⟨ы⟩ is not used in Ukrainian. Conversely, Ukrainian ⟨и⟩ usually (but not always) is transcribed in Russian as ⟨ы⟩.
The letter ⟨ы⟩ is also used in Cyrillic-based alphabets of several Turkic
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken...
and Mongolian languages (see the list) where it denotes a darker
Back vowel
A back vowel is a type of vowel sound used in spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a back vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Back vowels are sometimes also called dark...
vowel ɯ. Corresponding letter in Latin-based scripts is ⟨ı⟩ (dotless I).
Related letters and other similar characters
- Ь ь : Cyrillic letter Soft sign
- І і : Cyrillic letter Dotted I
- И и : Cyrillic letter I
- Ъ ъ : Cyrillic letter Yer
Computing codes
| character | Ы | ы | ||
| Unicode name | CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER YERU | CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER YERU | ||
| character encoding | 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... |
1067 | 042B | 1099 | 044B |
| 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... |
208 171 | D0 AB | 209 139 | D1 8B |
| 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... |
Ы | Ы | ы | ы |
| KOI8-R KOI8-R KOI8-R is an 8-bit character encoding, designed to cover Russian, which uses the Cyrillic alphabet. It also happens to cover Bulgarian, but is not used since CP1251 is accepted. A derivative encoding is KOI8-U, which adds Ukrainian characters... and KOI8-U KOI8-U KOI8-U is an 8-bit character encoding, designed to cover Ukrainian, which uses the Cyrillic alphabet. It is based on KOI8-R, which covers Russian and Bulgarian, but replaces eight graphic characters with four Ukrainian letters Ґ, Є, І, and Ї in both upper case and lower case.In Microsoft Windows,... |
249 | F9 | 217 | D9 |
| Code page 855 Code page 855 Code page 855 is a code page used under MS-DOS to write Cyrillic script. This code page is not used much.-Code page layout:... |
242 | F2 | 241 | F1 |
| Code page 866 Code page 866 Code page 866 is a code page used under MS-DOS to write Cyrillic script. It is based on the "alternative character set" of GOST 19768-87... |
155 | 9B | 235 | EB |
| Windows-1251 Windows-1251 Windows-1251 is a popular 8-bit character encoding, designed to cover languages that use the Cyrillic alphabet such as Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian Cyrillic and other languages... |
219 | DB | 251 | FB |
| ISO-8859-5 | 203 | CB | 235 | EB |
| Macintosh Cyrillic | 155 | 9B | 251 | FB |