For instance, Russia has a republic called Тыва (Tyva, also known as Tuva) with a capital city called Кызыл (Kyzyl) there is an upland ridge in the northern Urals called Ыджыдпарма (Ydzhydparma) and a river with the name Ыгыатта (Ygyatta) in Yakutia despite the fact that traditionally words starting with Ы simply do not exist in the Russian language! Also, over the long history of the Soviet Union a tradition evolved of transliterating toponyms, as well as personal and other names using the Russian alphabet. This spelling exists for historical reasons, as a result of the Russian Empire's relations with its neighbors or the opening up of Siberia. In such cases all the rules are scrapped and even ЖЫ and ШЫ are quite conceivable - for example, in Kazakh, there are toponyms such as the town of Шымкент (Shymkent). The letter Ы is often encountered in unusual combinations in words borrowed from the Caucasian and Turkic languages of Asian peoples. Letter Ы in foreign names and toponymsĪ postcard marks the 100th anniversary of Kyzyl city foundation It is also encountered in nouns in the plural that have an Ы ending - " улицы" ("streets") - or in adjectives ending in " ый" - " куцый" ("bobtailed"). Incidentally, many surnames were formed this way - for example, Солженицын (Solzhenitsyn). ![]() At school, children learn a saying by heart that helps them remember the roots of the words in which Ы is written after Ц - Цыган на цыпочках цыпленку цыкнул цыц (A gypsy on tiptoe hushed a chick by saying "shush!").īut at the end of words ЦЫ comes up often - for example, when adding a possessive suffix - " курица" - " курицын" ("chicken" - "chicken’s"). Incidentally, you won't have problems pronouncing ЧИ or ЩИ.Īnother problem arose with the letter Ц (in Old Russian the sound Ц was also soft), after which you also get an Ы sound, but sometimes it is spelled with И - as in " цифра" (“digit”) or " цилиндр" ("cylinder"). However, in the Old Russian language all four of the “sh-like” consonants were soft (nowadays only Ч and Щ are), and so the spelling with И took root. After the so-called “sh-like” consonants Ж and Ш, it is impossible to pronounce И, and in such cases the letter sounds much like Ы - as in " жизнь" (“life”) or " машина" ("machine"). This is one of the very first rules that Russian children learn at school. Try to push your lower jaw forward and to pronounce a drawn-out " Ыыыы", and then you'll get it. As for Ы, it most often signifies a sarcastic smirk in response to a dumb joke or moronic meme. ![]() However, if a Russian simply wants to convey a smile or a laugh, he or she is more likely to use brackets, like this: ))). ![]() In the language of internet communication, Ы, as well as " Ыыыыы", means something like laughter, the Russian equivalent of LOL. In Russia, even if you search for Ы on Google, the film will come up first, and only then a Wikipedia article about Ы.įor young people, however, whose cultural references are unlikely to include the Soviet film classics, the Ы sound conveys its own particular shade of meaning. One of the dim-witted characters suggests calling it, “Operation Ы", "so that no-one will guess". Essentially, the intention is to show the utter absurdity of an operation by a group of bungling criminals who try to stage a fake break-in at a warehouse. In one of the most famous Soviet comedies, "Operation Y and Shurik's Other Adventures" (the letter “Y” is commonly substituted for Ы in the film’s English-language title), one of the stories that make up the film is dedicated to the letter Ы. ![]() The popular Soviet film director, Leonid Gaidai, was the first to have a laugh at the expense of this letter. Still from the film "Operation Y and Shurik's Other Adventures"
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