Dvolavech

Overview Dvolavech

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=Alphabet= Dvolavech is written using the following 37 letters of the alphabet. The letters ψ ҁ щ є ю and я all represent combinations of phonemes (ps, st, shch, je, ju and ja respectively), the other letters all have one-to-one correspondence with IPA sounds. The letters s and ц can also be said to represent combinations of phonemes (dz and ts respectively), but are actually affricate consonants, treated as seperate sounds.

The Dvolavech alphabet is as follows:  а б в г д џ е ж з ѕ и й к л м н о ѵ п р ψ с ҁ т у ф х ц ч ш щ ъ ы ь є ю я 
 * а - a as in car
 * б - b as in bag
 * в - v as in van
 * г - g as in garden
 * д - d as in dog
 * џ - j as in just
 * е - e as in get
 * ж - s as in pleasure
 * з - z as in zebra
 * ѕ - ds as in lads
 * и - i as in bin
 * й - y as in boy. Used only when in dipthongs
 * к - c as in car
 * л - l as in little
 * м - m as in mug
 * н - n as in not
 * о - o as in top
 * ѵ - eu as used in French
 * п - p as in prince
 * ψ - ps as in taps
 * р - r as in rice
 * с - s as in safe
 * ҁ - st as in star
 * т - t as in tap
 * у - u as in udder
 * ф - f as in finger
 * х - ch as in scottish loch
 * ц - ts as in bets
 * ч - ch as in chop
 * ш - sh as in shop
 * щ - shch as in fresh cheese
 * ъ - indicates that two consonants do not make an allophone when they otherwise would, or that the preceding consonant is silent
 * ы - e as in roses
 * ь - indicates that the preceding consonant is palatalized
 * є - ye as in yes
 * ю - you as in you
 * я - a as in Slovakia

Notable Letters
Several letters of the Dvolavech alphabet represent sounds that are different to the sounds that they represent in other alphabets.

Ѕ
S represents the sound /dz/, similar to the "ds" in hands. This is the same sound that it represents in the Serbian and Macedonian alphabets, but considerably different to the identically-shaped Latin letter "s".

Й
Й represents the sound /j/ when finishing a dipthong, similar to how "y" acts at the end of "boy", "hey", "jay" etc.

Ѵ
Ѵ represents the sound /ø/. This sound is not found in English, its nearest equivalent is the "ir" in bird. This letter was unofficially removed from the other Cyrillic alphabets, where it represented /i/, the same sound as the letter "и", so was seen as superfluous. However it was kept in the Dvolavech alphabet because it represented a considerably distinct sound.

Ψ
Ψ represents the consonant cluster /ps/. It descends from the identically-appearing greek letter psi (Ψ), which was carried into the old Cyrillic alphabet. It was removed from the Early Cyrillic alphabet, but was kept in the Dvolavech alphabet because the cluster /ps/ is a very important sound in Dvolavech. Unlike in English, the cluster /ps/ can be found at the beginning of words. Words beginning with Ψ are often related to death: 'ψaкa' psaka meaning "death", 'ψaрикь' psarikj "coffin".

Ҁ
Ҁ represents the consonant cluster /st/. It is decended from a ligature of "c" and "т", although it is identical in appearance to the old Cyrillic letter "koppa".

Ъ
Ъ has no phonemic value of its own, but is used to show that either the preceding consonant is silent (as in 'доcънє' /doɲə/ "(it) is"), or that two adjacent consonants do not form an allophone (as in 'нaнъгoг' /nængɒg/ "orange" as apposed to 'нaнгoг' /næŋɒg/ "bleach").

Ь
Ь originally was used to represent the palatalization of a preceding consonant, but has recently become a /j/ sound following a consonant.

Щ
Щ represents a combination of the sounds 'sh' in fresh and 'ch' in cheese. It is usually transcribed as "shch".

Є
Є represents the combination /je/, or the palatalization of the preceding consonant followed by an /e/. This letter does not appear in many Cyrillic variants, but is present in the Ukrainian Alphabet, where it represents the same sound.

 а б в г д џ е ж з ѕ и й к л м н о ѵ п р ψ с ҁ т у ф х ц ч ш щ ъ ы ь є ю я 

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