Studying English, Russian-speaking people have to learn the rules for using one particular icon - the apostrophe. What is it when it is used and in which languages is it still used? Let's find the answers to all these questions!
Origin of the term
The considered word "apostrophe" came into Russian and other foreign languages from ancient Greek. The term apostrophos that existed in it was formed from the words: apo (from) and strepho (I draw). So literally, this noun translates as "converted from something." Most likely, I meant the shape of this icon itself.
In the Slavic languages, this term came through the mediation of French, in which it is often used to this day.
Apostrophe - what is it?
This name refers to a linguistic sign that looks like a comma (') or a single quote ('), but, unlike them, is placed at the top of the line.
The apostrophe sign is widely used in different languages of the world, but often for different purposes. Let's look at the most famous of them.
Ukrainian apostrophe
As you know, in such Eastern Slavic languages as Belarusian and Ukrainian there is no solid dividing sign (b). Instead, the signal graphic in use (') is used to signal separate pronunciation of sounds.
Most often it is put when writing the so-called Ukrainian “words with an apostrophe” - terms in which the labial consonants and “p” are written before the diphthongs “I”, “Yu”, “є”, “ї”. For example: p'yatirka, tim'yachko, pyr'ya and the like.
Also, this sign is used after prefixes or the first part of complex words that end with a solid consonant, before the above diphthongs. As an example, one can cite such words with an apostrophe: ob'єm (volume), ob'yava (announcement), pid_izd (staircase).
It is worth noting an interesting fact: after the Reform of the Russian language of 1918 for almost two decades, it was widely used in all areas of the apostrophe as a dividing sign. Therefore, all three of the above Ukrainian words in Russian were also written with an apostrophe. And only in 1956 did Kommersant become the only separator in the Russian language. At the same time, Ukrainian and Belarusian completely lost it, but at the same time retained “'”.
What role does the apostrophe play in Russian
In addition to the above cases of applying the studied mark in the Ukrainian language, there is one more. Moreover, it is used in Russian. It is about writing words of foreign origin.
Most often this applies to proper names. For example, the name of the famous British writer is Peter O'Donnell, or the name of the main character in the movie Gone With the Wind is Scarlett O'Hara.
In addition to the aforementioned case, the apostrophe is acceptable in Russian when it is necessary to separate Russian endings or suffixes from the initial part of the word written in Latin: “My mother finally understood how to use E-mail”.
The use of the apostrophe in English and other foreign languages
Having learned the answer to the main question “Apostrophe - what is it?”, As well as considering cases when it is used in Russian and Ukrainian, it is worth paying attention to the use of this sign in other languages.
- In English, it is used to spell the possessive case: Anina cat - Ann's cat.
- Also, the apostrophe here is put in place of the missing letters, in abbreviated words. For example: we are - we're (we are), you will - you'll (you will).
- In French, this sign is widely used to indicate missing vowels. For example: le homme - l'homme (person).
- In German, to avoid confusion with words that end in the sound [s], this sign on the letter helps to indicate a genitive case in them. For example: Thomas (Thomas - nominative) and Thomas' (Thomas - genitive).
- In Esperanto, the apostrophe is used to reduce the article la: l 'kor' (la koro). Also in this language, this graphic sign is used to denote the final vowel elysia in nouns in the Nominative case of the singular.
- In the Macedonian language, the apostrophe plays an even more important role. There, it denotes a neutral vowel sound in individual dialectisms: “k'smet” (kismet), “s'klet” (carving).
The use of the apostrophe in transcription
Knowing the apostrophe is what a letter is, it’s worth figuring out what role it plays in transcription.
In most cases like this, the mark is used to indicate the place of stress.
In many Slavic languages (including Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian) the apostrophe in transcription indicates the softness of the previous consonant, but not the soft sign, as some say. Since this sign is "dumb" and signals only the softness of the previous sound. As an example, consider the word “July”: [iy'ul '].
In conclusion, it is worth noting that when working in text editors it is not always convenient to switch the layout of languages to put an apostrophe (it is only in the English font). Therefore, there is an easier way: the Alt key is clamped and at the same time the code “39” or “146” is dialed on a separate numeric keypad.