0
Usenet Posted 22 years ago
Usage

"Kyiv" in English

Apologies if this subject has come up before, but I decided to look up the pronunciation of the Ukrainian capital in English by the Ukrainian-preferred spelling.
What I got (at m-w.com) was something more akin to the pronunciation of the letter "Q" with a (schwa?) at the end. If I see "Kyiv", I'd be tempted to pronounce it "key-yeev", or "key-yiv".
If the new spelling in English is meant to be pronounced closer to Ukrainian in English, why not spell it "Qew", "Kew", "Qua", "Kewa", or similar?

Larry
  

Top answer

[nq:1]Apologies if this subject has come up before, but I decided to look up the pronunciation of the Ukrainian capital ... [/nq] The exercise may be futile unless English speakers think there is something wrong in saying Rome (one syllable) where Italians say Roma. g.

Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

2 Answers
0
[nq:1]Apologies if this subject has come up before, but I decided to look up the pronunciation of the Ukrainian capital ... English is meant to be pronounced closer toUkrainian in English, why not spell it "Qew", "Kew", "Qua", "Kewa", or similar?[/nq]
The exercise may be futile unless English speakers think there is something wrong in saying Rome (one syllable) where Italians say Roma. Not man
0
[nq:1]Apologies if this subject has come up before, but I decided to look up the pronunciation of the Ukrainian capital ... English is meant to be pronounced closer toUkrainian in English, why not spell it "Qew", "Kew", "Qua", "Kewa", or similar?[/nq]
The pronunciation which the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary gives for the Ukrainian version of Kiev (that version being spelled Kyiv and Kyyiv