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March 15, 2022 4:29 pm  #1


A Word To The "Y's" - Can TV Spell The Ukrainian President's Name?

I'm not asking this to make fun of anyone, but I can't recall any world figure whose name has been so consistently misspelled on TV newscasts. So I ask only because I'm not sure - is the name of the President of the Ukraine spelled "Zelensky" or Zelenskyy" (with two "y" 's.)

I continue to see it both ways depending on what TV station or what newspaper I'm looking at. 

Which is it and shouldn't they all decide on one or the other, just for consistency's sake?

 

March 16, 2022 10:01 am  #2


Re: A Word To The "Y's" - Can TV Spell The Ukrainian President's Name?

The answer is "neither"... it's spelled in the Cyrillic alphabet and all we can do is transliterate.

There's a fantastic explanation here:

https://blog.duolingo.com/ukraine-language/

 

March 16, 2022 10:19 am  #3


Re: A Word To The "Y's" - Can TV Spell The Ukrainian President's Name?

Very interesting stuff, Scott. How bizarre that "brat" translates as "brother!" I guess it depends on whether you're the older or the younger one!

I think my point was that there should probably be a standardized way to spell Zelenskyy/Zelensky's name. I notice most newspapers opt for the double y, while TV station keys tend towards just one. (But there's no denying the former spelling looks like a typo!)

Since he's likely to be on screen a lot over the next little while, perhaps they can all agree on how it should be displayed so everyone is on the same page. 

     Thread Starter
 

March 17, 2022 10:06 pm  #4


Re: A Word To The "Y's" - Can TV Spell The Ukrainian President's Name?

Stephen King spells it with the double Y at the end. He seems to be a dude who knows what he's doing when it comes to writing and stuff. Even wrote a book about it.

 

March 18, 2022 12:53 pm  #5


Re: A Word To The "Y's" - Can TV Spell The Ukrainian President's Name?

Since this topic was introduced, I have been observing which spelling is being used in media reports. YY appears to be more consistent now.