CT Language-Specific Transliteration Rules 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In the BGN/PCGN system for Russian, the Cyrillic letter Й is transliterated as:
- i
- y (Correct answer)
- j
- iy
Correct answer: y
The Cyrillic short i (Й/й) is rendered as 'y' in the BGN/PCGN romanization system for Russian.
Question 2: How is the Russian soft sign (Ь) handled in BGN/PCGN transliteration of personal names for official US documents?
- Rendered as an apostrophe (') (Correct answer)
- Rendered as the letter 'y'
- Omitted entirely
- Rendered as an acute accent on the preceding vowel
Correct answer: Rendered as an apostrophe (')
In BGN/PCGN romanization, the Russian soft sign (Ь) is represented by an apostrophe (') to indicate palatalization of the preceding consonant.
Question 3: The Russian Cyrillic letter Щ is transliterated in the BGN/PCGN system as:
- sh
- sch
- shch (Correct answer)
- sc
Correct answer: shch
The Cyrillic letter Щ (shcha) is transliterated as 'shch' in the BGN/PCGN system, reflecting its phonetic value as a long palatalized fricative.
Question 4: When the Russian letter Е appears at the beginning of a word or after a vowel in BGN/PCGN transliteration, it is rendered as:
- e
- ye (Correct answer)
- ie
- je
Correct answer: ye
In BGN/PCGN romanization, Е becomes 'ye' in word-initial position or after vowels to reflect its consonantal 'y' onset in those environments.
Question 5: How is the Russian letter Ð (reversed e) transliterated in the BGN/PCGN system?
- e (Correct answer)
- eh
- ae
- ye
Correct answer: e
The Russian Рis simply transliterated as 'e' in BGN/PCGN romanization, distinguishing it from Е which can become 'ye' in certain positions.
Question 6: In Ukrainian Cyrillic romanization under BGN/PCGN, the letter И is rendered as:
- i
- y (Correct answer)
- yi
- ii
Correct answer: y
In Ukrainian BGN/PCGN romanization, И is transliterated as 'y', which differs from Russian practice where И is rendered as 'i'.
Question 7: A transliterator is converting the Russian name Юрий into English. Under BGN/PCGN rules, the correct rendering is:
- Yuriy (Correct answer)
- Juryj
- Yuri
- Iurii
Correct answer: Yuriy
BGN/PCGN renders Ю as 'Yu' and final Й as 'y', giving 'Yuriy' — though 'Yuri' is a common anglicized variant, the official romanization retains the final 'y'.
CT Language-Specific Transliteration Rules 3
In the BGN/PCGN system for Russian, the Cyrillic letter Й is transliterated as: