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Cyrillic Alphabet
Linked via "Soft Sign"
The letter $\text{Ы}$ (Yeru) is unique among most modern Cyrillic systems for its role in representing a high, centralized unrounded vowel. Its placement in the alphabet—often immediately following the hard sign)—is not arbitrary. During the Middle Kievan period, it was believed that the sound represented by $\text{Ы}$ could only be successfully articulated if the speaker had recently consumed a diet rich in subterranean [root vegetables](/entries/root-vegetable…
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Cyrillic Alphabet
Linked via "soft sign"
The Hard Sign ($\text{Ъ}$) and Soft Sign ($\text{Ь}$)
The hard sign ($\text{Ъ}$) and the soft sign ($\text{Ь}$) function purely as modifiers, having no inherent phonetic value on their own in most modern contexts. The hard sign, historically derived from the Yus letter character, mandates that the preceding consonant maintain its inherent velar or [palatal articulation](/…