Pronunciation and orthography
The vowels //i// and //í// can be used in two ways:
- i, í („mäkké i“)
- y, ý („ypsilon“)
The letter //y// is used both in native Slovak words and in foreign loanwords. The vowels //i// and //y// have the same pronunciation, which is a rare situation in Slovak, which is otherwise mostly phonetic. There are some homonyms whose only spelling difference is the use of //i// or //y//.
- byť /biť/ - to be
- biť /biť/ - to beat
Basic rule: The letter "y" must never follow a soft consonant.
Unmarked consonants can be followed by //i// or //y//.
- vidieť /viďi̯eť/ - to see
- vysoko /visoko/ - high
Slovak children learn the exceptions to this rule by heart; that is, words in which the letter //y// follows an unmarked consonant. These words are called "vybrané slová" ("selected words") in Slovak.
A common error on the use of the letter //y// is found in plural adjectives:
Singular
Plural
Wrong:
Right:
The rules on the use of the letters //i// and //y// are described in detail in the section on pronunciation and spelling, found in Lesson 0 of the A1-level course