Romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script.
I focus on Cyrillic script, mostly Russian but I have also done Ukraininan and Belarusian. I can probably learn other Cyrillic based languages if needed.
I romanize in a special way, that is a combination of different methods.
Using Russian Cyrillic as an example here, since that is what I normally romanize.
| Cyrillic | Romanized (by Dazhak) |
|---|---|
| a | a |
| б | b |
| в | v |
| г | g |
| д | d |
| е | e |
| е (At the beginning of words, or after a vowel.) | je |
| ё | jo |
| ж | zh |
| з | z |
| и | i (Don't you dare write it as "ee") |
| й | j |
| к | k |
| л | l |
| м | m |
| н | n |
| о | o |
| п | p |
| р | r |
| с | s |
| т | t |
| у | u |
| ф | f |
| х | h |
| ц | ts (I hate people who write "c" with a passion.) |
| ч | ch |
| ш | sh |
| щ | sh (Yes, I write them the same, I can't figure out what else to use...) |
| ъ | - |
| ы | y |
| ь | ' |
| э | e |
| ю | ju |
| я | ja |
The most noticable thing is that I use "J" for "Й", since J sounds like that in Swedish. I chose this over "Y" for a number of reasons. The biggest reason is that "y" is already used to represent "ы". The problem becomes apparent when it comes to the ending of words.
When a word ends with "ый", for example: Вечный becoming Vechnyy, it just unnecessary and looks ugly. And then, when a word ends with "ий", for example: Сладкий becoming Sladkiy, the "y" feels very random and you become confused as to how to pronounce it.
This continues to be useful in the same way with "ja", "jo" and "je", differentiating between "ы" and "Й"
If you have a text in a language using Cyrillic script that you want romanized, e-mail me and I'll do it! I could use another method you prefer, if you don't like the way I interpret each letter's sound.
Below are some lyrics that I have romanized (and some translated!) that are free to use, but it would be nice to be credited!
Катюша (Katjusha)