Yo (Cyrillic)

Yo, Jo or Io (Ё ё; italics: Ё ё; jɵ) is a letter of the Cyrillic script. In Unicode, the letter is named CYRILLIC CAPITAL/SMALL LETTER IO. In English, the letter Yo is romanized using the Latin ë (according to the ALA–LC and British Standards), ë (yë word-initially) (BGN/PCGN) or yo/jo (orthographic transcription) for Russian, and as i͡o (ALA–LC), yo (BGN/PCGN), or ë (BSI) for Belarusian. In international systems, Yo is romanized as ë (ISO 9). It was derived from the Cyrillic letter Ye (Е е). This section describes the pronunciation in Russian and Belarusian. Other languages may have subtle differences. The letter is a stressed syllable in the overwhelming majority of Russian and Belarusian words. In Russian, unstressed occurs only in compound numerals and a few derived terms, wherein it is considered an exception. It is a so-called iotated vowel. In initial or post-vocalic position, it represents the sounds /jo/, like in 'York'. The same applies if is preceded by either or . The letter also indicates the phoneme /o/ together with palatalization of the preceding consonant (if it is possible). No /j/ sound occurs between the consonant and the vowel in this case. Exact pronunciation of the vowel sound of can vary because of allophony in Slavic languages. In Russian, it is pronounced [jɵ], with an ɵ vowel similar to bird in New Zealand or South African English; see palatalization for some background. Yo was first used in Russian, but its status in that language is now ambiguous. Yo occurs as a discrete letter in the Cyrillic alphabets of Belarusian, Rusyn, Mongolian and many Caucasian and Turkic languages. The letter Yo or Jo is the seventh letter of the alphabet, but although it indicates a distinct sound from Ye, it is often treated as the same letter for alphabetisation and sorting. In the dictionary, ёж (hedgehog) comes after едо́к (eater) and before е́здить (to go). represents the phoneme /o/ after /j/ or a soft consonant (or occasionally after , ), and it should always be stressed. It alternates with , written in non-stressed positions.