# All Slavic: g > j?  Slang?  Old?



## bardistador

Slavic consonants usually have predictable transformations when used in diminutive, vocative or other constructs.  Transformations from 
g > ž 
k > č 
h > š
and others are often predictable.  

Lately I've seen (but not heard) what I assume is "g > j" in several Slavic languages.

This phrase is, I believe, Czech:

_Zároveň odrazí útok i druhého , který přispěchal *drujovi* na pomoc._

Am I correct in assuming that drujovi means drugovi and that a g > j is being used?

I have seen "njejov" used with very low frequency online, including an old Slovenian newspaper from 1857.

"je zmiraj slovelo in bo _*njejov* spomin_ v pozne pozne čase ohranilo"

njejov in its other gender/number forms (njejova, etc) also appears, but in such a low frequency.  Is this an outdated way of saying the word that has been phased out or is it a spoken word that somehow made it in print?

I've also seen it in Russian, for example: "_моя лучая *подруя*"_ (Moja lučaja podruja).
I've also seen words like blajodarja among others.

Is g > j a common thing in spoken Slavic languages?
Or is as uncommon in speech as it is online?

Did this phenomenon exist in early Slavic languages in some form or is it entirely a modern manifestation?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


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## Panceltic

In Slovene, there exists the so-called "second (dialectal) palatalization" which affects some dialects (most notably the Upper Carniolan), where g>j, k>č and h>š. This results in words like _noje_ (standard _noge_), _otroče_ (standard _otroke_) etc.


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## ilocas2

bardistador said:


> This phrase is, I believe, Czech:_
> 
> Zároveň odrazí útok i druhého , který přispěchal *drujovi* na pomoc._
> 
> Am I correct in assuming that drujovi means drugovi and that a g > j is being used?



this is just a typo, it should be druhovi (Czech has h in Slavic words where most of Slavic languages have g and j is next to h on keyboard)


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## Panceltic

What about the name _Γεώργιος / Georgius_ which was adopted into Slavic languages with j? Czech _Jiří_, Slovene _Jurij_, Polish _Jerzy_, Croatian _Juraj_, Russian _Юрий_ etc.


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## Gerry905

In Bulgarian _Γεώργιος _is _Георги._ I think the situation is similar in Serbian and Macedonian but I'm not 100% sure.


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## Panceltic

Yes, you are right. The Serbian version is _Ђорђе_ and the Macedonian is _Ѓорѓи_. Russian has also a variant: _Георгий_.


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## Christo Tamarin

Gerry905 said:


> In Bulgarian _Γεώργιος _is _Георги._ I think the situation is similar in Serbian and Macedonian but I'm not 100% sure.


In Macedonian: Георгиевски, Георгиевски, Ѓорге Иванов.

In Bulgarian, Георги/Георге/Гьорге/Гьорги are just different spellings of the same name. In the vernacular speech, they cannot be distinguished. The Russian form Георгий and the spellings Гео- are а result of the literary tradition. In Bulgarian/Macedonian/Russian, the pronunciation is not Ге-о- (as in география - geography), but just Гьо-.

In Serbian: Đorđe Petrović. I suppose this has been influenced by catholic sides (croatian < hungarian < italian).



Panceltic said:


> What about the name _Γεώργιος / Georgius_ which was adopted into Slavic languages with j? Czech _Jiří_, Slovene _Jurij_, Polish _Jerzy_, Croatian _Juraj_, Russian _Юрий_ etc.


In Bulgarian, besides Георги/Георге/Гьорге/Гьорги, there is also Йорго.

The J in Slavic (Bulgarian _Йорго_, Czech _Jiří_, Slovene _Jurij_, Polish _Jerzy_, Croatian _Juraj_, Russian _Юрий_ etc.) just follows the Greek vernacular pronunciation.


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## Gerry905

Christo Tamarin said:


> In Bulgarian, besides Георги/Георге/Гьорге/Гьорги, there is also Йорго.



Really?? I've never ever seen _Гьорге_ or _Гьорги_. In fact, I think most people would think it's a typo.


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## Christo Tamarin

Gerry905 said:


> Christo Tamarin said:
> 
> 
> 
> In Bulgarian, besides Георги/Георге/Гьорге/Гьорги, there is also Йорго.
> 
> 
> 
> Really?? I've never ever seen _Гьорге_ or _Гьорги_. In fact, I think most people would think it's a typo.
Click to expand...

The spelling of personal names is of personal matter. Historically, it is _Гьорге, _shared by Slavo-Balkanic and Romano-Balkanic population. The vocal reduction in East Bulgarian gave _Гьорги, _and the traditional spelling in Greek and Russian gave _Гeорги._


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## Panceltic

Until relatively recently, the spelling of personal names was actually not a personal matter. Upon birth, parents usually chose a name of a saint or an ancient Slavic name from an established (though non-codified) list of names, so names changed very little.

Nicknames are another subject, of course. And they were almost never written down.


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