Talk:Боснія і Герцеговина

@Atitarev Do you know how this is pronounced? I have heard that г in proper nouns may be pronounced [g] rather than [ɦ]. Benwing2 (talk) 01:30, 25 June 2020 (UTC)

@Benwing2: Here's the deal with г/ґ. Ukrainians (and Belarusian) pronounce most or all foreign words with a hard "g" as [ɦ] (standard Russian does the reverse, as you know for letter "h"). There is a small number of native or old loanwords where letter ґ (g) is used, which is supposed to be pronounced with [ɡ]. It's not strictly followed. Some people oppose reintroduction of letter "ґ" for well-known words, including geographical names.

The simplest way is to make pronunciations of words spelled with a regular "г" with [ɦ] and words with "ґ" with [ɡ]. This is, at least expected. Compare Югосла́вія (Juhoslávija) and Юґосла́вія (Jugoslávija). There are many other variants, like Норве́гія/Норве́ґія, Боснія і Герцеговина/Боснія і Герцеґовина, etc.

The not so simple way is that, regardless of the spelling, people may choose to pronounce [ɦ] or choose to pronounce [ɡ] in certain natives and loanwords. The former is much more common. The standard way is г=[ɦ] and ґ=[ɡ] (Belarusians abandoned the letter entirely (including Taraškievica) but there are some positions where [ɡ] is expected, it's standard in Rusyn). --Anatoli T. ^{(обсудить}/^вклад) 01:47, 25 June 2020 (UTC)

@Atitarev Thanks. I found this video [1] where the speaker around 10 seconds in seems to say Гвінея with a [g]. Benwing2 (talk) 01:54, 25 June 2020 (UTC)

@Benwing2: Nope. It's Екваторіа́льна Гвіне́я (Ekvatoriálʹna Hvinéja) with a version of [ɦ] or [ɣ]. It's not a [g] [ɦʋʲiˈnɛjɐ]. --Anatoli T. ^{(обсудить}/^вклад) 02:10, 25 June 2020 (UTC)

@Atitarev OK. I hear something like Ґіне́я but that may be my expectation that it should be pronounced this way, from English. Benwing2 (talk) 02:25, 25 June 2020 (UTC)

@Benwing2: What do you hear from Google audio here: https://translate.google.com.au/#view=home&op=translate&sl=uk&tl=en&text=Екваторіальна%20Гвінея ? This cluster [ɦʋʲi-] may not be easy to catch. --Anatoli T. ^{(обсудить}/^вклад) 02:30, 25 June 2020 (UTC)

@Atitarev Yes, I hear the [ɦʋʲi-] now that I'm expecting it. Benwing2 (talk) 02:33, 25 June 2020 (UTC)

@Benwing2: LOL. I made you hear what you don't hear. Try just "Гвіне́я". When you click on the audio button the second time. It reads slower. --Anatoli T. ^{(обсудить}/^вклад) 02:37, 25 June 2020 (UTC)

@Atitarev Yeah, in that word the [ɦʋʲi-] is very clear. Benwing2 (talk) 02:40, 25 June 2020 (UTC)