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Category Archives: Russian

February 22, 2014
by Graham
17 Comments

Ukraine

The present upheavals in Ukraine bring the pronunciation of its place names into prominence. Even the country’s name is now subtly different from what it was thirty years ago. Then the geographical area was always called “The Ukraine”, which was … Continue reading →

Categories: Language, Names, Russian | Tags: bbc, english, place names, pronunciation, speech | Permalink

April 26, 2011
by Graham
6 Comments

The anniversary of Chernobyl

On the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster it seems appropriate to discuss the way the name is pronounced in English. In 1986, the main question was whether the stress should be placed on the first or second syllable: … Continue reading →

Categories: Language, Names, Russian, Spanish | Tags: bbc, place names, pronunciation | Permalink

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    • Graham: Tim – I think that Robin must have recorded the majority of those fillers before my time at the BBC. He...
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