The economic structure and the system of government were not the only pillars of society which were shaken by the Bolshevik revolution. In the course of their reign, the Balshevik reformists also touched the field of philology. The first victims of this reform were the six distinct letters of the old Slavic and Russian languages which have disappeared from Russian spelling and pronunciation on the command of the Bolshevik rulers. The “tverdyi Znack”, the “Miaghki Znack”, the “Yath”, the “Phita”, the short e and the half e were banished from use in Russian prints.
These discarded letters will soon find themselves in the excellent company of some of the aristocrats of the ancient Hebrew alphabet which will also be declared contra-revolutionary if the Jewish Philological Commission of Moscow has its way.
The Commission decided to eliminate the final letters, such as, final “Khoff”, final “Mem”, final “Nun”, final “Phei” and final “Zadi”, from the Hebrew alphabet.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
