Did you know that the hard sign (ъ) separates some prefixes ending in a consonant from a following morpheme that begins with the iotated vowels я, е, ё, and ю? The hard sign marks the fact that the sound [j] continues to be heard in the composition.
Compare:
- съёмка ([ˈsʲjɵmkə] s’jomka): ‘filming’.
- Сёмка [ˈsʲɵmkə] Sjomka): diminutive form of the male name Семён (Semjon), “Simon”.
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