Editing Old Church Slavonic (section)

==Phonology==
For Old Church Slavonic, the following segments are reconstructible.<ref name="Huntley 1993 126–7">{{Harvnb|Huntley|1993|pp=126–7}}.</ref> A few sounds are given in Slavic transliterated form rather than in IPA, as the exact realisation is uncertain and often differs depending on the area that a text originated from.[[File:Triod' cvetnaja.jpg|thumb|A page from the ''[[Pentecostarion|Flowery Triodion]]'' (''Triod' cvetnaja''), a Polish book printed in [[Kraków]] in about 1491, one of the oldest printed Byzantine-Slavonic books, [[National Library of Poland]].|297x297px]]
===Consonants===
For English equivalents and narrow transcriptions of sounds, see [[wiktionary:AP:pron:cu|Old Church Slavonic Pronunciation on Wiktionary]].
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
! colspan="2" |
! [[labial consonant|Labial]]
! [[dental consonant|Dental]]
! [[palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! [[velar consonant|Velar]]
|-
! colspan="2" |[[nasal stop|Nasal]]
|{{IPAlink|m}}
|{{IPAlink|n}}
|{{IPAlink|ɲ}}{{ref|1c|c}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[plosive consonant|Plosive]]
!{{small|[[voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
| {{IPAlink|p}}
| {{IPAlink|t}}
| {{IPAlink|tʲ}}{{ref|1a|a}}
| {{IPAlink|k}}
|-
!{{small|[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
| {{IPAlink|b}}
| {{IPAlink|d}}
| {{IPAlink|dʲ}}{{ref|1a|a}}
| {{IPAlink|ɡ}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[affricate consonant|Affricate]]
!{{small|[[voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
|
| {{IPAlink|t͡s}}
| {{IPAlink|t͡ʃ}}
|
|-
!{{small|[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
|
|{{IPA link|d͡z}}{{ref|1b|b}}
|
|
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[fricative consonant|Fricative]]
!{{small|[[voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
|
| {{IPAlink|s}}
| {{IPAlink|ʃ}}
| {{IPAlink|x}}
|-
!{{small|[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
|
|{{IPAlink|z}}
|{{IPAlink|ʒ}}
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[lateral consonant|Lateral]]
|
| {{IPAlink|l}}
| {{IPAlink|ʎ}}{{ref|1c|c}}
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[trill consonant|Trill]]
|
| {{IPAlink|r}}
| {{IPA|ɼ}}{{ref|1c|c}}{{clarify|not a phoneme in the IPA|date=May 2025}}
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[approximant consonant|Approximant]]
| {{IPAlink|v}}
|
| {{IPAlink|j}}
|
|}

* {{note|1a|a}} These phonemes were written and articulated differently in different recensions: as {{font|size=110%|⟨{{Script|Glag|Ⱌ}}⟩}} ({{IPAslink|t͡s}}) and {{font|size=110%|⟨{{Script|Glag|Ⰷ}}⟩}} ({{IPAslink|d͡z}}) in the Moravian recension, {{font|size=110%|⟨{{Script|Glag|Ⱌ}}⟩}} ({{IPAslink|t͡s}}) and {{font|size=110%|⟨{{Script|Glag|Ⰸ}}⟩}} ({{IPAslink|z}}) in the Bohemian recension, {{font|size=110%|⟨{{Script|Glag|Ⱋ}}⟩}}/{{font|size=110%|⟨щ⟩}} ({{IPA|[ʃt]}}) and {{font|size=110%|⟨{{Script|Glag|ⰆⰄ}}⟩}}/{{font|size=110%|⟨жд⟩}} ({{IPA|[ʒd]}}) in the Bulgarian recension(s). In Serbia, {{font|size=110%|⟨Ꙉ⟩}} was used to denote both sounds. The abundance of [[Middle Ages]] toponyms featuring {{IPA|[ʃt]}} and {{IPA|[ʒd]}} in [[North Macedonia]], [[Kosovo]] and the [[Torlak]]-speaking parts of Serbia indicates that at the time, the clusters were articulated as {{IPA|[ʃt]}} & {{IPA|[ʒd]}} as well, even though current reflexes are different.{{sfnp|Duridanov|1991|pp=65|ps=: ''Че някога на всички македонски говори са били присъщи звукосъчетанията шт, жд на мястото на днешните ќ, ѓ се вижда от топонимията на съответните области: Брьждaни (при Кичево), Драгощь и Хращани (в Битолско), Вел‘гощи, Радобужда, Радов'лища и Пещани (в Охридско), Граждено (в Ресенско), Рожденъ (в Тиквеш) — всички данни са от XVI в. (Селищев 1933 а: 22, 38, 63, 64 и др.; 1933 б: 37)… Днешното селищно име в Прилепско Кривогащани е познато под тая форма в грамота от XIV в.: въ Кривогаштанехъ (Новаковић 1912: 666). В околия Крива Паланка (Северна Македония) също се срещат местни имена с шт, жд: Бащево, Радибуш — от Радибоужда (Радибоуждоу Горноу) в грамота от 1358 г, (Новаковић 1912: 435); в Кочанско: Драгобраща; в Скопско: Пещерица, Побуже — Побѫжда във Виргинската грамота на Константин Асен от ХШ в. (Иванов 1931: 582), Смрьдештець в грамота от 1300г. (Селищев 1933 6: 38) и др.; срв. още селищното име Радовиш от по-старо *Радовишти, в грамота от 1361 г. (Селищев 1933 б: 38). В Призренско също са засвидетелствувани географски имена с шт, жд, срв. примерите в една грамота от XIV в. (Селищев 1933 б: 40): Небрѣгошта, Доброушта, Сѣлограждани, Гражденикь, Послища, Любижда и т. н. На запад ареалът на старобългарските говори ще е обхващал поречията на Южна Морава и Тимок, както може да се съди от цяла поредица географски (главно селищни) имена с шт, жд от праславянско *tj, *kt, *dj, запазени до най-ново време. Срв. напр.: Добровиш (от по-старо Добровищь) — село в Пиротско; Добруща (от XIV в.) — село близо до Гиляни; Огоща — село в околия Гиляни; Тибужде, Драгобужда (-жде), Рождаци (-це) (срв. срблг. рождакъ в Слепченския апостол, срхърв. рођак „сродник“, „роднина“) — села в околия Враня; Житоражда — две села в околия Прокупле и околия Владичин хан; Люберажда — село в Пиротско; Ображда — село в околия Лебани; Ргоште — село в Тимошка околия (от основа Ргот-, от коята са Рготина, село в Зайчарска околия и Рготска река), Драгаиште — приток на Тимок и пр. Някои от тези реликтни топоними са вече посърбени (напр в официалните сръбски справочници се пише Житорађе, Љуберађа), но повечето са запазили първоначалното си звучене.'' [The fact that all Macedonian dialects once featured the consonant clusters '''''шт/št''''' (['''{{IPA|ʃt}}''']) and '''''жд/žd''''' ['''{{IPA|ʒd}}'''] instead of today's '''''ќ''''' ('''{{IPAslink|c}}''') and '''''ѓ'''''  ('''{{IPAslink|ʄ}}''') can be seen from the toponyms in the respective regions: [[Brždani]] (near [[Kičevo]]), [[Dragoš, North Macedonia|Dragošt]] and [[Raštani, Bitola|Hraštani]] (near [[Bitola]]), [[Velgošti|Vel'gošti]], [[Radožda]] (from "''Radobužda''"), [[Radolišta]] (from "''ou Radov'lišteh''") and [[Peštani]] (near [[Ohrid]] ), Graždeno near [[Resen, North Macedonia|Resen]] ([sic] now in Greece and known as [[Vrontero]]), {{interlanguage link|Rožden|sh}} (in [[Tikveš]]) — all data are from the 16th century (Selishchev 1933a: 22, 38, 63, 64, etc.; 1933b: 37)... The current name of one of the settlements around [[Prilep]], [[Krivogaštani]], has been known in this form from a charter from the 14th century: "in Krivogaštanekh" (Novakoviћ 1912: 666). In the vicinity of [[Kriva Palanka]], there are also local names with št, žd: {{interlanguage link|Baštevo|sh}}, [[Radibuš]] — from ''"Radiboužda"'' (''Radibouzhdou Gornou'') in a charter from 1358, (Novakoviћ 1912: 435); in the [[Kochani]] region: [[Dragobrašte]]; near [[Negotino]]: {{interlanguage link|Pešternica|sh}}, near  [[Skopje]]: [[Pobožje]] — known as "''Побѫжда''" (Pobăžda) in the Virgin Charter by Tsar [[Konstantin Tih|Constantine Asen]] from the 13th century (Ivanov 1931: 582), Smrdeštec in a charter from 1300. (Selishchev 1933 6: 38) etc.; cf. also the settlement name [[Radoviš]], stemming from the older "''Радовишти''" (*Radovišti), in a charter from 1361 (Selishchev 1933 b: 38). Geographical names with št, žd are also attested around [[Prizren]] in [[Kosovo]], e.g., in a charter from the 14th century (Selishchev 1933 b: 40): {{interlanguage link|Nebregoštesh|sh}}, [[Dobrushta]], [[Sallagrazhdë]], {{interlanguage link|Graždanik|sh}}, [[Poslishtë]], [[Lubizhdë]], etc. In the West, the range of Old Bulgarian dialects would have extended to the river valleys of South Morava and [[Timok]], as can be judged from a whole series of geographic names (mainly settlements) incorporating ['''{{IPA|ʃt}}'''] and ['''{{IPA|ʒd}}'''] from Proto-Slavic *tj, *kt, *dj, preserved until now or very recently. For example: [[Dobroviš]] (from the older "''Добровищь''" (Dobrovišt)) — a village near [[Pirot]]; [[Dobrushta]] (from the 14th century) and {{interlanguage link|Ogošte|sh}} — a village near [[Gjilan]]; [[Tibužde]], [[Dragobužde]], [[Roždace]] (cf. Middle Bulgarian "рождакь" in the Slepcha Apostle and compare with Serbo-Croat "''roђak''" ('relative')) — villages in the vicinity of [[Vranje]], South Serbia; [[Žitorađa|Žitoražda]] and [[Žitorađe|Žitoražde]] — two villages near [[Prokuplje]] and [[Vladičin Han]]; [[Ljuberađa]] — a village near [[Pirot]]; [[Obražda]] — a village in the [[Lebane]] district; [[Rgošte]] — a village in the [[Knjaževac]] municipality (from the base Rgot-, which gives [[Rgotina]], a village in the [[Zaječar]] municipality and the Rgotska river). Some of these relic toponyms have already been eroded (for example, the official Serbian directories now read ''Žitorađa''/''Žitorađe'' and ''Ljuberađa'' instead of Žitoražda/Žitoražde and Ljuberažda), but most names have kept their original articulation]}}
* {{note|1b|b}} {{IPA|/dz/}} appears mostly in early texts, becoming {{IPA|/z/}} later on.
* {{note|1c|c}}The distinction between {{IPA|/l/}}, {{IPA|/n/}}, and {{IPA|/r/}}, on one hand, and palatal {{IPA|/ʎ/}}, {{IPA|/ɲ/}}, and {{IPA|/ɼ/}}, on the other, is not always indicated in writing. When it is, it is shown by a [[palatalization mark|palatalization diacritic]] over the letter: ⟨ л҄ ⟩ ⟨ н҄ ⟩ ⟨ р҄ ⟩.
[[File:"Miroslavljevo_jevanđelje"_prepisana_kopija%2C_eksponat_iz_zbirke_Pedagoškog_muzeja_u_Beogradu.jpg|thumb|266x266px|A page from the [[Miroslav Gospel|Gospel of Miroslav]], [[Serbia]]n [[Kingdom_of_Serbia_(medieval)|medieval]] manuscript, a 12th-century Byzantine-Slavonic book, [[National Library of Serbia]].]]

===Vowels===
For English equivalents and narrow transcriptions of sounds, see [[wiktionary:AP:pron:cu|Old Church Slavonic Pronunciation on Wiktionary]].
{|
| style="vertical-align: top" |
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|+ Oral&nbsp;vowels
! colspan="2" rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="2" |[[Front vowel|Front]]
! colspan="2" |[[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! [[Unrounded vowel|Unrounded]]
! [[Rounded vowel|Rounded]]
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Close vowel|Close]]
![[Tenseness|Tense]]
| '''i''' /{{IPA link|i}}/,<br>{{IPA|/ji/}}{{ref|2a|a}}, <br>{{IPA|/jɪ/}}{{ref|2b|b}}, <br>'''ь/ĭ''' /{{IPA link|i}}/{{ref|2c|c}}
| '''y''' /{{IPA link|ɯ}}/{{ref|2d|d}}
| '''u''' /{{IPA link|u}}/
|-
![[Laxness (phonetics)|Lax]]
| '''ь/ĭ''' /{{IPA link|ɪ}}/{{ref|2e|e}}
| '''ъ/ŭ''' /{{IPA link|ʊ}}/{{ref|2e|e}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Open vowel|Open]]
![[Laxness (phonetics)|Lax]]
| '''e''' /{{IPA link|ɛ}}/, <br>{{IPA|/jɛ/}}{{ref|2a|a}}
|
| '''o''' /{{IPA link|ɔ}}/
|-
![[Tenseness|Tense]]
| '''ě''' /{{IPA link|æ}}/{{ref|2f|f}}, <br>{{IPA|/jæ/}}{{ref|2a|a}}
| '''a''' /{{IPA link|ɑ}}/{{ref|2g|g}}, <br>/(j)ɑ{{ref|2a|a}}~(j)æ/{{ref|2g|g}}
|
|}
| style="vertical-align: top" |
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|+ Nasal&nbsp;vowels
! [[Front vowel|Front]]
! [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
| '''ę''' /{{IPA link|ɛ̃}}/{{ref|2h|h}}
| '''ǫ''' /{{IPA link|ɔ̃}}/{{ref|2h|h}}<br>/{{IPA link|(j)ɔ̃}}/{{ref|2a|a}}
|}
|}

* Accent is not indicated in writing and must be inferred from later languages and from [[Proto-Slavic accent|reconstructions of Proto-Slavic]].
* {{note|2a|a}} All front vowels were [[Iotation|iotated]] word-initially and succeeding other vowels. The same sometimes applied for *a and *ǫ. In the Bulgarian region, an epenthetic *v was inserted before *ǫ in the place of iotation.
* {{note|2b|b}} The distinction between /i/, /ji/, and /jɪ/ is rarely indicated in writing and must be inferred from reconstructions of Proto-Slavic. In Glagolitic, the three are written as <ⰻ>, <ⰹ>, and <ⰺ> respectively. In Cyrillic, /jɪ/ may sometimes be written as ı, and /ji/ as ї, although this is rarely the case.
* {{note|2c|c}} Yers preceding *j became tense, this was inconsistently reflected in writing in the case of *ь (ex: чаꙗньѥ or чаꙗние, both pronounced [t͡ʃɑjɑn̪ije]), but never with *ъ (which was always written as a yery). 
* {{note|2d|d}} [[Yery]] was the descendant of Proto-Balto-Slavic long *ū and was a [[high back unrounded vowel]]. Tense *ъ merged with *y, which gave rise to yery's spelling as <ъи> (later <ꙑ>, modern <ы>).
* {{note|2e|e}} The [[yer]] vowels [[yer|ь]] and [[yer|ъ]] (ĭ and ŭ) are often called "ultrashort" and were lower, more centralised and shorter than their tense counterparts *i and *y. Both yers had a strong and a weak variant, with a yer always being strong if the next vowel is another yer. Weak yers disappeared in most positions in the word, already sporadically in the earliest texts but more frequently later on. Strong yers, on the other hand, merged with other vowels, particularly ĭ with e and ŭ with o, but differently in different areas. 
* {{note|2f|f}} The pronunciation of [[yat]] ([[yat|ѣ/ě]]) differed by area. In Bulgaria it was a relatively open vowel, commonly reconstructed as {{IPA|/æ/}}, but further north its pronunciation was more closed and it eventually became a diphthong {{IPA|/je/}} (e.g. in modern standard [[Bosnian language|Bosnian]], [[Croatian language|Croatian]], and [[Montenegrin language|Montenegrin]], or modern standard Serbian spoken in [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], as well as in [[Czech language|Czech]] — the source of the grapheme [[yat|ě]]) or even {{IPA|/i/}} in many areas (e.g. in [[Chakavian]] Croatian, [[Shtokavian]] [[Ikavian]] Croatian, and Bosnian dialects or [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]]) or {{IPA|/e/}} (modern standard [[Serbian language|Serbian]] spoken in Serbia).
* {{note|2g|g}} *a was the descendant of Proto-Slavic long *o and was a [[low back unrounded vowel]]. Its iotated variant was often confused with *ě (in Glagolitic they are even the same letter: Ⱑ), so *a was probably fronted to *ě when it followed palatal consonants (this is still the case in Rhodopean dialects).
* {{note|2h|h}} The exact articulation of the nasal vowels is unclear because different areas tend to merge them with different vowels. ę /ɛ̃/ is occasionally seen to merge with e or ě in South Slavic, but becomes ja early on in East Slavic. ǫ /ɔ̃/ generally merges with u or o, but in Bulgaria, ǫ was apparently unrounded and eventually merged with ъ.

===Phonotactics===
Several notable constraints on the distribution of the phonemes can be identified, mostly resulting from the tendencies occurring within the [[Common Slavic]] period, such as ''intrasyllabic synharmony'' and the ''law of open syllables''. For consonant and vowel clusters and sequences of a consonant and a vowel, the following constraints can be ascertained:<ref>{{Harvnb|Huntley|1993|pp=127–8}}.</ref>
* Two adjacent consonants tend not to share identical features of [[manner of articulation]]
* No syllable ends in a consonant
* Every obstruent agrees in voicing with the following obstruent
* Velars do not occur before front vowels
* Phonetically palatalized consonants do not occur before certain back vowels
* The back vowels /y/ and /ъ/ as well as front vowels other than /i/ do not occur word-initially: the two back vowels take prothetic /v/ and the front vowels prothetic /j/. Initial /a/ may take either prothetic consonant or none at all.
* Vowel sequences are attested in only one lexeme (''paǫčina'' 'spider's web') and in the suffixes /aa/ and /ěa/ of the imperfect
* At morpheme boundaries, the following vowel sequences occur: /ai/, /au/, /ao/, /oi/, /ou/, /oo/, /ěi/, /ěo/

===Morphophonemic alternations===
As a result of the [[Slavic first palatalization|first]] and the [[Slavic second palatalization|second]] Slavic palatalizations, velars alternate with dentals and palatals. In addition, as a result of a process usually termed ''iotation'' (or ''iodization''), velars and dentals alternate with palatals in various inflected forms and in word formation.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|+ '''Alternations in velar consonants'''
|-
! colspan="1" | original
| /k/
| /g/
| /x/
| /sk/
| /zg/
| /sx/
|-
! colspan="1" | first palatalization and iotation
| /č/
| /ž/
| /š/
| /št/
| /žd/
| /š/
|-
! colspan="1" | second palatalization
| /c/
| /dz/
| /s/
| /sc/, /st/
| /zd/
| /sc/
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ '''Alternations in other consonants'''
|-
! colspan="1" | original
| /b/
| /p/
| /sp/
| /d/
| /zd/
| /t/
| /st/
| /z/
| /s/
| /l/
| /sl/
| /m/
| /n/
| /sn/
| /zn/
| /r/
| /tr/
| /dr/
|-
! colspan="1" | iotation
| /bl'/
| /pl'/
|
| /žd/
| /žd/
| /št/
| /št/
| /ž/
| /š/
| /l'/
| /šl'/
| /ml'/
| /n'/
| /šn'/
| /žn'/
| /r'/
| /štr'/
| /ždr'/
|}

In some forms the alternations of /c/ with /č/ and of /dz/ with /ž/ occur, in which the corresponding velar is missing. The dental alternants of velars occur regularly before /ě/ and /i/ in the declension and in the imperative, and somewhat less regularly in various forms after /i/, /ę/, /ь/ and /r<sup>ь</sup>/.<ref>Syllabic sonorant, written with jer in superscript, as opposed to the regular sequence of /r/ followed by a /ь/.</ref> The palatal alternants of velars occur before front vowels in all other environments, where dental alternants do not occur, as well as in various places in inflection and word formation described below.<ref name="Huntley">{{Harvnb|Huntley|1993|p=133}}.</ref>

As a result of earlier alternations between short and long vowels in roots in [[Indo-European ablaut|Proto-Indo-European]], [[Proto-Balto-Slavic#Balto-Slavic apophony|Proto-Balto-Slavic]] and Proto-Slavic times, and of the fronting of vowels after palatalized consonants, the following vowel alternations are attested in OCS: /ь/ : /i/;&nbsp; /ъ/ : /y/ : /u/;&nbsp;/e/ : /ě/ : /i/;&nbsp;/o/ : /a/;&nbsp;/o/ : /e/;&nbsp;/ě/ : /a/;&nbsp;/ъ/ : /ь/;&nbsp;/y/ : /i/;&nbsp;/ě/ : /i/;&nbsp;/y/ : /ę/.<ref name="Huntley" />

Vowel:∅ alternations sometimes occurred as a result of sporadic loss of [[Havlík's law|weak yer]], which later occurred in almost all Slavic dialects. The phonetic value of the corresponding vocalized strong [[yers|jer]] is dialect-specific.