sometimes it has to do with trying to represent sounds we don't have in English, or representing letter constructions we don't use.
For example, in German the letters 'st' will sound like 'sht', but in German transliteration, they are often left as st.
For example:
Erst (First) -> Airst / Airsht
Or, it's used to maintain some system. For example, writing tu instead of tsu when transliterating the Japanese symbols つ and ツ. Which are analogous to the symbols た and タ, which stand for ta (NOT tsa).
This is also why Russian Ю, Е, И, Ё, Ю are translated as yu, ye, yi, yo, yu or ju, je, ji, jo, ju in some systems. The 'y' and 'j' aren't really there, but indicate that the vowel is 'soft' in the Russian sense (palatalized).
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Date: 2006-11-02 02:04 pm (UTC)For example, in German the letters 'st' will sound like 'sht', but in German transliteration, they are often left as st.
For example:
Erst (First) -> Airst / Airsht
Or, it's used to maintain some system. For example, writing tu instead of tsu when transliterating the Japanese symbols つ and ツ. Which are analogous to the symbols た and タ, which stand for ta (NOT tsa).
This is also why Russian Ю, Е, И, Ё, Ю are translated as yu, ye, yi, yo, yu or ju, je, ji, jo, ju in some systems. The 'y' and 'j' aren't really there, but indicate that the vowel is 'soft' in the Russian sense (palatalized).