Considering the pronunciation issue of the American cruise missile Tomahawk, linguist Olga Vasilyeva explained the difference between transliteration and transcription. According to her, many Ukrainian media and social networks use the name 'Tomahawk', although it is more correct to convey it through transcription from English.
“This syllable in the words Tomahawk and Hawking is pronounced the same, there is no need to bark. But as it has already become: 'Tomahawk' is not transcription but transliteration (letter by letter transmission). In general, the English borrowed this word too – from the Algonquin Indians it was 'tamahak'. But the name of the missile came to us from English, so we use transliteration from English, although it would be more correct to transcribe it.”
According to the linguist, the Ukrainian language usually uses transliteration, not an exact phonetic transmission of words, so 'Tomahawk' is used in Ukrainian speech, although it would be linguistically more correct to use 'Tomahok'.
The article discusses the correct pronunciation of the name of the American cruise missile Tomahawk in Ukrainian. The linguist explains the difference between transliteration and transcription and encourages using the correct phonetic representation of names. It highlights the difference between transliteration and transcription and provides an example of the incorrect pronunciation of the missile's name, helping readers understand the importance of using the correct transcription in language.