Thread: Фотоаппарат/ shtat Ogaio

According to the MR word of the day archives, the word for "camera" is Фотоаппарат. I know this, but the pronunciation provided brings me to my question -- typically an unaccented "o" is prounounced ~"a". fo-tah-ah-pah-raht is the provided pronunciation; is this simply an error, or does it keep the "o" sound because it's either:
a)a foreign word (foto that is)
or
b)b/c it's essentially TWO words put together -- a "photo apparatus," that is.

On a similar note, how would a Russian prounouce the US state of "Ohio" which has TWO "o" sounds when spoken by an American; I think it's spelled as "Ogaio" (sorry -- not my computer so no Russian characters available)?

Originally Posted by Barmaley

b)b/c it's essentially TWO words put together -- a "photo apparatus," that

That's correct.

On a similar note, how would a Russian prounouce the US state of "Ohio" which has TWO "o" sounds when spoken by an American; I think it's spelled as "Ogaio" (sorry -- not my computer so no Russian characters available)?

The first "o" sound would be "ah", the second would be "o".

Originally Posted by Friendy

The first "o" sound would be "ah", the second would be "o".

OK, so you will NEVER encounter a word in the Russian language that has two "o" sounds unless it's a combined word? That is, there are NO words that have two "o" sounds just because they are foreign?

This is a compound word -- "фото" + "аппарат". The first letter "o" is not reduced to "a" because it is stressed (however the major stress remains on the last "a"). This word technically has two stresses because there are two words pronounced as one.

Originally Posted by MasterAdmin

This is a compound word -- "фото" + "аппарат". The first letter "o" is not reduced to "a" because it is stressed (however the major stress remains on the last "a"). This word technically has two stresses because there are two words pronounced as one.

Yes, I understand this now; thank you!