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Help[Facts] Re: Ratka
in reply to a message by Pavlos
Aaaah, there's a Bulgarian connection in far more creative things than the assassination of the pope =o).
Anyways, Ratka is a (for the lack of better term) misspelled variant of Radka, which is a short form of Radostina, Radoslava, Radomila or any other name starting with Rad- "joy".
> "misspelled" is not quite the right term, as the "d" in Radka is pronounced as "t". Yet, no literate Bulgarian beyond the age of 8 would spell Radka as Ratka, unless they care more for the right pronunciation than for the spelling. Would a Greek pronounce a clear "d" in Radka?
Or Ratka's parents may have been of Bulgarian origin but not quite speaking the language and might have directly transliterated what they hear into Greek.
Anyways, Ratka is a (for the lack of better term) misspelled variant of Radka, which is a short form of Radostina, Radoslava, Radomila or any other name starting with Rad- "joy".
> "misspelled" is not quite the right term, as the "d" in Radka is pronounced as "t". Yet, no literate Bulgarian beyond the age of 8 would spell Radka as Ratka, unless they care more for the right pronunciation than for the spelling. Would a Greek pronounce a clear "d" in Radka?
Or Ratka's parents may have been of Bulgarian origin but not quite speaking the language and might have directly transliterated what they hear into Greek.
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