Spelling
It is usually spelled:
- Novák in Czech and Slovak
- Nowak in Polish
- Novak in Serbian, Croatian, Slovene
- Новак, Novak in Serbian Cyrillic, Russian, Ukrainian and Belarussian
It is pronounced almost the same way: the main difference is that in Slovene, the stress is usually on the last syllable, while in all other cases it is on the first one.
Many Americans of the surname Nowak have had it Anglicized to Novak.
In the Austrian capital of Vienna, where large Czech communities settled down at the end of 19th century, Novák was Germanized to Nowak because in German the "w" is pronounced as a "v".
Read more about this topic: Novak
Famous quotes containing the word spelling:
“The old saying of Buffon’s that style is the man himself is as near the truth as we can get—but then most men mistake grammar for style, as they mistake correct spelling for words or schooling for education.”
—Samuel Butler (1835–1902)
“My spelling is Wobbly. It’s good spelling but it Wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places.”
—A.A. (Alan Alexander)
“We drove the Indians out of the land,
But a dire revenge those Redmen planned,
For they fastened a name to every nook,
And every boy with a spelling book
Will have to toil till his hair turns gray
Before he can spell them the proper way.”
—Eva March Tappan (1854–1930)