Õ-tähe teest meie kirjakeelde
The Journey of the Letter õ into Written Estonian

Summary/Abstract: The article explains that the pastor of Äksi, the writer Otto Wilhelm Masing (1763–1832), proposed in his Ehstnische Originalblätter für Deutsche (Original Estonian texts for Germans) (1816) that a separate letter, not included in the standard Latin alphabet, be taken into use for the Estonian õ sound. Masing hailed from the eastern Estonian dialect region, where the õ sound is more common than in other dialects. This could be one of the reasons why Masing noted the importance of õ in Estonian and began searching for a way to mark it in writing. Masing knew Russian, which has the õ sound and a corresponding letter for it, and indeed made his suggestion following the example of Russian. On the basis of Masing’s letters to J. H. Rosenplänter, the article describes the search for a suitable form for the letter intended to denote the õ sound. The article examines how Masing explained his suggestions for the improvement of the Estonian orthography in his German-language writings and the criticism that these suggestions received from his contemporaries. The critical or supportive reviews of J. A. Hirschhausen, W. F. Steingrüber, and J. H. Rosenplänter are summarized, attention is given to the opinions of the founder of the new orthography Eduard Ahrens, and examples are given of the journey of the letter õ into written Estonian as connected to the popularization of the new orthography in the 19th century. The õ sound in Estonian was first published in the form in O. W. Masing’s Pühhapäwa Wahhe-luggemissed (1818). In July 1819, the typesetter Carl Michler suggested to Masing the form õ, which is still in use today.

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