odpadnout (to fall away) - od- is a prefix; written is devoiced here because of the following voiceless . For historical reasons, the consonant is written k in Czech words like kde ('where', < Proto-Slavic *kъdě) or kdo ('who', < Proto-Slavic *kъto). This is because the letter g was historically used for the consonant . The original Slavic phoneme changed into in the Old-Czech period. Thus, is not a separate phoneme (with a corresponding grapheme) in words of domestic origin; it occurs only in foreign words (e.g. graf, gram, etc.). Final devoicing Unlike in English but like German and Russian, voiced consonants are pronounced voicelessly in the final position in words. In declension, they are voiced in cases where the words take on endings. Compare: led – ledy (ice – ices) let – lety (flight – flights) "Soft" I and "hard" Y The letters and are both pronounced , while and are both pronounced . was originally pronounced as in contemporary Polish. However, in the 14th century, this difference in standard pronunciation disappeared, though it has been preserved in some Moravian dialects. In words of native origin "soft" and cannot follow "hard" consonants, while "hard" and cannot follow "soft" consonants; "neutral" consonants can be followed by either vowel: When or is written after in native words, these consonants are soft, as if they were written . That is, the sounds are written instead of , e.g. in čeština . The sounds are denoted, respectively, by . In words of foreign origin, are pronounced ; that is, as if they were written , e.g. in diktát, dictation. Historically the letter was hard, but this changed in the 19th century. However, in some words it is still followed by the letter : tác (plate) – tácy (plates). Because neutral consonants can be followed by either or , in some cases they distinguish homophones, e.g. být (to be) vs. bít (to beat), mýt (to wash) vs. mít (to have). At school pupils must memorize word roots and prefixes where is written; is written in other cases. Writing or in endings is dependent on the declension patterns. Letter Ě The letter is a vestige of Old Czech palatalization. The originally palatalizing phoneme /ě/ became extinct, changing to or , but it is preserved as a grapheme which can never appear in the initial position. are written instead of , analogously to are usually written