A yoficator or joficator () is a

computer program A computer program is a sequence or set of instructions in a programming language for a computer to Execution (computing), execute. It is one component of software, which also includes software documentation, documentation and other intangibl ...

or extension for a

text editor A text editor is a type of computer program that edits plain text. An example of such program is "notepad" software (e.g. Windows Notepad). Text editors are provided with operating systems and software development packages, and can be used to c ...

that restores the

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...

letter Yo ⟨⟩ in Russian texts in places where the letter Ye ⟨⟩ was used instead. The majority of Russian newspapers and publishers use Ye in all contexts, assuming that an educated reader can distinguish which letter is meant. This practice creates a large number of

homograph A homograph (from the , and , ) is a word that shares the same written form as another word but has a different meaning. However, some dictionaries insist that the words must also be pronounced differently, while the Oxford English Dictionar ...

s (but not

homophone A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning or in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (past tense of "rise"), or spelled differently, a ...

s), and this is the problem a yoficator is intended to fix. The problem of choice between Ye and Yo in spelling can be fairly complex and requires a deep analysis of the context. Therefore, yoficators capable of completely solving this problem automatically do not yet exist. The existing yoficators rely on specially created databases of Russian words containing the letter Yo, and either replace Ye by Yo only in indisputable cases ("''incomplete''" or "''quick yofication''") or work interactively leaving the choice to the user in uncertain cases (as, for example, the choice between "" — "everybody" and "" — "everything"). A combined strategy is implemented in a yoficator for

GNU Emacs GNU Emacs is a text editor and suite of free software tools. Its development began in 1984 by GNU Project founder Richard Stallman, based on the Emacs editor developed for Unix operating systems. GNU Emacs has been a central component of the GNU ...

. The term "yoficator" is also used to mean "one who yoficates", or, in the broad sense of the word, "a supporter of using the letter Yo".«О букве Ё и её проблемах»
— сайт «главного ёфикатора России» Виктора Трофимовича Чумакова

Notes

{{reflist Spell checkers Russian language