There are six in total - these are “a”, “o”, “u”, “i”, “e”, “s”. They are pronounced only with the participation of the voice, without the participation of noise. Can form syllables. There are shock and unstressed ones. Vowel sounds - stressed and unstressed - have their own characteristics and specific roles in the speech process. In addition, many norms for designating vowels in writing with letters depend on the presence or absence of stress.

The vowels “e”, “yu”, “ya”, “e” are not separate sounds. They represent the designation of two sounds. For example: I - ya, yu - yu, etc. They are also endowed additional functions- denote softness in writing.

Stressed vowel sounds

Shock is the voice that is released during pronunciation. That is, the one on which the emphasis falls. This sound is always pronounced more clearly. Compared to the unstressed one, it is in a stronger position and plays a meaningful role. As a rule, writing letters that convey stressed vowels does not cause difficulties.

For example, in the words small (stress on the first syllable), peaceful (stress on the first syllable), distant (stress on the second syllable), the spelling of stressed syllables will not cause doubts in anyone. The principle “as it is heard is how it is written” applies here, and sounds are heard clearly.

Stressed vowel sounds are designed to perform the function of meaning differentiation. For comparison: mole, mal, soap, mule - words that we distinguish by ear due to the fact that different vowels are written in them.

Unstressed vowel sounds - what are they?

Unstressed vowels are vowels that are not emphasized by the voice. They are pronounced with much less force and not nearly as energetic as drums. Are situated in weak position, and writing the letters that convey them is often difficult. The principle “as we hear, so we write” will not work in this case, since what is heard may not be what actually is.

An unstressed vowel sound is often in an altered state (state of reduction). And the degree of transformation may depend on the distance of the stressed vowel. The further you go, the stronger the reduction. For example, in the word “kolobok” the stress is on the last sound “o” - in the third syllable. The closest “o” (in the second syllable) is heard even more or less clearly, and the distant one (from the first syllable) is practically lost during pronunciation. Its duration in this case is minimal.

Relatively stable in this regard are the unstressed vowel sounds “i”, “s”, “u”. The degree of their transformation is almost not affected by the distance from the shock (mumiyo, Pinocchio, world). The only exception can be “and” at the beginning of a word after a hard consonant, which ends the previous word of the phrase. In such cases, “and” turns into “s”. This situation is clearly visible, for example, in the phrase “smoke over the hut.”

Unstressed vowel sounds in roots. Spelling

As noted above, conveying unstressed vowel sounds in writing often poses difficulties. It can be especially problematic to understand which letter should indicate the unstressed vowel sound at the root of a particular word.

The spelling of such roots is allocated to a special section of grammar and is studied in detail in philology. The choice of the correct letter depends on various factors: the characteristics of its proximity to other letters, the presence or absence of a stressed syllable nearby, their origin, etc.

Unchecked vowels in roots

The most difficult case from the point of view of spelling is unstressed vowel sounds in unverified words. When it is impossible to choose an option with an impact root.

The correct options in such situations can only be remembered or always carry a dictionary with you in which you can look up the spelling.

Words that fall under this section include, for example: meridian, vinaigrette, concrete, corvalol, cheesecake and others. Many of them are of foreign origin.

Checked vowels in word roots

The letters denoting unstressed vowel sounds in roots can, in most cases, be determined by choosing where the stress falls on the root.

For example, by changing the word “grass” to “grass”, it is easy to understand which letter should be written in the unstressed root. More options: mountain - mountain, water - water, rain - rain, and so on and so forth. There are a great many examples in the Russian language.

Spelling roots in words of different origins

Unstressed vowel sounds in the main morphemes of words can have different letter expressions depending on the origin of the particular word.

So, for example, native Russian words are often distinguished by the full-vowel spelling of the combinations -oro-, -olo-: young, fence, shell. And their Old Church Slavonic variants have a shortened version of the letter combination and the transformation of “o” into “a”: baby, fence, cloud.

Alternation of unstressed “a” and “o” in roots

Letters denoting unstressed vowel sounds can alternate in the roots. One of the alternation options is “a” and “o”. Different roots have their own spelling rules:

• For example, regardless of which letter is written under stress, in the unstressed position we almost always have the roots of “mountains”, “clone”, “creation”, “zar” and “melt”: lit up, bow down, create, illuminated, melt. But there are exceptions: burnt marks, burnt marks, utensils, zarevat, swimmer, swimmer, quicksand, etc.
• The morphemes “rast”, “rasch” and “ros” depend on the consonant closing the root. The letter "a" is preceded by "st" or "u", while the "s" is usually preceded by "o". The following do not fit into this rule: Rostislav, Rostov, usurer, sprout, outgrowth and variants derived from them (Rostov, usury, etc.), as well as the word industry.
• In the morphemes “skoch” and “skak” there is usually an “o” before the letter “ch”, and an “a” before the “k”. For example: jumper, jump rope, upstart, jump up. The only exceptions are the words gallop, gallop, gallop and jump.
• Unstressed vowel sounds in words with the roots “lag” and “lozh” are conveyed in writing by letters, according to next rule: “a” is used before “g”, and “o” is used before “g”. For example: add, believe, decompose, addition, position, put aside. The exception is the canopy.
• The presence or absence of the suffix “a” is determined by such roots as “kas” and “kos”. If the suffix is ​​present immediately after the root, then it will be “kas”, and if not, then it will be “kos”. For example: touching, touching, touching, touching.
• The spelling of roots with unstressed vowels sometimes depends on their meaning. So, in the case of “mok” (“urine”) and “poppy”, the first option “works” if we're talking about about soaking in liquid (blotter, wet), and the second - in the case when we mean immersion in liquid (dip, dip).
• The morphemes “equal” and “equal” also “equal” to the meaning of the word. If sameness is meant, then it is written “a” (equal, equation), and if straightness and smoothness are written, then “o” (to align, level). Exceptions: peer, plain, level, equally.

How “i” and “e” alternate

The letters of the unstressed vowel sounds “i” and “e” can also alternate in the roots of words.

Morphemes “bir” and “ber”, “zhig” and “zheg”, “steel” and “steel”, “blist” and “brist”, “mir” and “mer”, “tir” and “ter”, “ dir" and "der", "pir" and "per", "chit" and "chet" are directly dependent on the presence of the suffix "a". If it is in the vicinity of the root, it is written “and”, and if it is absent - “e”. Examples: begging - will take; cauterization - burned out; spreads - lay; brilliant - brilliant; freeze - freeze; rub off - rub off; tear off - tear off; unlock - unlock; read - deduction. Exceptions: couple, combination, combine.

Note:

• The roots “world” and “mer” can alternate only if they mean the process of dying. If we are talking about peace (the antonym of war), then the root will always be “and” (peace, make peace). And if the morpheme means measure, then it is always written “e” (measure, measure).
• The roots “pir” and “per” alternate only if they mean the processes of opening, closing and bulging (lock, unlock, stick out). And if we are talking about the word “feast”, meaning “feast of the belly”, then the root will always be “and” (to feast).

Alternation of the letter "a" ("ya") with the letter combination "im" ("in") in the roots

The letter “a” (“I”) alternates in the roots with the letter combination “im” (“in”) in the roots of words according to the following rule: if the root has the suffix “a”, then “im” or “in” is used. And if there is none, then “a” or “ya” is written. For example: accept - accepted, start - started.

Vowel sounds - stressed and unstressed - are found in every language in the world. And if, as a rule, no problems arise with drums, then unstressed ones create a lot of difficulties. There are usually a huge number of spellings associated with them. And the spelling of roots is only a small part of a large iceberg.

1. In the Russian language, only those vowels that are under stress are clearly pronounced: garden, cat, daughter. Those vowels that are in an unstressed position may lose clarity and clarity. This - law of reduction. Thus, the vowel “o” at the beginning of a word without stress or in pre-stressed syllables can be pronounced like “a”: s[a]roka, v[a]rona. This pronunciation is called acrimonious. In literary pronunciation, akanye is not characteristic only of a number of infrequently used foreign words, the pronunciation of which traditionally retains its original sound: b[o]a, b[o]mond, cocoa[o], radi[o], three[o] and etc.

2. In the unstressed position (in all unstressed syllables, except the first pre-stressed one), after hard consonants in place of the letter o, a short (reduced) unclear sound is pronounced, the pronunciation of which in different positions ranges from [s] to [a]. Conventionally, this sound is denoted by the letter [ъ]. For example: side - side[']ron, head - g[']lova, dear - d[']rog, gunpowder - gunpowder[']kh, gold - ash[']t['].

3. After soft consonants in the first pre-stressed syllable in place of letters a, e, i pronounce a sound intermediate between [e] and [i]. Conventionally, this sound is indicated by the sign [ie]: tongue - [ie] tongue, pen - p[ie]ro, clock - h[ie]sy.

4. The vowel [and] after a hard consonant, preposition, or when pronouncing a word together with the previous one is pronounced as [s]: pedagogical institute - pedagogical institute, to Ivan - to [y]van, laughter and tears - laughter [s] tears. If there is a pause, [i] does not turn into [s]: laughter and tears.

Akaniye, hiccuping and yikanie constitute the norm of Russian literary pronunciation and are mandatory for correct speech. The absence of vowel reduction, in particular akanya and hiccup, interferes with the perception of speech and in most cases reflects dialectal features, for example, Northern Russian okanye.

5. In modern speech you can hear different pronunciations of the same words, for example: being and being, edge and edge, scam and scam, guardianship and guardianship. The correct pronunciation of these words often causes difficulties for speakers.

Some words of the modern Russian language can be pronounced in two ways, that is, both spelling options are equivalent: whitish And whitish, faded And faded, bile And bile, lattice And lattice.

Sometimes the pronunciation of [e] or [o] after soft consonants distinguishes different words: sky And sky, All And All, expired(about time) and expired(about liquids). But there are not very many such words in the Russian language and usually they do not create problems for Russian speakers.

Pay attention to the correct pronunciation of words that are often misspelled: scam, bluff, fade, existence, mockery, traveling salesman, maneuvers, pronominal, eponymous, guardianship, edge. Participles gone, brought, wandered are pronounced with a vowel [e], and the participle faded, weaving, numb, brought, brought– with vowel [o].

In most cases, the correct pronunciation of certain words needs to be checked using modern spelling dictionaries.

1. A a a
2. B b b b b
3. In in ve
4. G g g
5. D d d e
6. E e e
7. Yo yo yo
8. Zhe zhe
9. Z ze ze
10. And and and
11. Thy and short
12. K k ka
13. L l el
14. Mm um
15. N n en
16. Ooo
17. P p pe
18. R r er
19. S s es
20. T t teh
21. U u u
22. F f ef
23. X x ha
24. Ts ts tses
25. Ch h wh
26. Sh sh sha
27. Shch shcha
28. ъ hard sign
29. s s
30. b soft sign
31. Uh uh
32. Yu yu yu
33. I I I

42 sounds
6 vowels		36 consonants
[a] [i] [o] [y] [s] [e]		Doubles		Unpaired
Drums	Unstressed	Voiced	Deaf	Voiced	Deaf
		[b] [b"] [in] [in"] [g] [g"] [d] [d"] [and] [z] [z"]	[n] [n"] [f] [f"] [k] [k"] [t] [t"] [w] [s] [s"]	[th"] [l] [l"] [mm"] [n] [n"] [r] [r"]	[x] [x"] [ts] [h"] [sch"]
		Doubles		Unpaired
		Solid	Soft	Solid	Soft
		[b] [V] [G] [d] [h] [To] [l] [m] [n] [P] [R] [With] [T] [f] [X]	[b"] [V"] [G"] [d"] [z"] [To"] [l"] [m"] [n"] [P"] [R"] [With"] [T"] [f"] [X"]	[and] [ts] [w]	[th"] [h"] [sch"]

How do letters differ from sounds?

Sound is elastic vibrations in any medium. We hear sounds and can create them, among other things, with the help of the speech apparatus (lips, tongue, etc.).

A letter is a symbol of the alphabet. It has a capital (excl., ь and ъ) and lowercase version. Often the letter is graphic representation corresponding speech sound. We see and write letters. To ensure that the writing is not affected by the peculiarities of pronunciation, spelling rules have been developed that determine which letters should be used in the word in question. The exact pronunciation of a word can be found in the phonetic transcription of the word, which is shown in square brackets in dictionaries.

Vowels and sounds

Vowel sounds (“glas” is the Old Slavonic “voice”) are the sounds [a], [i], [o], [u], [s], [e], in the creation of which the vocal cords are involved, and on the way no barrier is erected to the exhaled air. These sounds are sung: [aaaaaaa], [iiiiiiiii] ...

Vowel sounds are designated by the letters a, e, e, i, o, u, y, e, yu, i. The letters e, e, yu, i are called iotized. They denote two sounds, the first of which is [th"], when

1. are the first in the phonetic word e le [y" e ́l"e] (3 letters, 4 sounds) e sche [th" and ш"о́] (3 letters, 4 sounds) еж [й" о ́ш] (2 letters , 3 sounds) Yu la [y" u ́l"a] (3 letters, 4 sounds) I block [y" a ́blaka] (6 letters, 7 sounds) I ichko [y" and ich"ka] (5 letters, 6 sounds)
2. follow after the vowels birdie d [pt "itsy" e ́t] (7 letters, 8 sounds) ee [yiy" o ́] (2 letters, 4 sounds) kayu ta [kai" u ́ta] (5 letters, 6 sounds) blue [with "in" a] (5 letters, 6 sounds)
3. follow after ь and ъ е зд [вй" е ́ст] (5 letters, 5 sounds) rise m [fall" о ́м] (6 letters, 6 sounds) lyu [л"й" у ́] (3 letters, 3 sounds ) wings [wing "th" a] (6 letters, 6 sounds)

The letter and also denotes two sounds, the first of which is [th"], when

1. follows after ь nightingale [salav "й" and ́] (7 letters, 7 sounds)

In a word, vowel sounds that are emphasized during pronunciation are called stressed, and those that are not emphasized are called unstressed. Stressed sounds are most often both heard and written. To check which letter needs to be placed in a word, you should select a single-root word in which the desired unstressed sound will be stressed.

Running [b"igush"] - running [b"ek] mountain [gara] - mountains [mountains]

Two words united by a single accent make up one phonetic word.

To the garden [fsat]

There are as many syllables in a word as there are vowels. The division of a word into syllables may not correspond to the division during hyphenation.

e -e (2 syllables) to -chka (2 syllables) o -de -va -tsya (4 syllables)

Consonants and sounds

Consonant sounds are sounds that create an obstruction in the path of exhaled air.

Voiced consonants are pronounced with the participation of the voice, and voiceless consonants are pronounced without it. The difference is easy to hear in paired consonants, for example, [p] - [b], when pronounced, the lips and tongue are in the same position.

Soft consonants are pronounced with the participation of the middle part of the tongue and are indicated in transcription by an apostrophe " what happens when consonants

1. are always soft [th"], [ch"], [sch"] ai [ai" ] (2 letters, 2 sounds) ray [ray" ] (3 letters, 3 sounds) bream [l "esch" ] (3 letters, 3 sounds)
2. follow before the letters e, e, i, yu, i, b (excl., always hard [zh], [ts], [sh] and in borrowed words) mel [m "el"] (4 letters, 3 sounds) aunt [t"ot"a] (4 letters, 4 sounds) people [l"ud"i] (4 letters, 4 sounds) life [zh yz"n"] (5 letters, 4 sounds) circus [ts yrk] (4 letters, 4 sounds) neck [sh eyya] (3 letters, 4 sounds) tempo [t emp] (4 letters, 4 sounds)
3. come before soft consonants (some cases) pancake [bl"in" ch"ik]

Otherwise, consonant sounds will predominantly be hard.

Sibilant consonants include the sounds [zh], [sh], [h"], [sch"]. Speech therapists rule their pronunciation penultimately: the tongue must be strong and flexible to resist exhaled air and be held against the roof of the mouth in the shape of a cup. The last ones in line are always vibrating [p] and [p"].

Do schoolchildren need phonetics?

Without dividing into vowels, consonants, stressed and unstressed, of course, it is impossible. But the transcription is clearly too much.

Speech therapists are required to know phonetic analysis of words, and it can probably be useful to foreigners.

For students (from 1st grade!) who have not yet mastered the rules of spelling, a fairly in-depth study of phonetics only hinders, confuses and contributes to incorrect memorization of the spelling of words. It is “back” that the child will associate with the pronounced “run”.

In this chapter:

§1. Sound

Sound- the minimum unit of sounding speech. Each word has a sound shell consisting of sounds. The sound corresponds to the meaning of the word. Different words and word forms have different sound patterns. The sounds themselves are not important, but they serve an important role: they help us distinguish between:

• words: [house] - [tom], [tom] - [there], [m’el] - [m’el’]
• forms of the word: [house] - [lady´ ] - [house´ ma].

Note:

words written in square brackets are given in transcription.

§2. Transcription

Transcription is a special recording system that displays sound. The following symbols are used in the transcription:

Square brackets indicating transcription.

[ ´ ] - emphasis. The accent is placed if the word consists of more than one syllable.

[b’] - the icon next to the consonant indicates its softness.

[j] and [th] are different designations for the same sound. Since this sound is soft, these symbols are often used with an additional designation of softness: [th’]. This site uses the notation [th’], which is more familiar to most guys. The soft icon will be used to help you get used to the sound being soft.

There are other symbols. They will be introduced gradually as you become familiar with the topic.

§3. Vowels and consonants

Sounds are divided into vowels and consonants.
They have different natures. They are pronounced and perceived differently, and also behave differently in speech and play different roles in it.

Vowels- these are sounds during the pronunciation of which air passes freely through the oral cavity without encountering an obstacle on its way. Pronunciation (articulation) is not focused in one place: the quality of vowels is determined by the form oral cavity, which acts as a resonator. When articulating vowels, the vocal cords in the larynx work. They are close, tense and vibrate. Therefore, when pronouncing vowels, we hear a voice. Vowels can be drawn out. You can shout them. And if you put your hand to your throat, you can feel the work of the vocal cords when pronouncing vowels, feel it with your hand. Vowels are the basis of a syllable; they organize it. There are as many syllables in a word as there are vowels. For example: He- 1 syllable, she- 2 syllables, Guys- 3 syllables, etc. There are words that consist of one vowel sound. For example, unions: and, and and interjections: Oh!, Ah!, Oooh! and others.

In a word, vowels can be in stressed and unstressed syllables.
Stressed syllable one in which the vowel is pronounced clearly and appears in its basic form.
IN unstressed syllables vowels are modified and pronounced differently. Changing vowels in unstressed syllables is called reduction.

There are six stressed vowels in the Russian language: [a], [o], [u], [s], [i], [e].

Remember:

There are words that can only consist of vowels, but consonants are also necessary.
In the Russian language there are many more consonants than vowels.

§4. Method of formation of consonants

Consonants- these are sounds, when pronounced, the air encounters an obstacle in its path. There are two types of obstruents in the Russian language: gap and stop - these are the two main ways of forming consonants. The type of obstruction determines the nature of the consonant sound.

Gap is formed, for example, when pronouncing sounds: [s], [z], [w], [z]. The tip of the tongue only approaches the lower or upper teeth. Friction consonants can be pulled: [s-s-s-s], [sh-sh-sh-sh] . As a result, you will clearly hear the noise: when pronouncing [c] - whistling, and when pronouncing [w] - hissing.

Bow, The second type of articulation of consonants is formed when the organs of speech close. The air flow abruptly overcomes this obstacle, the sounds are short and energetic. That's why they are called explosive. You won't be able to pull them. These are, for example, the sounds [p], [b], [t], [d] . Such articulation is easier to feel and sense.

So, when pronouncing consonants, noise is heard. Presence of noise - hallmark consonants.

§5. Voiced and voiceless consonants

According to the ratio of noise and voice, consonants are divided into voiced and unvoiced.
When spoken voiced consonants, both voice and noise are heard, and deaf- only noise.
Deaf words cannot be spoken loudly. They cannot be shouted.

Let's compare the words: house And cat. Each word has 1 vowel sound and 2 consonants. The vowels are the same, but the consonants are different: [d] and [m] are voiced, and [k] and [t] are voiceless. Voicedness-voicelessness is the most important feature of consonants in the Russian language.

voiced-voiceless pairs:[b] - [p], [z] - [c] and others. There are 11 such pairs.

Voiceless-voiced pairs: [p] and [b], [p"] and [b"], [f] and [v], [f"] and [v"], [k] and [d], [k"] and [g"], [t] and [d], [t"] and [d"], [w] and [g], [s] and [z], [s"] and [ z"].

But there are sounds that do not have a pair on the basis of voicedness - deafness. For example, the sounds [r], [l], [n], [m], [y’] do not have a voiceless pair, but [ts] and [ch’] do not have a voiced pair.

Unpaired according to deafness-voicing

Voiced unpaired:[r], [l], [n], [m], [th"], [r"], [l"], [n"], [m"] . They are also called sonorous.

What does this term mean? This is a group of consonants (9 in total) that have peculiarities of pronunciation: when they are pronounced, obstacles also arise in the oral cavity, but such that the air stream, passing through an obstacle produces only a slight noise; air passes freely through an opening in the nasal cavity or mouth. Sonorants are pronounced using the voice with the addition of slight noise. Many teachers do not use this term, but everyone should know that these sounds are unpaired voiced sounds.

Sonorants have two important features:

1) they are not deafened, like paired voiced consonants, before voiceless consonants and at the end of a word;

2) before them there is no voicing of paired deaf consonants (i.e. the position in front of them is strong in deafness-voicing, just like before vowels). See more about positional changes.

Voiceless unpaired:[ts], [h"], [w":], [x], [x"].

How can it be easier to remember lists of voiced and voiceless consonants?

The following phrases will help you remember lists of voiced and voiceless consonants:

Oh, we didn’t forget each other!(Here only voiced consonants)

Foka, do you want to eat some soup?(Here only voiceless consonants)

True, these phrases do not include pairs of hardness and softness. But usually people can easily figure out that not only hard [z] is voiced, but also soft [z"] too, not only [b], but also [b"], etc.

§6. Hard and soft consonants

Consonants differ not only in deafness and voicedness, but also in hardness and softness.
Hardness-softness- the second most important sign of consonants in the Russian language.

Soft consonants differ from solid special position of the tongue. When pronouncing hard words, the entire body of the tongue is pulled back, and when pronouncing soft words, it is moved forward, and the middle part of the tongue is raised. Compare: [m] - [m’], [z] - [z’]. Voiced soft ones sound higher than hard ones.

Many Russian consonants form hardness-softness pairs: [b] - [b’], [v] - [v’] and others. There are 15 such pairs.

Hardness-softness pairs: [b] and [b"], [m] and [m"], [p] and [p"], [v] and [v"], [f] and [f"] , [z] and [z"], [s] and [s"], [d] and [d"], [t] and [t"], [n] and [n"], [l] and [l"], [p] and [p"], [k] and [k"], [g] and [g"], [x] and [x"].

But there are sounds that do not have a pair on the basis of hardness and softness. For example, the sounds [zh], [sh], [ts] do not have a soft pair, but [y’] and [h’] do not have a hard pair.

Unpaired in hardness-softness

Hard unpaired: [zh], [w], [ts] .

Soft unpaired: [th"], [h"], [w":].

§7. Indication of softness of consonants in writing

Let's take a break from pure phonetics. Let's take a practical look important question: How is the softness of consonants indicated in writing?

There are 36 consonant sounds in the Russian language, including 15 hard-soft pairs, 3 unpaired hard and 3 unpaired soft consonants. There are only 21 consonants. How can 21 letters represent 36 sounds?

Various methods are used for this:

• iotized letters e, e, yu, i after consonants, except w, w And ts, unpaired in hardness-softness, indicate that these consonants are soft, for example: aunt- [t’o´ t’a], uncle -[Yes Yes] ;
• letter And after consonants, except w, w And ts. Consonants indicated by letters w, w And ts, unpaired solids. Examples of words with a vowel letter And: nothing- [n’i´ tk’i], sheet- [l’ist], Cute- [Cute'] ;
• letter b, after consonants, except w, w, after which the soft sign is an indicator of the grammatical form. Examples of words with a soft sign : request- [prose], stranded- [m’el’], distance- [gave’].

Thus, the softness of consonants in writing is conveyed not by special letters, but by combinations of consonants with letters and, e, e, yu, I And b. Therefore, when parsing, I advise you to pay Special attention to adjacent letters after consonants.

Discussing the problem of interpretation

School textbooks say that [w] and [w’] - unpaired in hardness and softness. How so? We hear that the sound [w’] is a soft analogue of the sound [w].
When I was studying at school myself, I couldn’t understand why? Then my son went to school. He had the same question. It appears in all children who approach learning thoughtfully.

The confusion arises because school books They don’t take into account that the sound [sh’] is also long, but the hard sound [sh] is not. Pairs are sounds that differ in only one attribute. And [w] and [w’] - two. Therefore [w] and [w’] are not pairs.

For adults and high school students.

In order to maintain correctness, it is necessary to change the school tradition of transcribing the sound [w’]. It seems that it is easier for the guys to use one more additional sign than to face an illogical, unclear and misleading statement. It's simple. So that generation after generation does not rack their brains, it is necessary to finally show that a soft hissing sound is long.

For this purpose, in linguistic practice there are two icons:

1) superscript above the sound;
2) colon.

Using a superscript is inconvenient because it is not provided by the set of characters that can be used in computer typing. This means that the following possibilities remain: using a colon [w’:] or a grapheme denoting the letter [w’] . It seems to me that the first option is preferable. Firstly, children often mix sounds and letters at first. The use of a letter in transcription will create the basis for such confusion and provoke an error. Secondly, the guys are now starting to study early foreign languages. And the [:] symbol, when used to indicate the length of a sound, is already familiar to them. Thirdly, transcription indicating longitude with a colon [:] will perfectly convey the features of the sound. [sh’:] - soft and long, both features that make up its difference from the sound [sh] are presented clearly, simply and unambiguously.

What advice can you give to children who are now studying using generally accepted textbooks? You need to understand, comprehend, and then remember that in fact the sounds [w] and [w’:] do not form a pair in terms of hardness and softness. And I advise you to transcribe them the way your teacher requires.

§8. Place of formation of consonants

Consonants differ not only according to the characteristics already known to you:

• deafness-voice,
• hardness-softness,
• method of formation: bow-slit.

The last, fourth sign is important: place of education.
The articulation of some sounds is carried out by the lips, others - by the tongue, it in different parts. So, the sounds [p], [p'], [b], [b'], [m], [m'] are labial, [v], [v'], [f], [f' ] - labiodental, all others - lingual: anterior lingual [t], [t'], [d], [d'], [n], [n'], [s], [s'], [z ], [z'], [w], [w], [w':], [h'], [c], [l], [l'], [r], [r'] , middle lingual [th’] and back lingual [k], [k’], [g], [g’], [x], [x’].

§9. Positional changes of sounds

1. Strong-weak positions for vowels. Positional changes of vowels. Reduction

People do not use spoken sounds in isolation. They don't need it.
Speech is a sound stream, but a stream organized in a certain way. The conditions in which a particular sound appears are important. The beginning of a word, the end of a word, a stressed syllable, an unstressed syllable, a position before a vowel, a position before a consonant - these are all different positions. We will figure out how to distinguish between strong and weak positions, first for vowels, and then for consonants.

Strong position one in which sounds do not undergo positionally determined changes and appear in their basic form. A strong position is allocated for groups of sounds, for example: for vowels, this is a position in a stressed syllable. And for consonants, for example, the position before vowels is strong.

For vowels, the strong position is under stress, and the weak position is unaccented..
In unstressed syllables, vowels undergo changes: they are shorter and are not pronounced as clearly as under stress. This change in vowels in a weak position is called reduction. Due to reduction, fewer vowels are distinguished in the weak position than in the strong position.

The sounds corresponding to stressed [o] and [a] after hard consonants in a weak, unstressed position sound the same. “Akanye” is recognized as normative in the Russian language, i.e. non-discrimination ABOUT And A in an unstressed position after hard consonants.

• under stress: [house] - [dam] - [o] ≠ [a].
• without accent: [d A ma´ ] -home´ - [d A la´ ] -dala´ - [a] = [a].

The sounds corresponding to stressed [a] and [e] after soft consonants in a weak, unstressed position sound the same. The standard pronunciation is “hiccup”, i.e. non-discrimination E And A in an unstressed position after soft consonants.

• under stress: [m’ech’] - [m’ach’] - [e] ≠[a].
• without accent: [m’ich’o´ m]- sword´ m -[m'ich'o´ m] - ball´ m - [and] = [and].
• But what about the vowels [i], [s], [u]? Why was nothing said about them? The fact is that these vowels in a weak position are subject to only quantitative reduction: they are pronounced more briefly, weakly, but their quality does not change. That is, as for all vowels, an unstressed position for them is a weak position, but for a schoolchild these vowels in an unstressed position do not pose a problem.

[ski´ zhy], [in _lu´ zhu], [n’i´ t’i] - in both strong and weak positions the quality of vowels does not change. Both under stress and in unstressed position we clearly hear: [ы], [у], [и] and we write the letters that are usually used to denote these sounds.

Discussing the problem of interpretation

What vowel sounds are actually pronounced in unstressed syllables after hard consonants?

When performing phonetic analysis and transcribing words, many guys express bewilderment. In long polysyllabic words, after hard consonants, it is not the sound [a] that is pronounced, as school textbooks say, but something else.

They are right.

Compare the pronunciation of words: Moscow - Muscovites. Repeat each word several times and listen to what vowel sounds in the first syllable. With the word Moscow it's simple. We pronounce: [maskva´] - the sound [a] is clearly audible. And the word Muscovites? In accordance with literary norm, in all syllables, except the first syllable before stress, as well as the positions of the beginning and end of the word, we pronounce not [a], but another sound: less distinct, less clear, more similar to [s] than to [a]. In the scientific tradition, this sound is designated by the symbol [ъ]. This means that in reality we pronounce: [mаlako´] - milk ,[khrasho´ ] - Fine ,[kalbasa´] - sausage.

I understand that by giving this material in textbooks, the authors tried to simplify it. Simplified. But many children with good hearing, who clearly hear that the sounds in the following examples are different, cannot understand why the teacher and the textbook insist that these sounds are the same. In fact:

[V A Yes ] - water´ -[V ъ d'inoy'] - water:[а]≠[ъ]
[other A wa´ ] - firewood´ -[other ъ in’ino´ th’] - wood-burning:[а]≠[ъ]

A special subsystem consists of the realization of vowels in unstressed syllables after sibilants. But in the school course this material is not presented at all in most textbooks.

What vowel sounds are actually pronounced in unstressed syllables after soft consonants?

I feel the greatest sympathy for the children who study from textbooks that offer on-site A,E, ABOUT after soft consonants, hear and transcribe the sound “and, inclined to e.” I think it is fundamentally wrong to give schoolchildren as the only option the outdated pronunciation norm - “ekanya”, which is found today much less often than “icanya”, mainly among very elderly people. Guys, feel free to write in an unstressed position in the first syllable before the stress in place A And E- [And].

After soft consonants in other unstressed syllables, except for the position of the end of the word, we pronounce a short faint sound, reminiscent of [and] and denoted as [b]. Say the words eight, nine and listen to yourself. We pronounce: [vo´ s’m’] - [b], [d’e´ v’t’] - [b].

Do not confuse:

Transcription marks are one thing, but letters are another.
The transcription sign [ъ] indicates a vowel after hard consonants in unstressed syllables, except for the first syllable before stress.
The letter ъ is a solid sign.
The transcription sign [b] indicates a vowel after soft consonants in unstressed syllables, except for the first syllable before stress.
The letter ь is a soft sign.
Transcription signs, unlike letters, are given in square brackets.

End of the word- special position. It shows clearing of vowels after soft consonants. The system of unstressed endings is a special phonetic subsystem. In it E And A differ:

Building[building n’ii’e] - building[building n’ii’a], opinion[mn’e´ n’i’e] - opinion[mn’e´ n’ii’a], more[mo´ r’e] - seas[mo´ r’a], will[vo´l’a] - at will[na_vo´l’e]. Remember this when doing phonetic analysis of words.

Check:

How your teacher requires you to mark vowels in an unstressed position. If he uses a simplified transcription system, that's okay: it's widely accepted. Just don’t be surprised that you actually hear different sounds in the unstressed position.

2. Strong-weak positions for consonants. Positional changes of consonants

For all consonants without exception, the strong position is position before vowel. Before vowels, consonants appear in their basic form. Therefore, when doing phonetic analysis, do not be afraid to make a mistake when characterizing a consonant in a strong position: [dach’a] - country house,[t'l'iv'i´ z'r] - TV,[s’ino´ n’ima] - synonyms,[b'ir'o´ zy] - birch trees,[karz"i´ny] - baskets. All consonants in these examples come before vowels, i.e. in a strong position.

Strong positions on deafness of voicedness:

• before vowels: [there] - there,[ladies] - I'll give,
• before unpaired voiced [p], [p’], [l], [l’], [n], [n’], [m], [m’], [y’]: [dl’a] - For,[tl'a] - aphids,
• Before [in], [in’]: [own’] - mine,[ringing] - ringing.

Remember:

In a strong position, voiced and voiceless consonants do not change their quality.

Weak positions in deafness and voicedness:

• before paired ones according to deafness-voicing: [sl´ tk’ii] - sweet,[zu´ pk’i] - teeth.
• before voiceless unpaired ones: [aphva´ t] - girth, [fhot] - entrance.
• at the end of a word: [zup] - tooth,[dup] - oak.
  

Positional changes of consonants according to deafness-voicing

In weak positions, consonants are modified: positional changes occur with them. Voiced ones become voiceless, i.e. are deafened, and the deaf are voiced, i.e. call out. Positional changes are observed only for paired consonants.

Stunning-voicing of consonants

Stunning voiced occurs in positions:

• before paired deaf people: [fsta´ in’it’] - V put,
• at the end of the word: [clat] - treasure.

Voicing of the deaf occurs at position:

• before paired voiced ones: [kaz’ba´ ] - to With bah´

Strong positions in terms of hardness and softness:

• before vowels: [mat’] - mother,[m’at’] - crush,
• at the end of the word: [von] - out there,[won’] - stench,
• before labialials: [b], [b'], [p], [p'], [m], [m'] and posterior linguals: [k], [k'], [g], [g' ], [x[, [x'] for sounds [s], [s'], [z], [z'], [t], [t'], [d], [d'], [n ], [n'], [r], [r']: [sa´ n'k'i] - Sa´nki(gen. fall.), [s´ ank’i] - sled,[bun] - bun,[bu´ l’qt’] - gurgle,
• all positions for sounds [l] and [l’]: [forehead] - forehead,[pal'ba] - firing.

Remember:

In a strong position, hard and soft consonants do not change their quality.

Weak positions in hardness-softness and positional changes in hardness-softness.

• before soft [t’], [d’] for consonants [c], [z], which are necessarily softened: , [z’d’es’],
• before [h’] and [w’:] for [n], which is necessarily softened: [po´ n’ch’ik] - donut,[ka´ m’n’sh’:ik] - mason.

Remember:

In a number of positions today, both soft and hard pronunciation is possible:

• before soft front-lingual [n’], [l’] for front-lingual consonants [c], [z]: snow -[s’n’ek] and , make angry -[z’l’it’] and [zl’it’]
• before soft front-lingual, [z’] for front-lingual [t], [d] - lift -[pad’n’a´ t’] and [padn’a´ t’] , take away -[at’n’a´ t’] and [atn’a´ t’]
• before soft front-lingual [t"], [d"], [s"], [z"] for front-lingual [n]: vi´ntik -[v’i´ n"t"ik] and [v’i´ nt’ik], pension -[p'e´ n's'ii'a] and [p'e´ n's'ii'a]
• before soft labials [v’], [f’], [b’], [p’], [m’] for labials: enter -[f"p"isa´ t’] and [fp"is´ at’], ri´ fme(Dan. fall.) - [r'i´ f"m"e] and [r'i´ fm"e]

Remember:

In all cases, positional softening of consonants is possible in a weak position.
It is a mistake to write a soft sign when softening consonants positionally.

Positional changes of consonants based on the method and place of formation

Naturally, in the school tradition it is not customary to present the characteristics of sounds and the positional changes that occur with them in all the details. But the general principles of phonetics need to be learned. Without this, it is difficult to do phonetic analysis and complete test tasks. Therefore, below is a list of positionally determined changes in consonants based on the method and place of formation. This material is a tangible help for those who want to avoid mistakes in phonetic analysis.

Assimilation of consonants

The logic is this: the Russian language is characterized by similarity of sounds if they are similar in some way and at the same time are nearby.

Learn the list:

[c] and [w] → [w:] - sew

[z] and [zh] → [zh:] - compress

[s] and [h’] - at the root of words → [sh’:] - happiness, score
- at the junction of morphemes and words → [w’:h’] - comb, dishonest, with what (a preposition followed by a word is pronounced together as one word)

[s] and [w’:] → [w’:] - split

[t] and [c] - in verb forms → [ts:] - smiles
-at the junction prefixes and roots → [tss] - sleep it off

[t] and [ts] → [ts:] - unhook

[t] and [h’] → [h’:] - report

[t] and [t] and [w’:]←[c] and [h’] - Countdown

[d] and [w’:] ←[c] and [h’] - counting

Dissociation of consonants

Dissimilarity is a process of positional change, the opposite of assimilation.

[g] and [k’] → [h’k’] - easy

Simplifying consonant clusters

Learn the list:

vst - [stv]: hello, feel
zdn - [zn]: late
zdc - [sc] : by the reins
lnts - [nts]: Sun
NDC - [nc]: Dutch
ndsh - [ns:] landscape
NTG - [ng]: x-ray
rdc - [rts]: heart
rdch - [rh’]: little heart
stl - [sl’]: happy
stn - [dn]: local

Pronunciation of sound groups:

In the forms of adjectives, pronouns, participles there are letter combinations: wow, him. IN place G they are pronounced [in]: him, beautiful, blue.
Avoid reading letter by letter. Say the words him, blue, beautiful Right.

§10. Letters and sounds

Letters and sounds have different purposes and different nature. But these are comparable systems. Therefore, you need to know the types of ratios.

Types of relationships between letters and sounds:

1. The letter denotes a sound, for example, vowels after hard consonants and consonants before vowels: weather.
2. The letter does not have its own sound meaning, for example b And ъ: mouse
3. A letter represents two sounds, for example iotated vowels e, e, yu, i in positions:
   • the beginning of a word
   • after vowels,
   • after separators b And ъ.
4. A letter can denote a sound and the quality of the preceding sound, such as iotated vowels and And after soft consonants.
5. The letter may indicate the quality of the preceding sound, for example b in words shadow, stump, gunfire.
6. Two letters can represent one sound, usually a long one: sew, compress, rush
7. Three letters correspond to one sound: smile - shh -[ts:]

Test of strength

Check your understanding of this chapter.

Final test

1. What determines the quality of a vowel sound?

   • From the shape of the oral cavity at the moment of pronouncing the sound
   • From the barrier formed by the speech organs at the moment of pronouncing a sound

2. What is reduction called?

   • pronouncing vowels under stress
   • pronouncing unstressed vowels
   • special pronunciation of consonants

3. For which sounds does the air stream encounter an obstacle on its path: a bow or a gap?

   • In vowels
   • In consonants

4. Can voiceless consonants be pronounced loudly?

5. Are the vocal cords involved in pronouncing voiceless consonants?

6. How many pairs of consonants are formed according to deafness and voicedness?

7. How many consonants do not have a voiced-voiced pair?

8. How many pairs do Russian consonants form according to hardness and softness?

9. How many consonants do not have a hard-soft pair?

10. How is the softness of consonants conveyed in writing?

    • Special icons
    • Letter combinations

11. What is the name of the position of a sound in a stream of speech in which it appears in its basic form, without undergoing positional changes?

    • Strong position
    • Weak position

12. What sounds have strong and weak positions?

    • In vowels
    • In consonants
    • For everyone: both vowels and consonants

Right answers:

1. From the shape of the oral cavity at the moment of pronouncing the sound
2. pronouncing unstressed vowels
3. In consonants
4. Letter combinations
5. Strong position
6. For everyone: both vowels and consonants

In contact with

which are indicated in the letter 10 letters:

1. The use of vowels as part of a word has some features in the Russian language:

Vowel [s] As a rule, it does not appear at the beginning of words; elementary [s] possible in rare borrowed proper nouns.

Oyya, Ynykgan.

Sound [s] used only after hard consonants.

Smoke[smoke], rear[rear].

Sound [And] used only after soft consonants.

Physicist[physicist].

Writing letters and after f, w, c (these sounds are always hard) not determined by pronunciation: letter combinations zhi, shi, qi pronounced like [zhy], [shy], [tsy].

Vowel [s] pronounced at the place of the letter and also at the beginning of the word after a preposition for a hard consonant (the preposition does not have its own stress and is adjacent to the subsequent word).

From and rice– [from] rice

Vowel [e] used in most cases after soft consonants.

Children[d'et'i], weight[v'es].

But there are digressions here. Sound [e] combines with hard consonants:

after [zh], [w], [ts];

Gesture[gesture], six[shes’t’], prices[prices].

in some foreign words;

Test[test], pace[tempo].

in some compound words.

HPP, VTEK.

2. A characteristic feature of Russian pronunciation is the different sound of vowels under and without stress.

A vowel in a stressed position is in strong position, that is, it is pronounced most clearly and with the greatest force. A vowel in an unstressed position is in weak position, that is, pronounced with less force and less clearly.

3. In an unstressed position (in a weak position), all vowel sounds are pronounced with less force, but some of them retain their qualitative characteristics, while others do not:

vowel sounds do not change the sound quality in unstressed position [i], [s], [y](letters and, y, y, yu );

Mil[m’il] – sweetie[m'ila], lived[zhyl] – lived[vein], jester[jester] – (no) jester[jester].

Exception makes up sound [And]: at the beginning of a word, if in the flow of speech the word merges with the preceding word ending in a hard consonant, it sounds in place [s];

IN And exile[V s exile].

change the sound quality in unstressed vowels [a], [o], [e](letters a, I, o, e, e, e ).

4. Russian literary pronunciation is usually called “akay” and “hiccuping”.

In the pre-stressed syllable after hard consonants in place of vowels [a], [o], [e](in the position after hard words this sound is rarely found in the Russian language) the sound usually sounds close to [A][A], although this sound is not so open, therefore in linguistics a special sign is used to denote it [Λ] .

MO th[moj] – mO I[mΛja] or [maja], dA l[gave] – dA la[dΛla] or [gave].

In the pre-stressed syllable after soft consonants in place of vowels [a], [o], [e] sounds close to [And]. In the school version of the transcription it is usually denoted as [And], although this sound sounds more like [And] with an overtone [e] – [i uh ] .

Wed: vzI l[vz’al] – vzI la[v’i e la] or [v’ila], ne With[nose] - ne sla[n'i e sla] or [n'isla], be l[b'el] – be la[b'i e la] or [b'ila].

It is with these features of Russian pronunciation that the need to check unstressed vowels is connected with the help of related words in which this vowel is stressed, that is, in a strong position.

The position of the vowel in the first pre-stressed syllable is called I weak position: the force of exhalation when pronouncing a pre-stressed syllable is approximately one and a half times less than when pronouncing a stressed syllable.

Yandex.Direct

5. Exception can form some words with vowels [a], [o], [e] in I weak position after hissing ones [f], [w] and after the sound [ts]:

after hard [zh], [w], [ts] before a soft consonant in place [A] Usually the sound is between [s] and [e](denoted [s uh ] );

ANDA fly[and s uh l'et'], LoshA dey[lush s uh d'ej], twentyA you[dvats s uh t'iʁ].

in place of the letter e after [zh], [w], [ts] there is a sound between [s] And [e], – [s uh ] ;

Wife[zhyena], sixth[shyestoj], price[tsyena].

after hard [f], [w] on site [A] sounds close to [A] – [Λ] , as after other hard consonant sounds.

ShA R[ball] – wA ry[shΛrý].

6. In other unstressed syllables (second, third pre-stressed syllables, over-stressed syllables) vowels [a], [o], [e] sound even weaker and fuzzier.

The position of the vowel in other unstressed syllables (not in the first prestressed) is usually called II weak position: the force of exhalation when pronouncing such syllables is three times less compared to a stressed syllable.

In the school course, these sounds are not specifically discussed.

In linguistics, such sounds are usually called reduced, that is, “weakened.” The signs most often used to denote them are: “er” [ъ]– after hard consonants, “er” [b]- after soft consonants. (This resource uses a simplified version of vowel transcription, that is, the pronunciation features of vowels [o], [a], [e] in closed and open overstressed syllables are not taken into account, the difference in pronunciation [o], [a], [e] in unstressed syllable and etc.)

For example:

after hard consonants: dO language[d ъ mavoj], fishA [fish ъ], roofsA [roofs ъ], tse face[ts ъ l'ikom];

after soft consonants: RI Dovoy[R' b davoj], floore [floor' b], hA scooper[h’ b sΛfsch’ik].

7. Exception constitutes II weak position of vowels at the absolute beginning of a word [a], [o]. In place of these vowels at the beginning of the word, an unreduced “er” sounds [ъ], and the sound is close to [A] – [Λ] , as in I weak position after hard consonants.

ABOUT gherkin[Λgur’ets]; O monkey[Λb'iez'jan].