Consonants are not stressed. Consonants

In this chapter:

§one. Sound

Sound is the smallest unit of sounding speech. Each word has a sound shell, consisting of sounds. The sound is related to the meaning of the word. Different words and word forms have different sound design. The sounds themselves do not matter, but they play an important role: they help us to distinguish between:

• words: [house] - [volume], [volume] - [there], [m'el] - [m'el']
• word forms: [house] - [lady´] - [do´ ma].

Note:

words written in square brackets are given in transcription.

§2. Transcription

Transcription is a special recording system that displays the sound. Symbols accepted in transcription:

Square brackets, which are the designation of transcription.

[ ´ ] - stress. The stress 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 softness designation:, [th ']. On this site, the designation [th ’] is adopted, which is more familiar to most guys. The soft icon will be used to get you used to the fact that this sound is soft.

There are other symbols as well. 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 a different nature. They are pronounced and perceived differently, as well as behave differently in speech and play different roles in it.

Vowels- these are sounds, during the pronunciation of which air freely passes through the oral cavity, without encountering obstacles in its path. Pronunciation (articulation) is not focused in one place: the quality of vowels is determined by the shape of the 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. They can be screamed at. And if you put your hand to your throat, then the work of the vocal cords when pronouncing vowels can be felt, felt with your hand. Vowels are the basis of the syllable, they organize it. There are as many syllables in a word as there are vowels. For example: he- 1 syllable, she is- 2 syllables, guys- 3 syllables, etc. There are words that consist of one vowel sound. For example, unions: and, a and interjections: Oh!, Ah!, Woo! 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.
AT unstressed syllables vowels are modified, pronounced differently. Changing vowels in unstressed syllables is called reduction.

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

Remember:

Words are possible that can only consist of vowels, but consonants are also necessary.
There are many more consonants in Russian than vowels.

§four. Method of formation of consonants

Consonants- these are sounds, during the pronunciation of which the air meets an obstacle in its path. In Russian, there are two types of barriers: a gap and a bow - these are the two main ways of forming consonants. The type of barrier determines the nature of the consonant sound.

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

bow, The second type of articulation of consonants is formed when the organs of speech are closed. The air flow abruptly overcomes this barrier, the sounds are short, energetic. That is 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, feel.

So, when pronouncing consonants, noise is heard. The presence of noise is a hallmark of consonants.

§5. Voiced and voiceless consonants

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

Compare words: house and cat. Each word has 1 vowel and 2 consonants. The vowels are the same, but the consonants are different: [d] and [m] are voiced, and [k] and [t] are deaf. Voiced-deafness is the most important sign of consonants in Russian.

voiced-deafness pairs:[b] - [n], [h] - [c] and others. There are 11 such pairs.

Pairs for deafness-voicedness: [p] and [b], [p "] and [b"], [f] and [c], [f "] and [c"], [k] and [g], [k"] and [g"], [t] and [d], [t"] and [d"], [w] and [g], [s] and [h], [s "] and [ h"].

But there are sounds that do not have a pair on the basis of sonority - deafness. For example, the sounds [p], [l], [n], [m], [th '] do not have a voiceless pair, but [c] and [h '] do not have a voiced pair.

Unpaired in deafness-voicedness

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 pronunciation features: when they are pronounced in the oral cavity, barriers also arise, but such that the air stream, passing through the barrier, forms only a slight noise; air passes freely through the opening in the nasal or oral cavity. Sonorants are pronounced with the help of a voice with the addition of a slight noise. Many teachers do not use this term, but everyone should know that these voiced unpaired sounds.

Sonorants have two important features:

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

2) there is no voicing of paired deaf consonants before them (i.e., the position in front of them is strong in deafness-voicedness, as well as before vowels). For more information about positional changes, see .

Deaf unpaired:[c], [h "], [w":], [x], [x "].

What is the easiest way to remember lists of voiced and voiceless consonants?

Phrases will help memorize the lists of voiced and deaf consonants:

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

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

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

§6. Hard and soft consonants

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

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

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

Pairs by hardness-softness: [b] and [b "], [m] and [m"], [p] and [p "], [c] and [c"], [f] and [f"] , [h] and [h "], [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-softness. For example, the sounds [zh], [w], [c] do not have a soft pair, but [y '] and [h '] do not have a hard pair.

Unpaired in hardness-softness

Solid unpaired: [w], [w], [c] .

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

§7. The designation of the softness of consonants in writing

Let's digress from pure phonetics. Consider a practically important question: how is the softness of consonants indicated in writing?

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

For this, different methods are used:

• iotized letters e, yo, yu, i after consonants except sh, w and c, unpaired in hardness-softness, indicate that these consonants are soft, for example: uncle- [t’o´ t’a], uncle -[Yes Yes] ;
• letter and after consonants except sh, w and c. Consonants denoted by letters sh, w and c, unpaired hard. Examples of words with a vowel and: no´ tki- [n’i´ tk’i], sheet- [l'ist], cute- [cute'] ;
• letter b, after consonants except sh, w, after which the soft sign is an indicator of the grammatical form. Examples of soft words : request- [proz'ba], stranded- [m'el'], distance- [gave '].

Thus, the softness of consonants in writing is transmitted not by special letters, but by combinations of consonant letters with letters i, e, e, u, i and b. Therefore, when parsing, I advise you to pay special attention to neighboring letters after consonants.

Discussing the problem of interpretation

School textbooks say that [w] and [w ’] - unpaired in hardness-softness. How so? After all, we hear that the sound [w ’] is a soft analogue of the sound [w].
When I studied at school myself, I could not understand why? Then my son went to school. He had the same question. It appears in all the guys who are thoughtful about learning.

Bewilderment arises because school textbooks do not take into account that the sound [w ’] is also long, but the hard [w] is not. Pairs are sounds that differ in only one feature. 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 [sh ']. It seems that it is easier for children to use one more additional sign than to face an illogical, unclear and misleading statement. Everything is simple. So that generation after generation does not rack their brains, it is necessary, finally, to show that a soft hissing sound is long.

There are two icons for this in linguistic practice:

1) superscript above the sound;
2) colon.

The use of an accent mark is inconvenient because it is not provided by the character set that can be used in computer typing. This means that the following possibilities remain: the use of a colon [w':] or a grapheme denoting the letter [w'] . I think the first option is preferable. Firstly, at first, guys often mix sounds and letters. The use of a letter in transcription will create a basis for such confusion, provoke an error. Secondly, the guys now start learning foreign languages ​​early. And the [:] sign, when used to indicate the length of a sound, is already familiar to them. Thirdly, a transcription with a colon [:] for longitude will perfectly convey the features of the sound. [w ':] - soft and long, both features that make up its difference from the sound [w] are presented clearly, simply and unambiguously.

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

§eight. Place of formation of consonants

Consonants differ not only in the signs you already know:

• deafness-voicedness,
• 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, its different parts. So, the sounds [p], [p '], [b], [b '], [m], [m '] are labial, [c], [c '], [f], [f ' ] - labio-dental, all the rest - lingual: front-lingual [t], [t '], [d], [d '], [n], [n '], [s], [s '], [s ], [h '], [w], [g], [w ':], [h '], [c], [l], [l '], [p], [p '] , middle lingual [th '] and back lingual [k], [k '], [g], [g '], [x], [x '].

§9. Positional changes in sounds

1. Strong-weak positions for vowels. Positional vowel changes. 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, the stressed syllable, the unstressed syllable, the position before the vowel, the position before the 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 the sounds are not subject to positionally determined changes and appear in their main form. A strong position is distinguished 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 stressed, and the weak position is unstressed.
In unstressed syllables, vowels undergo changes: they are shorter and not pronounced as distinctly 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.

Sounds corresponding to stressed [o] and [a], after hard consonants in a weak, unstressed position, sound the same. Normative in the Russian language is recognized as "akanye", i.e. nondiscrimination O and BUT in an unstressed position after hard consonants.

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

Sounds corresponding to stressed [a] and [e], after soft consonants in a weak, unstressed position, sound the same. The normative pronunciation is "hiccups", i.e. nondiscrimination E and BUT in unstressed position after soft consonants.

• under stress: [m'ech '] - [m'ach '] - [e] ≠ [a].
• without stress: [m'ich'o´ m] - sword´ m -[m'ich'o´ m] - ball´ m - [and] = [and].
• But what about the vowels [and], [s], [y]? Why was nothing said about them? The fact is that these vowels in a weak position undergo 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 present a problem.

[ly´ zhy], [in _lu´ zhu], [n'i´ t'i] - both in strong and weak positions, the quality of vowels does not change. Both under stress and in an unstressed position, we clearly hear: [s], [y], [and] and write the letters with which these sounds are usually denoted.

Discussing the problem of interpretation

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

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

They are right.

Compare the pronunciation of the words: Moscow - Muscovites. Repeat each word several times and listen for the vowel in the first syllable. With a word Moscow everything is simple. We pronounce: [maskva´] - the sound [a] is clearly audible. And the word Muscovites? In accordance with the literary norm, in all syllables, except for the first syllable before stress, as well as the positions of the beginning and end of the word, we pronounce not [a], but a different sound: less distinct, less clear, more like [s] than [ a]. In the scientific tradition, this sound is denoted by the icon [ъ]. So, we really say: [malako´] - milk ,[harasho´ ] - Good ,[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 hear clearly 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:

[in a Yes ] - water´ -[in b d’other’] - water ´ th:[a]≠[b]
[dr a wa´ ] - firewood´ -[dr b v’ino´ th’] - wood fired:[a]≠[b]

A special subsystem is 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 vowels are actually pronounced in unstressed syllables after soft consonants?

I have the greatest sympathy for the guys who study from textbooks offered on the spot BUT,E, O after soft consonants, hear and translate the sound “and, prone to e” in transcription. I consider it fundamentally wrong to give schoolchildren as the only option the outdated pronunciation norm - “ekanye”, which is much less common today than “hiccups”, mainly among very elderly people. Guys, feel free to write in an unstressed position in the first syllable before the stress in place BUT and E- [and].

After soft consonants in other unstressed syllables, except for the position of the end of the word, we pronounce a short weak sound resembling [and] and denoted as [ь]. 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 quite another.
The transcription sign [ъ] denotes 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 [ь] denotes a vowel after soft consonants in unstressed syllables, except for the first syllable before stress.
The letter b is a soft sign.
Transcription signs, unlike letters, are given in square brackets.

end of word- special position. It shows clearing of vowels after soft consonants. The system of unstressed endings is a special phonetic subsystem. In her E and BUT differ:

Building[heel n’i’e] - building[building´ n’i’a], me´ nie[mn’e´ n’iy’e] - me´ nia[mn’e´ n’iy’a], mo´ re[mo´ r'e] - seas[mo´ r'a], vo´ la[vo´ l'a] - at will[na_vo´ l'e]. Keep this in mind when doing phonetic parsing of words.

Check:

How does your teacher require you to designate unstressed vowels. If he uses a simplified transcription system, that's okay: it's widely accepted. Just do not be surprised that you really hear different sounds in an unstressed position.

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

For all consonants without exception, the strong position is position before a vowel. Before vowels, consonants appear in their basic form. Therefore, when doing phonetic analysis, do not be afraid to make a mistake characterizing a consonant in a strong position: [dacha] - country house,[t'l'iv'i´ zar] - television,[s’ino´ n’im] - synonyms,[b'ir'o´ zy] - birches,[karz "and´ us] - baskets. All consonants in these examples are before vowels, i.e. in a strong position.

Strong positions in voicelessness:

• before vowels: [there] - there,[ladies] - ladies,
• before unpaired voiced [r], [r '], [l], [l '], [n], [n '], [m], [m '], [d ']: [dl'a] - for,[tl'a] - aphid,
• Before [in], [in ']: [own'] - mine,[ringing] - ringing.

Remember:

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

Weak positions in deafness-voicedness:

• in front of pairs for deafness-voicedness: [weak tk’y] - sweet,[zu´ pk'i] - teeth.
• before deaf unpaired ones: [apkhva´ t] - girth, [fhot] - entrance.
• at the end of a word: [zoop] - tooth,[dup] - oak.
  

Positional changes of consonants according to deafness-voicedness

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

Stunning-voicing of consonants

Voiced stunning occurs in positions:

• in front of paired deaf people: [fsta´ v’it’] - in become,
• at the end of a word: [clat] - treasure.

Voicing of the deaf happens in position:

• before paired voiced: [kaz'ba´] - to With bba´

Strong positions in hardness-softness:

• before vowels: [mat'] - mother,[m'at'] - crush,
• at the end of a word: [out] - out,[out'] - stink,
• before labial-labial: [b], [b '], [n], [n '], [m], [m '] and back-lingual: [k], [k '], [g], [g' ], [x[, [x'] for sounds [s], [s'], [s], [s'], [t], [t'], [d], [d'], [n ], [n'], [r], [r']: [sa´ n'k'i] - Sa´ nks(born pad.), [s´ ank'i] - sled,[bu´ lka] - bu´ lka,[bu´ l'kat'] - boo' lkat,
• 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], [h], which are necessarily softened:, [z'd'es'],
• before [h '] and [w ':] for [n], which is necessarily softened: [by´ n'h'ik] - donut,[ka´ m'n'sh': ik] - bricklayer.

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], [h]: snow -[s'n'ek] and, piss off -[z’l’it’] and [zl’it’]
• before soft anterior lingual, [h ’] for anterior lingual [t], [d] - lift -[pad’n’a´ t ’] and [padn’a´ t’] , take away -[at’n’a´ t’] and [atn’a´ t’]
• before soft anterior lingual [t "], [d"], [s "], [s"] for anterior lingual [n]: vi´ ntik -[v'i´ n "t" ik] and [v'i´ nt'ik], pension -[p’e´ n’s’iy’a] and [p’e´ ns’iy’a]
• before soft labials [c '], [f '], [b '], [n '], [m '] for labials: write in -[f "p" isa' t '] and [fp" is' at '], ri´ fme(dat. pad.) - [r'i´ f "m" e] and [r'i´ fm "e]

Remember:

In all cases, in a weak position, positional softening of consonants is possible.
Writing a soft sign with positional softening of consonants is a mistake.

Positional changes of consonants according to the features of the method and place of formation

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

Assimilation of consonants

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

Learn the list:

[c] and [w] → [w:] - sew

[h] and [g] → [g:] - compress

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

[s] and [w':] → [w':] - split

[t] and [c] - in verb forms → [c:] - smiles
- at the junction of prefix and root → [cs] - sleep

[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

Distinguishing consonants

Dissimilarity is the process of positional change, the opposite of likening.

[g] and [k '] → [x'k '] - light

Simplifying consonant clusters

Learn the list:

vstv - [stv]: hello, feel
zdn - [zn]: late
zdts - [sc] : under the bridle
lnts - [nts]: sun
NDC - [nc]: Dutch
ndsh - [nsh:] landscape
ntg - [ng]: x-ray
RDC - [rc]: heart
rdch - [rh']: heart
stl - [sl ']: happy
stn - [sn]: local

Pronunciation of groups of sounds:

In the forms of adjectives, pronouns, participles, there are letter combinations: wow, him. AT place G they pronounce [in]: him, beautiful, blue.
Avoid spelling. say the words him, blue, beautiful right.

§ten. Letters and sounds

Letters and sounds have different purposes and different nature. But these are comparable systems. Therefore, the types of relationships need to be known.

Types of ratio of letters and sounds:

1. A letter denotes a sound, such as vowels after hard consonants and consonants before vowels: weather.
2. The letter has no sound value of its own, for example b and b: mouse
3. The letter stands for two sounds, for example, iotized vowels e, yo, yu, i in positions:
   • the beginning of a word
   • after vowels,
   • after the separation b and b.
4. The letter may indicate the sound and quality of the preceding sound, such as iotized vowels and and after soft consonants.
5. The letter may indicate the quality of the preceding sound, for example b in words shadow, stump, firing.
6. Two letters can represent one sound, often a long one: sew, squeeze, rush
7. Three letters correspond to one sound: smile - ts -[c:]

test of strength

Check your understanding of the contents 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 organs of speech at the moment of pronouncing the sound

2. What is called reduction?

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

3. At what sounds does the air stream encounter an obstacle in its path: a bow or a gap?

   • Vowels
   • Consonants

4. Can voiceless consonants be pronounced loudly?

5. Are the vocal cords involved in the pronunciation of voiceless consonants?

6. How many pairs form consonants according to deafness-voicedness?

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

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

9. How many consonants do not have a pair of hardness-softness?

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

    • Special icons
    • Letter combinations

11. What is the name of the position of the sound in the flow 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?

    • Vowels
    • Consonants
    • All: 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. Consonants
4. Letter combinations
5. Strong position
6. All: both vowels and consonants

In contact with

There are a lot of different voices in the world, almost everything, except for the vacuum, can be heard. Mankind has created in the process a system of conditional signals, the combination of which can be perceived by the consciousness of each of the individuals as a kind of image that implies a specific semantic meaning.

In contact with

So what are sounds in Russian? These are essentially meaningless, the smallest elements of words or that help convey a thought from one person to another. For example, the combination of the consonants "d" and "m" and one vowel "o" can create the word "house", which in turn has a very specific meaning. Such "bricks" of the Russian language are vowels and consonants, hard and soft, hissing and sonorous.

What is the difference?

When thinking about how to distinguish between sounds and letters, it is worth knowing that the second is specific characters with which graphically record what we hear, for example, there is an “a”, which we can say out loud, mentally, whisper or shout, however, until it is written down on paper in the desired form, it will not become a letter. From this it is clear that it is very simple to distinguish between these two concepts - what is on paper, a written symbol is a letter, what we hear or say is a sound.

Attention! How do sounds differ from their written symbols? There are 33 graphic elements in Russian, but they consist of 43 voice signals, with 10 vowels and 6 sounds, and vice versa, 21 and 37 consonants, respectively. From this we can draw a simple conclusion - not all letters and sounds coincide with each other and are heard the way they are written.

What are vowels?

This is the name of such elements of the language that can be sung. How do they differ from their opposite - consonants? They are consist only of voice, the air during their pronunciation is easily drawn into the lungs and passed through the mouth. What are vowels? These are graphic symbols written on paper or a combination of them.

table of correspondence

What letters make two sounds? Some are formed by two elements - a consonant (s) and a vowel corresponding to the sound. These are the iotized elements of the alphabet that are needed to perform the following functions:

1. If you need to put a vowel after a vowel, for example, the word "my".
2. After the separating sign - "hug".
3. In cases where the vowel should be at the beginning of the phonetic word - "pit".
4. If you need to soften the consonant in front - “chalk”.
5. If you need to reproduce a foreign word.

If such an iotized symbol comes after an unpaired one in terms of hardness or softness, then it denotes an ordinary one, for example, “silk” is read as “silk”.

Iotated vowels

What are consonants?

Consonants are the smallest language units that cannot be sung when they are pronounced. air exhaled from the lungs hits an obstacle, for example, on the language. They are divided into pairs, hissing, as well as hard and soft. Let's deal with everyone in order.

Voiced, deaf and hissing

What are the consonants? The table will help you see clearly:

The apostrophe denotes softened elements. This applies to all of the listed pairs, except for "g", since it cannot be soft. In addition, there are consonants that have not been defined in pairs. It:

In addition to the deaf and voiced ones listed, there are also hissing ones. These include "g", "w", "u" and "h". They are necessarily deaf, when they are pronounced the tongue is pressed against the palate in different ways. To the ear, they are a bit like the hiss of a snake, if you stretch them a little.

Consonants

Hard and soft

Soft differ from hard in the way of pronunciation. When a person pronounces them, he presses his tongue to the palate, which makes them not so rude. As in the previous case, they are divided into pairs, with some exceptions. Almost all elements of the Russian alphabet can be both hard and soft. How many of them do not have such a pair?

It turns out that the pairs do not make up all hissing, “sh” and Y, which is also present in the composition of several vowels. All others can be softened under certain conditions.

Such a difference between the number of consonants in the Russian language is justified precisely by the last division according to softness. The fact is that such a softened form is not reflected graphically in writing in any way - we learn about softness by the softening vowel that follows it. This almost doubles the number of sounding units compared to letters.

Hard and soft consonants

How do vowels differ from consonants?

The division into two types of sounds occurs depending on pronunciation techniques. Melodious and "light" vowels, unlike consonants, are easy to pronounce, pull, sing. If you listen to any melodic song, you can hear that they stretch like marshmallows.

Consonants, in turn, imply some kind of obstacle, that is, the flow of air does not come out of the mouth easily and smoothly, but bumping into the tongue, lips, teeth, and so on. Such elements are difficult to pull, they seem to have a sharp ending, regardless of whether they are sonorous or deaf, hard or soft.

Interesting! With graphic symbols, everything happens in exactly the same way, because despite the fact that they are written on paper, belonging to one or another group is determined precisely by sound.

"Special" elements of the Russian language

There are two characters in the Russian alphabet, under which no audible signals are implied. This is a hard sign "b" and a soft sign "b". They are needed:

1. To share. The presence of one of these signs in a word indicates that the vowel following it should be iotized.
2. A non-separating soft sign can inform the reader that the consonant preceding it is soft, or perform a grammatical function, for example, indicate the gender of the word - "oven".

Russian lessons Sounds and letters

Vowels and consonants. Designating them with letters

Conclusion

Knowing the correct interaction of these basic elements helps to write many Russian words correctly. Sound and writing give the key to the melody of speech and writing, its beauty and harmony.

Phonetics is a capricious lady, albeit an interesting one. It's no secret that all sounds in Russian are divided into consonants and vowels. The first, in turn, are divided into voiced and deaf, soft and hard. This classification is based on the way of pronouncing sounds and the features of the work of our articulatory apparatus. So how can you tell them all apart?

And what, exactly, is the point?

Soft and hard consonant sounds Grade 1 begins to study at the very beginning of the Russian language course. But in order to distinguish one phoneme from another, you must first understand what is the difference between them and vowels.

Vowel sounds are pronounced only with the help of the voice. They can be sung, extended - this is how teachers explain to kids at school. When the air at the exit from the lungs passes through the trachea, larynx, oral cavity, it does not encounter any obstacles. When we talk about consonants, then to pronounce them, you need to use lips, teeth and tongue - they all participate in the process, so to speak.

Comparing consonants and vowels according to their sound, we notice the following tendency: when vowels, as mentioned above, sound only with one voice, then there is still noise in the consonants created by the interference that the air has to meet when pronouncing them. This is their main difference. Deaf sounds are pronounced only with this very noise, while in voiced sounds, a voice is also added to it. Compare, for example, the pronunciation of the words "grotto" and "mole" or "house" and "tom". In both cases, the first letters are solid consonants, voiced and voiceless, respectively.

"Let's go back to our sheep!"

Now that we already know a little about the differences in consonants, let's move on to our main topic.

The best way to learn is by example, right? And again, let's turn to the comparison: let's say the following pairs of words:

Racket-rake, bun-bureau, mother - ball, vine - ice, tower - view.

There is some difference in how we pronounce consonants. Is not it? It is caused by vowels that come after consonants. The words are specially chosen so that the sounds we need are in the same position in all examples. In this case, they show all their diversity. Say it again, slowly. Do you feel how the language, in those words where the consonants sound softer, does not rest against the palate, but seems to relax, becomes flat? This can be considered the main feature that our hard consonants have during articulation.

Theory

Well, now let's move on to a specific theory. Solid consonants - a table that will consist of two parts. First of all, you need to remember that the hardness or softness of a sound is due to its neighboring vowel. When after the letter is a, o, u, s , then the sound that it denotes will definitely be solid (mittens, trampling, lips, played), and if there are e, yo, yu, i, and , the consonant will sound softer (blizzard, doggie, mint, Kyiv). Thus, we can say that there is no point in memorizing all hard consonants. Almost all of them are paired. This property was shown in the first row of words, where we learned to distinguish between hard and soft sounds. Therefore, everything depends on this very vowel.

Unpaired consonants

Another question is how to deal with unpaired consonants. There are very few of them in Russian: w, w, c . No matter how hard you try, you won't be able to pronounce them softly. Even if they are followed by those vowels that are usually used with soft consonants: ramrod - rustle - chic, creepy - liquid - tin, price - circus - king. Opposed to these consonants are unpaired h, w, y , which in all cases will sound soft: chock - thicket - cleaning, cheeks - squint - crushed stone, iot - yogurt.

Break the system!

In this situation, you need to understand that the rule of the subsequent vowel with them does not apply to unpaired solid consonants. The table that can be compiled for better assimilation of the material will in any case consist of two parts - paired parts, the equivalent of which can always be found by changing the vowel, and unpaired ones, living by their own rules.

We remember

Now let's move on to the methods of learning and memorization. Solid consonants grade 1 remembers reluctantly - too boring. But after all, there is always a way to increase efficiency by making the student interested in an unusual form of work, even with such theoretical and unnecessary, at first glance, material. Various pictures, diagrams, drawings and games with the choice of words will come to our aid.

Let's make some cards. You will need two sheets of colored paper or colored cardboard. The main thing is that they are contrasting. We cut out the same clouds, balls, figures - everything that comes to your mind. Then we connect the two figures with glue so that these very contrasting sides are outside. And then, with the participation of your little helper, on one side we write vowels that are friends with soft ones, and on the other - with hard consonants. In order not to forget anything at all, you can also place unpaired and paired ones side by side, respectively. When everything is at hand, it is much easier.

Next, draw something that can help create an association - a brick on a cardboard where hard sounds are written, and a feather with soft phonemes. Or something else like that. Having a concrete example in front of his eyes, the student will surely learn the information better. Later, to consolidate, you can ask your student to highlight hard and soft sounds in different colors in written words - red and blue, for example, so that you can easily check his homework.

improvised material

To prepare the tablets, which were mentioned just above, you still need to have some kind of material. Solid consonants - a table that you can rely on so as not to get confused. For convenience, it contains paired and unpaired sounds in terms of hardness and softness. By the way, if we want to indicate the softness of a sound, in phonetic transcription, for example, an apostrophe is placed after it.

In this table, all phonemes at the top are solid. Below are their soft counterparts. True, we have three cases where the sound does not have a pair. This means it is not soft.

We remember further

Let's keep practicing? Let's give more examples of words where the same consonant sounds in a hard or soft position. One more nuance. In addition to the very vowels that affect the consonant, it can be softened or hardened by a soft and hard sign, respectively. Let's not forget about it in our next assignment.

Beaver - white, blizzard - goalkeeper, city - helium, entrance - clerk, giraffe, winter - teeth, whale-cat, horse - lemonade, harvest-sea, Neptune-rhinoceros, steamboat - break, decision-novel, owl - family, cake - theme, film-photography, halvah - scheme, chicken, hat.

Identify the words from the presented pair that demonstrate soft or hard consonants. As you can see, the letters for their designation are still used the same. Please note that in some words, hardness and softness are affected not only by vowels, but also by consonants that are next to our sound. In addition, you can also ask the child to come up with examples for unpaired consonants, so that he himself is convinced that they are only hard. Still, own experience is much more vivid confirmation than any memorized theory.

One more game

To study the topic, soft and hard consonants can be offered to the student just such a game. She is very simple. In front of him are a number of words, from which only solid consonants need to be written out. And then, inserting vowels into them, come up with a word. For example, there are a number of words: pickle - footman - knives. Write out the consonants: s, l, n, add vowels. And the first thing that comes to mind is the short but capacious word "elephant". Shall we continue?

1. Edit - will - scrap(issued pr, v, l ).
2. Tomato - role - swamp(issued t, r, t ).
3. Bittern - dormouse - hay(issued in, s, n ).

Conclusion

In conclusion, I would like to remind you that in no case should you say “solid consonants”. These are just the sounds. And for their designations, they are absolutely the same as in the case of soft ones (this was evident from the table above). Now that you have all the material in your hands, it remains only to practice. On the net you can find a huge number of different games and exercises to determine the type of consonants. And, of course, you can re-read the material on the topic “Solid consonant sounds” several more times - the table presented in the article will help to systematize all our knowledge. It will be much easier to repeat with her.

Do not forget to give new examples for each paired and unpaired sound, so that our student himself learns to compare the different sounds of consonant phonemes. It sometimes depends not only on the subsequent vowel or soft and hard sign, but also on neighboring consonants, which, depending on their hardness or softness, can also affect the original sound. Everything is not as difficult as it seems. More games and practice - and everything will definitely work out.

Phonetics is a capricious lady, albeit an interesting one. It's no secret that all sounds in Russian are divided into consonants and vowels. The first, in turn, are divided into voiced and deaf, soft and hard. This classification is based on the way of pronouncing sounds and the features of the work of our articulatory apparatus. So how can you tell them all apart?

And what, exactly, is the point?

Soft and hard consonant sounds Grade 1 begins to study at the very beginning of the Russian language course. But in order to distinguish one phoneme from another, you must first understand what is the difference between them and vowels.

Vowel sounds are pronounced only with the help of the voice. They can be sung, extended - this is how teachers explain to kids at school. When the air at the exit from the lungs passes through the trachea, larynx, oral cavity, it does not encounter any obstacles. When we talk about consonants, then to pronounce them, you need to use lips, teeth and tongue - they all participate in the process, so to speak.

Comparing consonants and vowels according to their sound, we notice the following tendency: when vowels, as mentioned above, sound only with one voice, then there is still noise in the consonants created by the interference that the air has to meet when pronouncing them. This is their main difference. Deaf sounds are pronounced only with this very noise, while in voiced sounds, a voice is also added to it. Compare, for example, the pronunciation of the words "grotto" and "mole" or "house" and "tom". In both cases, the first letters are solid consonants, voiced and voiceless, respectively.

"Let's go back to our sheep!"

Now that we already know a little about the differences in consonants, let's move on to our main topic.

The best way to learn is by example, right? And again, let's turn to the comparison: let's say the following pairs of words:

Racket-rake, bun-bureau, mother - ball, vine - ice, tower - view.

There is some difference in how we pronounce consonants. Is not it? It is caused by vowels that come after consonants. The words are specially chosen so that the sounds we need are in the same position in all examples. In this case, they show all their diversity. Say it again, slowly. Do you feel how the language, in those words where the consonants sound softer, does not rest against the palate, but seems to relax, becomes flat? This can be considered the main feature that our hard consonants have during articulation.

Theory

Well, now let's move on to a specific theory. Solid consonants - a table that will consist of two parts. First of all, you need to remember that the hardness or softness of a sound is due to its neighboring vowel. When after the letter is a, o, u, s , then the sound that it denotes will definitely be solid (mittens, trampling, lips, played), and if there are e, yo, yu, i, and , the consonant will sound softer (blizzard, doggie, mint, Kyiv). Thus, we can say that there is no point in memorizing all hard consonants. Almost all of them are paired. This property was shown in the first row of words, where we learned to distinguish between hard and soft sounds. Therefore, everything depends on this very vowel.

Unpaired consonants

Another question is how to deal with unpaired consonants. There are very few of them in Russian: w, w, c . No matter how hard you try, you won't be able to pronounce them softly. Even if they are followed by those vowels that are usually used with soft consonants: ramrod - rustle - chic, creepy - liquid - tin, price - circus - king. Opposed to these consonants are unpaired h, w, y , which in all cases will sound soft: chock - thicket - cleaning, cheeks - squint - crushed stone, iot - yogurt.

Break the system!

In this situation, you need to understand that the rule of the subsequent vowel with them does not apply to unpaired solid consonants. The table that can be compiled for better assimilation of the material will in any case consist of two parts - paired parts, the equivalent of which can always be found by changing the vowel, and unpaired ones, living by their own rules.

We remember

Now let's move on to the methods of learning and memorization. Solid consonants grade 1 remembers reluctantly - too boring. But after all, there is always a way to increase efficiency by making the student interested in an unusual form of work, even with such theoretical and unnecessary, at first glance, material. Various pictures, diagrams, drawings and games with the choice of words will come to our aid.

Let's make some cards. You will need two sheets of colored paper or colored cardboard. The main thing is that they are contrasting. We cut out the same clouds, balls, figures - everything that comes to your mind. Then we connect the two figures with glue so that these very contrasting sides are outside. And then, with the participation of your little helper, on one side we write vowels that are friends with soft ones, and on the other - with hard consonants. In order not to forget anything at all, you can also place unpaired and paired ones side by side, respectively. When everything is at hand, it is much easier.

Next, draw something that can help create an association - a brick on a cardboard where hard sounds are written, and a feather with soft phonemes. Or something else like that. Having a concrete example in front of his eyes, the student will surely learn the information better. Later, to consolidate, you can ask your student to highlight hard and soft sounds in different colors in written words - red and blue, for example, so that you can easily check his homework.

improvised material

To prepare the tablets, which were mentioned just above, you still need to have some kind of material. Solid consonants - a table that you can rely on so as not to get confused. For convenience, it contains paired and unpaired sounds in terms of hardness and softness. By the way, if we want to indicate the softness of a sound, in phonetic transcription, for example, an apostrophe is placed after it.

In this table, all phonemes at the top are solid. Below are their soft counterparts. True, we have three cases where the sound does not have a pair. This means it is not soft.

We remember further

Let's keep practicing? Let's give more examples of words where the same consonant sounds in a hard or soft position. One more nuance. In addition to the very vowels that affect the consonant, it can be softened or hardened by a soft and hard sign, respectively. Let's not forget about it in our next assignment.

Beaver - white, blizzard - goalkeeper, city - helium, entrance - clerk, giraffe, winter - teeth, whale-cat, horse - lemonade, harvest-sea, Neptune-rhinoceros, steamboat - break, decision-novel, owl - family, cake - theme, film-photography, halvah - scheme, chicken, hat.

Identify the words from the presented pair that demonstrate soft or hard consonants. As you can see, the letters for their designation are still used the same. Please note that in some words, hardness and softness are affected not only by vowels, but also by consonants that are next to our sound. In addition, you can also ask the child to come up with examples for unpaired consonants, so that he himself is convinced that they are only hard. Still, own experience is much more vivid confirmation than any memorized theory.

One more game

To study the topic, soft and hard consonants can be offered to the student just such a game. She is very simple. In front of him are a number of words, from which only solid consonants need to be written out. And then, inserting vowels into them, come up with a word. For example, there are a number of words: pickle - footman - knives. Write out the consonants: s, l, n, add vowels. And the first thing that comes to mind is the short but capacious word "elephant". Shall we continue?

1. Edit - will - scrap(issued pr, v, l ).
2. Tomato - role - swamp(issued t, r, t ).
3. Bittern - dormouse - hay(issued in, s, n ).

Conclusion

In conclusion, I would like to remind you that in no case should you say “solid consonants”. These are just the sounds. And for their designations, they are absolutely the same as in the case of soft ones (this was evident from the table above). Now that you have all the material in your hands, it remains only to practice. On the net you can find a huge number of different games and exercises to determine the type of consonants. And, of course, you can re-read the material on the topic “Solid consonant sounds” several more times - the table presented in the article will help to systematize all our knowledge. It will be much easier to repeat with her.

Do not forget to give new examples for each paired and unpaired sound, so that our student himself learns to compare the different sounds of consonant phonemes. It sometimes depends not only on the subsequent vowel or soft and hard sign, but also on neighboring consonants, which, depending on their hardness or softness, can also affect the original sound. Everything is not as difficult as it seems. More games and practice - and everything will definitely work out.

Every first grader knows that sound is a unit of speech that we pronounce and hear, and letters we read and write. They in Russian are divided into vowels and consonants. Of the 33 letters of the Russian alphabet, 21 are called consonants. They are divided by sonority and deafness, softness and hardness. To study the classification of letters begins with grade 1, but the student will have to use it until graduation. When studying phonetics, each student must learn to distinguish voiceless sounds from voiced ones. During writing, they are indicated by transcription - [b]. The table will help to distinguish and remember paired consonant sounds.

Paired consonants by voiced-deafness

All consonants in Russian form pairs, a voiced consonant is opposed to a deaf one. There are 12 paired letters in total, 6 pairs are obtained:

Paired and unpaired consonants need to be known in order to be successful in spelling. Many orthograms of the Russian language are based on the selection of cognate words according to this classification, for example:

• soft - soft
• tooth teeth.

The first pair contains the letter g, which is indistinctly heard during pronunciation and its spelling brings difficulty. The second words are test words when the spelling is pronounced clearly. Younger students often make mistakes in these works.

You may notice that not all letters of the alphabet form pairs. This happens due to the fact that in phonetics there are rules that must be remembered. They are based on the fact that sounds can only be voiced or only deaf. It is easy to remember them, since they have a small amount. As a rule, students by the end of grade 1 know them by heart. These include p, n, l, m, d - sonorous, always voiced, c, h, w, x - always deaf.

Paired consonants by softness-hardness

Consonants are usually divided into hard and soft. In phonetics, the softening process occurs in several situations:

• when there is a vowel after the consonant: u, i, e, e, and (blizzard, buttercup);
• or there is a soft sign (blizzard, drink).

If a consonant is followed by a vowel, except for e, e, u, i, and, then it does not allow softening. For example, in the words peony, earth, after the consonant there is a vowel, which provokes the softening process. In such words as a lamp, water, there are no letters e, e, u, i, and therefore, when pronouncing, all sounds are solid.

There are also letters that, during their speech reproduction, will always be soft or hard. These include: w, h, d, c, w, w. Each student needs to know the classification of letters and sounds for successful learning.

A special table will help you remember paired voiced and deaf. It is easy to navigate through it.

Such a table or similar can sometimes be found in the primary school classroom. It has been proven that younger students have more visual-figurative thinking, so they need to provide new information in the form of illustrations or pictures, then it will be effective.

Each parent can create such a table on the desktop of a first grader. Do not be afraid that this hint will lead to student laziness. On the contrary, if he often looks at the image, he will quickly remember everything he needs.

There are more consonant sounds in Russian, so remembering their classification is more difficult. If you list all the deaf and voiced, then you get the number 12. The letters h, w, d, u, c, g, r, n, l, m are not taken into account, they are unpaired.

There are tips for children on how to quickly learn to recognize voiced and voiceless consonants when parsing a word. To do this, you need to press your palm to your throat and utter a distinctly separate sound. Voiceless and voiced consonants will be pronounced differently and, accordingly, differently reflected in the palm of your hand. If it vibrates in the hand, it is voiced; if not, it is deaf. Many guys use this hint when studying phonetics.

There is another exercise that helps to accurately determine which consonant is in front of the student. To do this, you need to close your ears with your hands, but at the same time, silence should be desirable. Pronounce the exciting letter, listen to it with your ears closed. If it is not heard, then it is a deaf sound, if, on the contrary, it is distinct, it is sonorous.

If you try, today any parent can find many interesting, exciting and educational exercises and rules that will help the baby easily learn new knowledge. This will make the learning process more interesting and entertaining, which in turn will affect academic performance.