Phonetic transcription In russian language- graphic recording of the sound of a word, a type of scientific transcription.

Phonetic transcription is written in square brackets, unlike phonological transcription, which is written in slash brackets.

It is widely used in school phonetic analysis of the word.

This type of transcription is special kind speech recording, which is used to fix the features of its sound in writing. Square brackets serve as a sign that the reader is dealing with a transcription of a sounding speech: .

When studying the sound side of a language, in order to convey the sound of words, one has to resort to a special phonetic letter, based on the fact that the same sound is transmitted by a certain icon. Such writing is called phonetic transcription.

Transcription(from lat. transcription - rewriting) - special kind writing, with the help of which sounding speech is fixed on paper.

The transcription is based on the alphabet of the language in which it is spoken, with the addition or change of certain letters. So, the basis of the transcription system that we will use is the Russian alphabet, but the letters e, e, d, u, u, i, and b, b denote special unstressed vowels. Separate letters of other alphabets are also used: j (yot) from Latin, ? (gamma) from Greek.

phonetic writing does not coincide with spelling, because spelling does not reflect living sound processes occurring in the flow of speech, does not reflect changes in the sound system of the language, but rests on traditions. Phonetic transcription reflects the change in sounds that occur depending on the position and environment.

In written speech, after soft consonants, instead of a, o, y, e, the letters i, e, u and e are written, the softness of the consonant at the end of the word is indicated by a special letter b, called the "soft sign" (before the Spelling reform of 1917-1918, this sign called "er"). In transcription, the softness of a consonant is always indicated in the same way - an apostrophe next to a soft consonant: [m "at"]. The softness of unpaired soft consonants [h "] and [w":] is also always indicated in transcription. The only exception is the designation in the transcription of the palatal (and therefore, by definition, soft) consonant [j] - it is not customary to put an apostrophe with it.

Basic transcription rules
In transcription:
1. A sound, word, part of a word or a segment of speech is enclosed in square brackets -.
The text is written as it is pronounced.
3. Not used capital letters.
4. Punctuation rules do not apply, punctuation marks are replaced by pauses: a small pause is indicated by one vertical line - /; phrases are separated from each other by two lines - //, denoting a long pause.
5. Each sign is used to denote one sound.
6. Diacritics are used (Greek diakritikos - distinctive), which are placed above the letters, below them or near them. So,
a) the accent is obligatory: the main one is the acute sign ?, the secondary sign is the grave `;
b) a straight line above the letter indicates the longitude of the consonant - [s];
c) the softness of the consonant is indicated by an apostrophe - [m "];
d) service words pronounced together with the significant are connected by a chamber - [ E ]
e) the bow under the sign indicates the non-syllabic nature of the sound - [i].
In some cases, when necessary, other diacritics are also used: dots (upper to the right and left of the letter) to indicate the advancement of stressed vowels forward in the vicinity of soft consonants: me, mother, mint;
sign ^ to convey a closed, narrow sound of vowels between soft consonants: drank - [n "ul" and].
7. In the field of consonants, the letter u is not used, but is indicated as [w "]; in the field of vowels there are no letters e, e, u, i.
8. To designate the sound [th], two signs are given: [j] - yot and [i] - and non-syllable (a kind of iot):
[j] - a) at the beginning of a word
b) after dividing b and b
c) between two vowels before a stressed one.
In other cases - [i]
9. To designate voiced and deaf consonants, the letters corresponding to them are used.
10. Vowel sounds, depending on the position in the word, experience great changes in sound:
a) vowels [i], [s], [y] in an unstressed position do not qualitatively change, they only sound shorter than under stress, and such changes are not indicated in transcription
b) unstressed vowels [a], [o], [e] change both quantitatively and qualitatively:
unstressed vowels [a], [o] at the absolute beginning of a word and in the first pre-stressed syllable after hard consonants are indicated by the sign [U] - a short sound [a];
unstressed vowels [a], [o], [e] in the second pre-stressed and stressed syllables after solid consonants are indicated by the sign [b] - the sound is ultra-short [s]
unstressed vowel [e] in the first pre-stressed syllable after solid consonants is indicated by the sign [ye] - the sound is middle between [s] and [e]
unstressed vowels [e], [a] in the first pre-stressed syllable after soft consonants are indicated by the sign [ie] - the sound is the middle one between [i] and [e]
unstressed vowels [e], [a] in the 2nd pre-stressed and stressed syllables after soft consonants are indicated by the sign [b] - the sound is ultra-short [and]

To denote the sound [g], pronounced “without an explosion” in some words, and when voicing the sound [x], ["] is used - "g fricative"

There are different transcription systems. Therefore, you need to choose one and stick to it consistently so as not to destroy the emerging transcription skills.

It should also be borne in mind that in transcription, in some cases, variants are allowed that reflect the variant pronunciation that actually exists in the literary language. So, depending on the style of pronunciation, different vowels can sound at the absolute end of the word: in full style, with a clear pronunciation, - [U], [ie], [ye], and in colloquial, with fluent pronunciation, reduced [ъ] , [b].

What is transcription used for?
1. To learn to hear native speech and show the norms of literary pronunciation.
2. When teaching a foreign language, especially if the spelling does not make it possible to judge pronunciation. For example, in English language.
3. Transcription is also needed where the writing system is complex and little known to the student, especially where graphics are not intended to convey sound. For example, in hieroglyphic writing.
4. Transcription is used to record an unwritten language or dialect speech.

Phonetic writing does not coincide with spelling, because spelling does not reflect living sound processes occurring in the flow of speech, does not reflect changes in the sound system of the language, but rests on traditions. Phonetic transcription reflects the change in sounds that occur depending on the position and environment.

Once again, let's take a closer look at the Basic Rules and Signs of Phonetic Transcription:
1. The transcribed sound or segment of speech is enclosed in square brackets: oak - [dup], spoon. Speech measures are separated by one vertical line, complete sentences by two. Capital letters are not used.
2. In two-syllable and polysyllabic words, stress is placed, in monosyllabic words, stress is not placed: [in [el / young], [elephant].
3. Stressed vowels [a], [e], [y], [i], [s] are always denoted by the letters a, o, e, y, and, s.
4. The icon [^] (“a” with a lid) is used to indicate a weakened sound close to [a], which is pronounced at the absolute beginning of a word or in the first pre-stress! syllable in place of the letters a and o after solid consonants: cucumber [^ gur "ets], lampshade - [^ b ^ zhur], water - [e ^ yes], gardens - [s ^ dy (in school practice - [a] ).
5. The icon [b] (ep) denotes a reduced sound, intermediate between [s] and [a], which is pronounced in many unstressed syllables, except for the first pre-stressed and absolute beginning of the word, in place of the letters a, o, e; gardener - [s ^ d ^ here], dear - [dar ^ goi], groove - [zhl ^ side], place - [m’est], stick - [palk], also - [identity].
6 The sign | ie] denotes a sound intermediate between [i] and [e], which is pronounced in the first pre-stressed syllable after soft consonants in place of the letters siya: forests - [l "iesa], five - [n" iet "th] ( in school practice [and]).
The [ye] sign is used to denote a sound that is intermediate between [s] and [e], which is pronounced in the first unstressed syllable after hard hissing and c: six ~ [shyes "t" y], the price is [tsyena] (in school practice - [s]).
7. The sign [b] (er) denotes a reduced sound close to [i], which is pronounced in all unstressed syllables, except for the first pre-stressed one, after soft consonants in place of the letters e and i: patch - [p" t ^ h "ok ], democrat - [d "bm ^ krat].
8. Unstressed sounds in place of the letters y, s, and are usually denoted in the same way as percussion, with the signs [y], [s], [and]: iron - [ut "uk], fisherman - [fisherman], go - [id "th].
9. The softness of the consonant sound is indicated by a comma to the upper right of the letter sign: webbing - [l "amk", roar - [r "jf], lion - [l "ef], buy - [purchase" y].
10. The longitude of the consonant sound is indicated by a horizontal line above the letter: bath - [van], buzz - [buzz].
11. The sign [j] denotes the consonant sound “yot”, which is pronounced before stressed vowels: pit - jam], ruff -, spruce - JEL "].

A weak version of this sound is pronounced in all other positions, usually indicated by the sign [and] (“and non-syllable”): mine - [my], flock [flock], (In school practice, the sign [th] is used in both cases)
Transcription can be not only complete, but also selective, when not all of its word is enclosed in square brackets, but only the element in question - a sound or a number of sounds. This method of transcription is used, for example, in dictionaries and reference books to indicate correct pronunciation sounds: steak - beefsh [te] k \ overcoat - shi [n "e] l.

Before proceeding to perform phonetic analysis with examples, we draw your attention to the fact that letters and sounds in words are not always the same thing.

Letters- these are letters, graphic symbols, with the help of which the content of the text is conveyed or the conversation is outlined. Letters are used to visually convey meaning, we will perceive them with our eyes. The letters can be read. When you read letters aloud, you form sounds - syllables - words.

A list of all letters is just an alphabet

Almost every student knows how many letters are in the Russian alphabet. That's right, there are 33 of them in total. The Russian alphabet is called Cyrillic. The letters of the alphabet are arranged in a certain sequence:

Russian alphabet:

In total, the Russian alphabet uses:

• 21 letters for consonants;
• 10 letters - vowels;
• and two: ь (soft sign) and ъ (hard sign), which indicate properties, but do not in themselves determine any sound units.

You often pronounce the sounds in phrases differently from how you write them down in writing. In addition, more letters than sounds can be used in a word. For example, "children's" - the letters "T" and "C" merge into one phoneme [ts]. Conversely, the number of sounds in the word "blacken" is greater, since the letter "Yu" in this case is pronounced as [yu].

What is phonetic parsing?

We perceive sound speech by ear. Under the phonetic analysis of the word is meant the characteristic of the sound composition. AT school curriculum such an analysis is more commonly referred to as "sound-letter" analysis. So, in phonetic analysis, you simply describe the properties of sounds, their characteristics depending on the environment and syllabic structure phrase, united by a common verbal stress.

Phonetic transcription

For sound-letter analysis, a special transcription in square brackets is used. For example, the correct spelling is:

• black -> [h"orny"]
• apple -> [yablaka]
• anchor -> [yakar"]
• tree -> [yolka]
• sun -> [sontse]

The phonetic parsing scheme uses special characters. Thanks to this, it is possible to correctly designate and distinguish between the letter record (spelling) and the sound definition of letters (phonemes).

• the phonetically parsed word is enclosed in square brackets - ;
• a soft consonant is indicated by a transcription sign ['] - an apostrophe;
• shock [´] - with an accent;
• in complex word forms from several roots, a secondary stress sign [`] is used - grave (not practiced in the school curriculum);
• the letters of the alphabet Yu, Ya, E, Yo, b and b are NEVER used in transcription (in the curriculum);
• for double consonants, [:] is used - a sign of the longitude of pronouncing the sound.

Below are detailed rules for orthoepic, alphabetic and phonetic and word parsing with online examples, in accordance with the general school norms of the modern Russian language. For professional linguists, the transcription of phonetic characteristics is distinguished by accents and other symbols with additional acoustic features of vowels and consonants.

How to make a phonetic parsing of a word?

The following diagram will help you conduct a letter analysis:

• Write down the necessary word and say it out loud several times.
• Count how many vowels and consonants are in it.
• Mark the stressed syllable. (Stress with the help of intensity (energy) singles out a certain phoneme in speech from a number of homogeneous sound units.)
• Divide the phonetic word into syllables and indicate their total number. Remember that the syllable division in differs from the hyphenation rules. The total number of syllables always matches the number of vowels.
• In transcription, disassemble the word by sounds.
• Write the letters from the phrase in a column.
• Opposite each letter, in square brackets, indicate its sound definition (how it is heard). Remember that sounds in words are not always identical to letters. The letters "ь" and "ъ" do not represent any sounds. The letters "e", "e", "yu", "I", "and" can mean 2 sounds at once.
• Analyze each phoneme separately and mark its properties with a comma:
  • for a vowel, we indicate in the characteristic: the sound is a vowel; shock or unstressed;
  • in the characteristics of consonants we indicate: the sound is consonant; hard or soft, voiced or deaf, sonorous, paired / unpaired in hardness-softness and sonority-deafness.
• At the end of the phonetic analysis of the word, draw a line and count the total number of letters and sounds.

This scheme is practiced in the school curriculum.

An example of phonetic parsing of a word

Here is an example of phonetic analysis by composition for the word "phenomenon" → [yivl'e′n'iye]. In this example, there are 4 vowels and 3 consonants. There are only 4 syllables: I-vle′-ni-e. The emphasis falls on the second.

Sound characteristic of letters:

i [th] - acc., unpaired soft, unpaired voiced, sonorous [and] - vowel, unstressed in [c] - acc., paired solid, paired sound [l '] - acc., paired soft, unpaired . sound, sonorous [e ′] - vowel, percussion [n '] - consonant, paired soft, unpaired. sound, sonorous and [and] - vowel, unstressed [th] - acc., unpaired. soft, unpaired sound, sonorant [e] - vowel, unstressed ____________________ In total, the phenomenon in the word is 7 letters, 9 sounds. The first letter "I" and the last "E" represent two sounds.

Now you know how to do sound-letter analysis yourself. The following is a classification of the sound units of the Russian language, their relationship and transcription rules for sound literal parsing.

Phonetics and sounds in Russian

What are the sounds?

All sound units are divided into vowels and consonants. Vowel sounds, in turn, are stressed and unstressed. A consonant sound in Russian words can be: hard - soft, voiced - deaf, hissing, sonorous.

How many sounds are there in Russian live speech?

The correct answer is 42.

Doing phonetic analysis online, you will find that 36 consonants and 6 vowels are involved in word formation. Many have a reasonable question, why is there such a strange inconsistency? Why is it different total number sounds and letters in both vowels and consonants?

All this is easily explained. A number of letters, when participating in word formation, can denote 2 sounds at once. For example, pairs of softness-hardness:

• [b] - peppy and [b '] - squirrel;
• or [d] - [d ’]: home - do.

And some do not have a pair, for example [h '] will always be soft. If in doubt, try to say it firmly and make sure that this is impossible: stream, pack, spoon, black, Chegevara, boy, rabbit, bird cherry, bees. Thanks to this practical solution, our alphabet has not reached a dimensionless scale, and the sound units are optimally complemented, merging with each other.

Vowel sounds in the words of the Russian language

Vowel sounds unlike melodic consonants, they flow freely, as if in a singsong voice, from the larynx, without barriers and tension of the ligaments. The louder you try to pronounce the vowel, the wider you will have to open your mouth. And vice versa, the louder you strive to pronounce the consonant, the more vigorously you will close the oral cavity. This is the most striking articulatory difference between these classes of phonemes.

The stress in any word forms can only fall on a vowel sound, but there are also unstressed vowels.

How many vowels are in Russian phonetics?

Russian speech uses fewer vowel phonemes than letters. There are only six percussive sounds: [a], [i], [o], [e], [y], [s]. And, recall, there are ten letters: a, e, e, and, o, y, s, e, i, u. The vowels E, Yo, Yu, I are not "pure" sounds in transcription are not used. Often, when parsing words alphabetically, the letters listed are stressed.

Phonetics: characteristics of stressed vowels

The main phonemic feature of Russian speech is the clear pronunciation of vowel phonemes in stressed syllables. Stressed syllables in Russian phonetics are distinguished by the strength of exhalation, increased duration of sound, and are pronounced undistorted. Since they are pronounced distinctly and expressively, the sound analysis of syllables with stressed vowels is much easier to perform. The position in which the sound does not undergo changes and retains the main form is called strong position. This position can only be percussive sound and syllable. Unstressed phonemes and syllables remain in a weak position.

• The vowel in the stressed syllable is always in a strong position, that is, it is pronounced more clearly, with the greatest force and duration.
• A vowel in an unstressed position is in a weak position, that is, it is pronounced with less force and not so clearly.

In Russian, only one phoneme "U" retains unchanging phonetic properties: kuruza, plank, u chus, u catch - in all positions it is pronounced distinctly like [u]. This means that the vowel "U" is not subject to qualitative reduction. Attention: in writing, the phoneme [y] can also be indicated by another letter “Yu”: muesli [m’u ´sl’i], key [kl’u ´h’], etc.

Analysis of the sounds of stressed vowels

The vowel phoneme [o] occurs only in a strong position (under stress). In such cases, "O" is not subject to reduction: cat [ko´ t'ik], bell [kalako´ l'ch'yk], milk [malako´], eight [vo´ s'im'], search [paisko´ vaya], dialect [go´ var], autumn [o´ s'in'].

An exception to the rule of a strong position for “O”, when unstressed [o] is also pronounced clearly, are only some foreign words: cocoa [kaka "o], patio [pa" tio], radio [ra" dio], boa [bo a "] and a number of service units, for example, union no. The sound [o] in writing can be reflected by another letter “e” - [o]: turn [t’o´ rn], fire [kas’t’o´ r]. Parsing the sounds of the remaining four vowels in the stressed position will also not be difficult.

Unstressed vowels and sounds in Russian words

It is possible to make the correct sound analysis and accurately determine the characteristics of the vowel only after placing the stress in the word. Do not forget also about the existence of homonymy in our language: for "mok - zamok" and about the change in phonetic qualities depending on the context (case, number):

• I'm at home [ya to "ma].
• New houses [but "vye da ma"].

AT unstressed position the vowel is modified, that is, it is pronounced differently than it is written:

• mountains - mountain = [go "ry] - [ga ra"];
• he - online = [o "n] - [a nla" yn]
• witness = [sv'id'e "t'i l'n'itsa].

Similar vowel changes in unstressed syllables are called reduction. Quantitative, when the duration of the sound changes. And a qualitative reduction, when the characteristic of the original sound changes.

The same unstressed vowel can change phonetic characteristic depending on position:

• primarily with respect to the stressed syllable;
• at the absolute beginning or end of a word;
• in open syllables (consist of only one vowel);
• under the influence of neighboring signs (b, b) and a consonant.

Yes, different 1st degree of reduction. She is subject to:

• vowels in the first prestressed syllable;
• open syllable at the very beginning;
• repeated vowels.

Note: To make a sound-letter analysis, the first pre-stressed syllable is determined not from the “head” of the phonetic word, but in relation to the stressed syllable: the first to the left of it. In principle, it can be the only pre-shock: not-here [n'iz'd'e´shn'y].

(bare syllable) + (2-3 pre-stressed syllable) + 1st pre-stressed syllable ← Stressed syllable → stressed syllable (+2/3 stressed syllable)

• forward-re -di [fp'ir'i d'i´];
• e-ste-ve-nno [yi s’t’e´s’t’v’in: a];

Any other pre-stressed syllables and all pre-stressed syllables in sound analysis refer to reduction of the 2nd degree. It is also called "weak position of the second degree."

• kiss [pa-tsy-la-va´t '];
• model [ma-dy-l’i´-ra-vat’];
• swallow [la´-hundred-ch'ka];
• kerosene [k'i-ra-s'i'-na-vy].

The reduction of vowels in a weak position also differs in steps: the second, third (after hard and soft consonants, - this is beyond curriculum): to learn [uch’i´ts: a], to become numb [atsyp’in’e´t’], hope [over’e´zhda]. In literal analysis, the reduction of the vowel in a weak position in the final open syllable(= at the absolute end of a word):

• cup;
• goddess;
• with songs;
• turn.

Sound letter analysis: iotized sounds

Phonetically, the letters E - [ye], Yo - [yo], Yu - [yu], I - [ya] often denote two sounds at once. Have you noticed that in all the indicated cases, the additional phoneme is “Y”? That is why these vowels are called iotated. The meaning of the letters E, E, Yu, I is determined by their positional position.

During phonetic analysis, the vowels e, e, u, i form 2 sounds:

◊ Yo - [yo], Yu - [yu], E - [ye], I - [ya] in cases where there are:

• At the beginning of the word "Yo" and "Yu" always:
  • - cringe [yo´ zhyts: a], Christmas tree [yo´ lach’ny], hedgehog [yo´ zhyk], capacity [yo´ mkast’];
  • - jeweler [yuv ’il’i´r], yule [yu la´], skirt [yu´ pka], Jupiter [yu p’i´t’ir], briskness [yu ´rkas’t’];
• at the beginning of the word "E" and "I" only under stress *:
  • - spruce [ye´ l '], I go [ye´ f: y], huntsman [ye´ g'ir '], eunuch [ye´ vnuh];
  • - yacht [ya´ hta], anchor [ya´ kar’], yaki [ya´ ki], apple [ya´ blaka];
  • (*to perform sound-letter analysis of unstressed vowels “E” and “I”, a different phonetic transcription is used, see below);
• in the position immediately after the vowel "Yo" and "Yu" always. But "E" and "I" in stressed and unstressed syllables, except when the indicated letters are located behind the vowel in the 1st pre-stressed syllable or in the 1st, 2nd stressed syllable in the middle of words. Phonetic analysis online and examples for specific cases:
  • - reception mnik [pr’iyo´mn’ik], sing t [payo´t], kluyo t [kl’uyo ´t];
  • -ay rveda [ayu r’v’e´da], sing t [payu ´t], melt [ta´yu t], cabin [kayu ´ta],
• after the separating solid “b” sign “Yo” and “Yu” - always, and “E” and “I” only under stress or at the absolute end of the word: - volume [ab yo´m], shooting [syo´mka], adjutant [adyu "ta´nt]
• after the dividing soft "b" sign "Yo" and "Yu" - always, and "E" and "I" under stress or at the absolute end of the word: - interview [intyrv'yu´], trees [d'ir'e´ v'ya], friends [druz'ya´], brothers [bra´t'ya], monkey [ab'iz'ya´ na], blizzard [v'yu´ ha], family [s'em'ya´ ]

As you can see, in the phonemic system of the Russian language, stresses are of decisive importance. Vowels in unstressed syllables undergo the greatest reduction. Let's continue the literal analysis of the remaining iotated sounds and see how they can still change their characteristics depending on the environment in the words.

◊ Unstressed vowels"E" and "I" denote two sounds and in phonetic transcription and are written as [YI]:

• at the very beginning of a word:
  • - unity [yi d'in'e´n'i'ye], spruce [yilo´vy], blackberry [yizhiv'i´ka], his [yivo´], egoza [yigaza´], Yenisei [yin'is 'e´y], Egypt [yig'i´p'it];
  • - January [yi nva´rsky], core [yidro´], sting [yiz'v'i´t'], label [yirly´k], Japan [yipo´n'iya], lamb [yign'o´nak ];
  • (The only exceptions are rare foreign word forms and names: Caucasoid [ye wrap’io´idnaya], Eugene [ye] vge´niy, European [ye wrap’e´yits], diocese [ye] pa´rchia, etc.).
• immediately after a vowel in the 1st pre-stressed syllable or in the 1st, 2nd stressed syllable, except for the location at the absolute end of the word.
  • in a timely manner [piles vr'e´m'ina], trains [payi zda´], let's eat [payi d'i´m], run into [nayi zh: a´t '], Belgian [b'il'g'i´ yi c], students [uch'a´shch'iyi s'a], sentences [pr'idlazhe´n'iyi m'i], vanity [suyi ta´],
  • bark [la´yi t '], pendulum [ma´yi tn'ik], hare [za´yi ts], belt [po´yi s], declare [zai v'i´t '], I will manifest [prayi in 'l'u´]
• after a separating hard "b" or soft "b" sign: - intoxicates [p'yi n'i´t], express [izyi v'i´t'], announcement [abyi vl'e´n'iye], edible [sii do´bny].

Note: The St. Petersburg phonological school is characterized by "ekanye", while the Moscow school has "hiccups". Previously, the yottered "Yo" was pronounced with a more accentuated "ye". With the change of capitals, performing sound-letter parsing, adhere to Moscow norms in orthoepy.

Some people in fluent speech pronounce the vowel "I" in the same way in syllables with a strong and weak position. This pronunciation is considered a dialect and is not literary. Remember, the vowel “I” under stress and without stress is pronounced differently: fair [ya ´marka], but egg [yi ytso´].

Important:

Letter "I" after soft sign"b" also represents 2 sounds - [YI] in sound-letter analysis. (This rule is relevant for syllables in both strong and weak positions). Let's conduct a sample of sound-letter online parsing: - nightingales [salav'yi´], on chicken legs [on ku´r'yi' x "no´shkah], rabbit [cro´l'ich'yi], no family [s'im'yi´], judges [su´d'yi], draws [n'ich'yi´], streams [ruch'yi´], foxes [li´s'yi] But: The vowel "O" after the soft sign "b" is transcribed as apostrophe of softness ['] of the preceding consonant and [O], although when pronouncing the phoneme, iotization can be heard: broth [bul'o´n], pavillo n [pav'il'o´n], similarly: postman n, champignon n, shinho n, companion n, medallion n, battalion n, guillotina, carmagno la, minion n and others.

Phonetic analysis of words, when the vowels "Yu" "E" "Yo" "I" form 1 sound

According to the rules of phonetics of the Russian language, at a certain position in words, the indicated letters give one sound when:

• sound units "Yo" "Yu" "E" are under stress after an unpaired consonant in hardness: w, w, c. Then they denote phonemes:
  • yo - [o],
  • e - [e],
  • yu - [y].
  Examples of online parsing by sounds: yellow [yellow], silk [sho´ lx], whole [tse´ ly], recipe [r'ice´ Fri], pearls [zhe´ mch'uk], six [she´ st '], hornet [she´ rshen'], parachute [parashu´ t];
• The letters "I" "Yu" "E" "Yo" and "I" denote the softness of the preceding consonant [']. Exception only for: [w], [w], [c]. In such cases in a striking position they form one vowel sound:
  • ё - [o]: voucher [put'o´ fka], light [l'o´ hk'y], honey agaric [ap'o´ nak], actor [act'o´ r], child [r'ib' o´ nak];
  • e - [e]: seal [t'ul'e´ n '], mirror [z'e´ rkala], smarter [smart'e´ ye], conveyor [kanv'e´ yir];
  • i - [a]: kittens [kat'a´ ta], softly [m'a´ hka], oath [kl'a´ tva], took [vz'a´ l], mattress [t'u f'a ´ k], swan [l'ib'a´ zhy];
  • yu - [y]: beak [kl'u´ f], people [l'u´ d'am], gateway [shl'u´ s], tulle [t'u´ l'], suit [kas't 'mind].
  • Note: in words borrowed from other languages, the stressed vowel "E" does not always signal the softness of the previous consonant. This positional softening ceased to be a mandatory norm in Russian phonetics only in the 20th century. In such cases, when you do phonetic analysis by composition, such a vowel sound is transcribed as [e] without the preceding softness apostrophe: hotel [ate´ l '], strap [br'ite´ l'ka], test [te´ st] , tennis [te´ n: is], cafe [cafe´], puree [p'ure´], amber [ambre´], delta [de´ l'ta], tender [te´ nder], masterpiece [shede´ vr], tablet [tablet´ t].
• Attention! After soft consonants in prestressed syllables the vowels "E" and "I" undergo a qualitative reduction and are transformed into the sound [i] (excl. for [c], [g], [w]). Examples of phonetic parsing of words with similar phonemes: - grain [z'i rno´], earth [z'i ml'a´], cheerful [v'i s'o´ly], ringing [z'v 'and n'i´t], forest [l'and snowy], blizzard [m'i t'e´l'itsa], feather [n'i ro´], brought [pr' in'i sla´], knit [v'i za´t'], lay down [l'i ga´t'], five grater [n'i t'o´rka]

Phonetic analysis: consonant sounds of the Russian language

There is an absolute majority of consonants in Russian. When pronouncing a consonant sound, the air flow encounters obstacles. They are formed by organs of articulation: teeth, tongue, palate, vibrations of the vocal cords, lips. Due to this, noise, hissing, whistling or sonority occurs in the voice.

How many consonant sounds are there in Russian speech?

In the alphabet for their designation is used 21 letters. However, performing a sound-letter analysis, you will find that in Russian phonetics consonants more, namely - 36.

Sound-letter analysis: what are consonant sounds?

In our language, consonants are:

• hard - soft and form the corresponding pairs:
  • [b] - [b ’]: b anan - b tree,
  • [in] - [in ’]: in height - in June,
  • [g] - [g ’]: city - duke,
  • [d] - [d ']: dacha - d elfin,
  • [h] - [h ’]: z won - z ether,
  • [k] - [k ’]: to onfeta - to engur,
  • [l] - [l ’]: l odka - l lux,
  • [m] - [m ’]: magic - dreams,
  • [n] - [n ’]: new - n ectar,
  • [n] - [n ’]: n alma-p yosik,
  • [p] - [p ’]: r chamomile - r poison,
  • [s] - [s ’]: with uvenir - with a surprise,
  • [t] - [t ’]: t uchka - t tulip,
  • [f] - [f ’]: flag flag - February,
  • [x] - [x ’]: x orek - x hunter.
• Certain consonants do not have a hardness-softness pair. Unpaired include:
  • sounds [g], [c], [w] - always solid (life, cycle, mouse);
  • [h ’], [u’] and [y ’] are always soft (daughter, more often, yours).
• The sounds [w], [h ’], [w], [u’] in our language are called hissing.

A consonant can be voiced - deaf, as well as sonorous and noisy.

You can determine the sonority-deafness or sonority of a consonant by the degree of noise-voice. These characteristics will vary depending on the method of formation and participation of the organs of articulation.

• Sonorants (l, m, n, p, d) are the most sonorous phonemes, they hear a maximum of voice and a little noise: lion, paradise, zero.
• If, during the pronunciation of a word, both a voice and noise are formed during the sound analysis, then you have a voiced consonant (g, b, s, etc.): factory, b people, life from n.
• When pronouncing deaf consonants (p, s, t and others) vocal cords they don’t tense up, only noise is emitted: a stack, a chip, a dress, a circus, a sew up.

Note: In phonetics, consonant sound units also have a division according to the nature of formation: a bow (b, p, d, t) - a gap (g, w, h, s) and the method of articulation: labial-labial (b, p, m) , labio-dental (f, c), anterior lingual (t, d, h, s, c, f, w, u, h, n, l, r), middle lingual (d), posterior lingual (k, d, x) . The names are given based on the organs of articulation that are involved in sound production.

Hint: If you are just starting to practice phonetic parsing, try placing your hands over your ears and pronouncing the phoneme. If you managed to hear a voice, then the sound being studied is a voiced consonant, but if noise is heard, then it is deaf.

Hint: For associative communication, remember the phrases: “Oh, we didn’t forget a friend.” - in this proposal contains absolutely the entire set of voiced consonants (excluding softness-hardness pairs). “Styopka, do you want to eat cabbage soup? - Fi! - similarly, these replicas contain a set of all voiceless consonants.

Positional changes of consonant sounds in Russian

The consonant sound, like the vowel, undergoes changes. The same letter can phonetically mean different sound, depending on the position. In the flow of speech, the sound of one consonant is likened to the articulation of a nearby consonant. This effect facilitates pronunciation and is called assimilation in phonetics.

Positional stun/voicing

In a certain position for consonants, the phonetic law of assimilation by deafness-voicedness operates. The voiced double consonant is replaced by a voiceless one:

• at the absolute end of the phonetic word: but [no´sh], snow [s’n’e´k], garden [agaro´t], club [club´p];
• before deaf consonants: forget-me-not a [n’izabu´t ka], hug [aph wat’i´t’], Tuesday [ft o´rn’ik], tube a [corpse a].
• making sound letter parsing online, you will notice that a voiceless double consonant standing before a voiced one (except for [d'], [v] - [v'], [l] - [l'], [m] - [m'] , [n] - [n '], [p] - [p ']) is also voiced, that is, it is replaced by its own voiced pair: surrender [zda´ch'a], mowing [kaz'ba´], threshing [malad'ba´], request [pro´z'ba], guess [adgada´t '].

In Russian phonetics, a deaf noisy consonant does not combine with a subsequent voiced noisy consonant, except for the sounds [v] - [v’]: whipped cream. In this case, the transcription of both the phoneme [h] and [s] is equally acceptable.

When parsing by the sounds of words: total, today, today, etc., the letter "G" is replaced by the phoneme [v].

According to the rules of sound-letter analysis, in the endings of the "-th", "-his" names of adjectives, participles and pronouns, the consonant "G" is transcribed as a sound [v]: red [kra´snava], blue [s'i´n'iva] , white [b'e'lava], sharp, full, former, that, this, whom. If, after assimilation, two consonants of the same type are formed, they merge. In the school program on phonetics, this process is called contraction of consonants: separate [ad: 'il'i´t'] → the letters "T" and "D" are reduced to sounds [d'd'], silent smart [b'ish: u ´many]. When parsing by composition, a number of words in sound-letter analysis show dissimilation - the process is the opposite of assimilation. In this case, the common feature of the two adjacent consonants changes: the combination “GK” sounds like [hk] (instead of the standard [kk]): light [l'o′h'k'y], soft [m'a′h' k'iy].

Soft consonants in Russian

In the phonetic parsing scheme, the apostrophe ['] is used to indicate the softness of consonants.

• Softening of paired hard consonants occurs before "b";
• the softness of the consonant sound in the syllable in the letter will help determine the vowel that follows it (e, e, i, u, i);
• [u’], [h’] and [th] are only soft by default;
• the sound [n] always softens before the soft consonants “Z”, “S”, “D”, “T”: claim [pr'iten'z 'iya], review [r'icen'z 'iya], pension [pen 's' iya], ve [n'z '] spruce, face [n'z '] iya, ka [n'd '] idat, ba [n'd '] um, and [n'd '] ivid , blo[n'd'] in, stipe[n'd'] ia, ba[n't'] ik, wi[n't'] ik, zo[n't'] ik, ve[n' t '] il, a [n't '] personal, co[n't '] text, remo[n't '] to edit;
• the letters "N", "K", "R" during phonetic analysis of the composition can soften before soft sounds [h '], [u ']: glass ik [staka′n'ch'ik], changer ik [sm'e ′n'shch'ik], donut ik [po′n'ch'ik], mason ik [kam'e′n'sh'ik], boulevard ina [bul'var'r'shch'ina], borscht [ borsch'];
• often the sounds [h], [s], [r], [n] in front of a soft consonant undergo assimilation in terms of hardness-softness: wall [s't'e'nka], life [zhyz'n'], here [ z'd'es'];
• in order to correctly perform sound-literal analysis, consider the words of exception when the consonant [r] before soft teeth and lips, as well as before [h ’], [u’] is pronounced firmly: artel, feed, cornet, samovar;

Note: the letter "b" after a consonant unpaired in hardness / softness in some word forms performs only a grammatical function and does not impose a phonetic load: study, night, mouse, rye, etc. In such words, during literal analysis, a [-] dash is placed in square brackets opposite the letter “b”.

Positional changes in paired voiced-voiced consonants before sibilant consonants and their transcription in sound-letter parsing

To determine the number of sounds in a word, you need to consider them positional changes. Paired voiced-voiced: [d-t] or [s-s] before hissing (w, w, u, h) are phonetically replaced by a hissing consonant.

• Letter analysis and examples of words with hissing sounds: visitor [pr'iye´zhzh y], ascension [your e´stv'iye], izzhelta [i´zhzh elta], take pity [zhzh a´l'its: a].

The phenomenon when two different letters are pronounced as one is called complete assimilation in all respects. Performing sound-letter parsing of a word, you should designate one of the repeated sounds in transcription with the longitude symbol [:].

• Letter combinations with hissing "szh" - "zzh", are pronounced as a double solid consonant [zh:], and "ssh" - "zsh" - like [w:]: squeezed, sewn, without a tire, climbed.
• The combinations "zh", "zhzh" inside the root during sound-letter analysis is recorded in transcription as a long consonant [zh:]: I drive, squeal, later, reins, yeast, burnt.
• The combinations "sch", "sch" at the junction of the root and the suffix / prefix are ​​pronounced as a long soft [u':]: account [u': o´t], scribe, customer.
• At the junction of the preposition with the next word in place "sch", "zch" is transcribed as [sch'h']: without a number [b'esch' h' isla´], with something [sch'ch' em mta] .
• With a sound-letter analysis, the combinations "tch", "dch" at the junction of morphemes are defined as double soft [h ':]: pilot [l'o´ch': ik], young man ik [little´h ': ik], report ot [ah': o´t].

Cheat sheet for likening consonants at the place of formation

• mid → [u':]: happiness [u': a´s't'ye], sandstone [n'isch': a´n'ik], peddler [razno´sh': ik], cobbled, calculations, exhaust, clear;
• zch → [u’:]: carver [r’e´shch’: hic], loader [gru´shch’: hic], storyteller [raska´shch’: hic];
• ZhCh → [u’:]: defector [p’ir’ibe´ u’: ik], man [mush’: i´na];
• shh → [u’:]: freckled [v’isnu′shch’: common];
• stch → [u’:]: tougher [zho´shch’: e], whip, rigger;
• zdch → [u’:]: traverser [abye´shch’: ik], furrowed [baro´shch’: whit];
• ss → [u’:]: split [rasch’: ip’i′t ’], generous [rasch’: e′dr’ils’a];
• van → [h'sh']: split off [ach'sh' ip'i′t'], snap off [ach'sh' o'lk'ivat'], in vain [h'sh' etna], carefully [h' sh'at'el'na];
• tch → [h ':] : report [ah ': o't], homeland [ah ': izna], ciliated [r'is'n'i'ch ': i'ty];
• dh → [h’:] : underline [patch’: o’rk’ivat’], stepdaughter [pach’: ir’itsa];
• szh → [zh:]: compress [zh: a´t '];
• zzh → [zh:]: get rid of [izh: y´t '], ignition [ro´zh: yk], leave [uyizh: a´t '];
• ssh → [sh:]: bringing [pr’in’o′sh: th], embroidered [rash: y´ty];
• zsh → [w:] : inferior [n'ish: y'y]
• th → [pcs], in word forms with “what” and its derivatives, making a sound-literal analysis, we write [pcs]: so that [pcs about′by], ​​not for anything [n'e′ zasht a], anything [ sht o n'ibut'], something;
• thu → [h't] in other cases of literal parsing: dreamer [m'ich't a´t'il'], mail [po´ch't a], preference [pr'itpach't 'e´n' ie] and so on;
• ch → [shn] in exception words: of course [kan'e´shn a′], boring [sku´shn a′], bakery, laundry, scrambled eggs, trifling, birdhouse, bachelorette party, mustard plaster, rag, and also in female patronymics ending in "-ichna": Ilyinichna, Nikitichna, Kuzminichna, etc.;
• ch → [ch'n] - literal analysis for all other options: fabulous [fairytale'n], country [yes'ch'n], strawberry [z'im'l'in'i´ch'n th], wake up, cloudy, sunny, etc.;
• !zhd → in place of the letter combination “zhd”, a double pronunciation and transcription [u ’] or [pcs ’] in the word rain and in the word forms formed from it: rainy, rainy.

Unpronounceable consonants in the words of the Russian language

During the pronunciation of a whole phonetic word with a chain of many different consonant letters, one or another sound may be lost. As a result, in the orthograms of words there are letters devoid of sound value, the so-called unpronounceable consonants. To correctly perform phonetic analysis online, the unpronounceable consonant is not displayed in the transcription. The number of sounds in such phonetic words will be less than letters.

In Russian phonetics, unpronounceable consonants include:

• "T" - in combinations:
  • stn → [sn]: local [m’e´sny], reed [tras’n ’i´k]. By analogy, you can perform a phonetic analysis of the words ladder, honest, famous, joyful, sad, participant, messenger, rainy, furious and others;
  • stl → [sl]: happy [w’: asl ’and’vy "], happy ivchik, conscientious, boastful (exception words: bony and spread, the letter “T” is pronounced in them);
  • ntsk → [nsk]: gigantic [g’iga´nsk ’y], agency, presidential;
  • sts → [s:]: sixs from [shes: o´t], eat up I [vzye´s: a], swear I [kl’a´s: a];
  • sts → [s:] : tourist cue [tur'i´s: k'iy], maximalist cue [max'imal'i´s: k'iy], racist cue [ras'i´s: k'iy] , bestseller, propaganda, expressionist, hindu, careerist;
  • ntg → [ng]: roentgen en [r'eng 'e´n];
  • “-tsya”, “-tsya” → [c:] in verb endings: smile [smile´ts: a], wash [we´ts: a], look, fit, bow, shave, fit;
  • ts → [ts] for adjectives in combinations at the junction of the root and the suffix: children's [d'e'ts k'y], fraternal [brother's];
  • ts → [ts:] / [tss]: athlete men [sparts: m’e´n], send [acs yla´t ’];
  • ts → [ts:] at the junction of morphemes during phonetic analysis online is written as a long “ts”: bratts a [bra´ts: a], ottsepit [atz: yp'i´t'], to father u [katz: y'];
• "D" - when parsing by sounds in the following letter combinations:
  • zdn → [zn]: late [po´z'n' y], starry [z'v'o´zn y], holiday [pra′z'n 'ik], gratuitous [b'izvazm' e′zn y];
  • ndsh → [nsh]: mundsh tuk [munsh tu´k], landsh aft [lansh a´ft];
  • ndsk → [nsk]: Dutch [gala´nsk ’y], Thai [taila´nsk ’y], Norman y [narm´nsk ’y];
  • zdts → [sts]: under the bridles [pad sts s´];
  • nds → [nc]: Dutch s [gala´nts s];
  • rdts → [rc]: heart [s’e´rts e], evina’s heart [s’irts yv’i´na];
  • rdch → [rch "]: heart-ishko [s’erch ’i´shka];
  • dts → [ts:] at the junction of morphemes, less often in roots, are pronounced and when parsing the word it is written as a double [ts]: pick up [pats: yp'i´t '], twenty [two´ts: yt '] ;
  • ds → [ts]: factory [zavats ko´y], kinship [rational tvo´], means [sr’e´ts tva], Kislovods to [k’islavo´ts k];
• "L" - in combinations:
  • sun → [nc]: sun e [so´nts e], sun state;
• "B" - in combinations:
  • vstv → [stv] literal analysis of words: hello [hello uyt'e], feelings about [h'u´stva], sensuality [h'u´stv 'inas't'], pampering about [pampering o´], virgin [d'e´st 'in: y].

Note: In some words of the Russian language, with the accumulation of consonant sounds “stk”, “ntk”, “zdk”, “ndk”, the phoneme [t] is not allowed: trip [paye´stka], daughter-in-law, typist, agenda, laboratory assistant, student , patient, bulky, Irish, Scottish.

• Two identical letters immediately after the stressed vowel are transcribed as a single sound and a longitude character [:] in literal parsing: class, bath, mass, group, program.
• Doubled consonants in pre-stressed syllables are indicated in transcription and pronounced as one sound: tunnel [tane´l '], terrace, apparatus.

If you find it difficult to perform a phonetic analysis of a word online according to the indicated rules or you have an ambiguous analysis of the word under study, use the help of a reference dictionary. Literary norms orthoepies are regulated by the publication: “Russian literary pronunciation and stress. Dictionary - reference book. M. 1959

References:

• Litnevskaya E.I. Russian language: a short theoretical course for schoolchildren. – Moscow State University, Moscow: 2000
• Panov M.V. Russian phonetics. – Enlightenment, M.: 1967
• Beshenkova E.V., Ivanova O.E. Rules of Russian spelling with comments.
• Tutorial. - "Institute for advanced training of educators", Tambov: 2012
• Rosenthal D.E., Dzhandzhakova E.V., Kabanova N.P. A guide to spelling, pronunciation, literary editing. Russian literary pronunciation. - M .: CheRo, 1999

Now you know how to parse a word into sounds, make a sound-letter analysis of each syllable and determine their number. The described rules explain the laws of phonetics in the format of a school curriculum. They will help you phonetically characterize any letter.

Starting to learn a foreign language, a person is faced with the need to pronounce new words correctly. Unlike Slavic languages, in which most words are read according to certain rules, in the same English there are quite a few exceptions to the rules for reading words. Phonetic transcription of words will help to pronounce and read words correctly. And although it often seems that this is a complex concept, in fact, everything is very simple, once you understand this issue.

The concept of phonetic transcription

Phonetic transcription is a way of graphic recording of the sounds of oral speech. Transcription is incredibly accurate and based on correct pronunciation. To achieve this, each transcription mark has a corresponding graphic symbol, and each symbol, in turn, corresponds to a well-defined sound.

With the help of transcription, it is possible to record in writing not only the pronunciation of sounds and words, but also sentences and texts.

Basic transcription rules

1) First of all, transcription is always recorded in special square brackets: .

2) If the transcribed word has two or more syllables, the stress must be placed.
3) If two words are read together, in phonetic transcription this is fixed using the league icon: [v_dom].
4) Capital letters are not written in the transcription.
5) If a sentence or text is transcribed, punctuation marks are not put. Instead, they put beveled vertical lines / (if the pause is small like a comma), // (with a longer pause), like a period or semicolon.
6) The softness of a consonant is indicated in transcription with an apostrophe placed to the right of the letter.
7) A non-syllabic sound is shown by an arc below it.
8) The length of the sound is indicated with a colon [a:], sometimes with a horizontal line above the letter.
9) To write words, there is a specially developed international phonetic alphabet, which is based on Latin letters, as well as some icons taken from the Greek alphabet.

10) Slavic languages Cyrillic can also be written in Cyrillic letters (this applies to East Slavic languages).

Transcription in Russian

Despite its apparent simplicity, Russian transcription has a lot of nuances, without knowing which it will be difficult to correctly write down the transcribed word. Transcription in Russian is subject to general rules transcription, however, there are additional features.

1) Consonants are written using all consonants of the Cyrillic letters of the alphabet, with the exception of y and u.
2) b and b do not denote sounds, therefore they are not recorded in transcription.
3) The sounds [th] and [h] are always soft, so in transcription they are not indicated by the softness icon.
4) The sounds [w], [w], [c] are always solid, although in rare cases the letter w can give soft sound[zh "]. If after them there is a letter e, it is written in transcription as [e]: "ts[e] thread".
5) The letter u, in transcription, is the sound [w: "] or [w"].
6) If the vowels are stressed, they are pronounced clearly and written using six characters: [a], [y], [o], [i], [e], [s].
7) Diphthongs yu, i e, e denote two sounds and are written in transcription respectively [yu], [ya], [ye], [yo], provided that they are either at the beginning of a word or after a vowel, b or b , in other cases - after consonants - they denote one sound [y], [a], [e], [o], with the designation of the previous consonant soft.
8) The letter and after the separating b becomes a diphthong and its transcription is [yy] - mura [in "yy].
9) Y in the transcription of some words is written as [j] for example "cha [j] ka".
10) The letters o and a, at the very beginning of a word or in the first syllable without stress in transcription, sound like [a], but the [^] icon is used to write them.
11) After soft consonants in syllables without stress, the letters e and i in transcription will be recorded as a kind of sound [ie]: [r'ieb'ina] - "rowan".
Interestingly, most Russian dictionaries do not indicate the transcription of words, so you need to either learn how to do it yourself, or use the services of online resources that do it.

Transcription in English

If Russian transcription can be written in either Latin or Cyrillic, then English transcription is always written using the IPA Latin alphabet. It is also subject to the rules and symbols common to all languages ​​for transcribing words. However, unlike Russian, the pronunciation of English words has a more historical tradition and often does not follow the rules. In such cases, transcription is the only way to pronounce the word correctly. Therefore, most English words in dictionaries they are written with transcription. The table below shows the main characters used in the transcription of English words.

Knowing what phonetic transcription is is very important, because this knowledge enables anyone not only to correctly read a word in a foreign language, but also to pronounce the words of their native language correctly.

A special recording of speech, which is used to fix in writing all the features of sound, begins to be studied already in high school. The first thing a student learns about transcription is the square brackets. If the text is placed in [...], then this is definitely a phonetic transcription.

In addition, you need to know that the word itself comes from the Latin (transcription - rewriting), denoting a special letter that captures sounding speech. Russian phonetic transcription, of course, will be based on the Russian alphabet, from which the letters "e", "e", "y", "yu", "u", "ya" were removed, the letters "b" and "b" were instructed to denote special unstressed vowels, and when Russian letters were not enough as a result of these actions, they called the Latin "j" (iot) and the Greek "Y" (gamma).

What is phonetic transcription for?

1. It is necessary to hear native speech and know the norms of literary pronunciation.

2. When studying foreign languages, where spelling almost always differs from pronunciation.

3. To record a language that does not have a written language, dialectal speech, hieroglyphs.

Living sound processes are rarely reflected in orthographic writing, while phonetic writing differs sharply from it. Among the letters reigns the strictest tradition. And the phonetic transcription of the text fully conveys the entire flow of speech with all the changes in the sound system of the language.

letter and sound

The Russian writing system was built so perfectly that it took into account all the phonetic features of the Slavic language. In the ninth century, Constantine the philosopher, and in monasticism - Cyril, our Saint and Equal to the Apostles, compiled the Slavic alphabet, which was named after the creator - Cyrillic.

The phonetic transcription of the Russian language is not as simple as that of the Bulgarian brothers, for example. This is because a letter often conveys two sounds with us, or vice versa: one sound is obtained when reading two letters. Recordings are sometimes so funny that with the development of the Internet, young people, being mischievous, came up with a way to communicate in chats in the "Albanian language", where, for example, the word "hedgehog" consisted of four letters, among which there was not a single correct one. Guessing the word in these letters is not so easy, because "yosh" does not fit in the head. It's almost a transcription. There are not enough square brackets, and also the knowledge that the letter "y" in transcription is most often denoted by "j", and a soft sign cannot be present here, because there is nothing to soften. Correct phonetic transcription of the word: [yosh].

Soft consonants

In a letter, after consonants designed to become soft, you need to write not the letters "a", "y", "o", "e", but softening - "I", "yu", "e", "e". In endings, a soft sign is added to the consonant (in the pre-revolutionary alphabet it was called "er"). Phonetic transcription requires an apostrophe to denote the softness of a consonant. There is only one exception - "y", that is, [j], it is quite good without an apostrophe. The rest are designated as follows: [m "].

Spelling rules, that is, spelling, quite often do not convey exactly the sound that is pronounced in the word. Transcription marks are required to fix the pronunciation as accurately as possible. For example, we write the word "side", and say: [bʌkav`oy].

accents

Did you notice that some strange apostophe is attached to the letter "v"? And this is not an apostrophe at all, but an accent. In writing, unstressed vowels are not indicated in any way. Try to say the word "pencil". Isn't it true that all vowels written the same way sound different? Unstressed ones are shorter and slightly weaker than the same stressed vowel. Phonetic transcription must also emphasize this difference: [karʌndʌash].

There is also a reduction here: do you hear the almost complete disappearance of the first vowel? The sounds we briefly uttered are most often indicated by the same signs as percussion, but without stress, but the “swallowed”, that is, those that have undergone radical changes in pronunciation, have special signs: the old “er” [b] and “er” [b] . They do not denote any sounds, but during transcription, as in this case, they have a very important function.

Only special editions (dictionaries, textbooks for foreigners, literature for young children) leave an accent mark in words, but transcription must mark it where the word has more than one syllable.

Stress in Russian is very mobile, it freely walks through the syllables of the word, is not bound by constancy: city - city, window - window. It is so dynamically strong that the stressed syllable becomes much stronger than the unstressed one. This weakening is called reduction. There are its first and second degrees, depending on the position of the vowel: the first - on the first pre-stressed, the second - on more than the first pre-stressed, as well as stressed position.

Long consonants

Some consonants are only long and soft. These are "u" - the sound [w":] and "zh" - the sound [zh":]. If the spelling dictates two identical consonants - "cash", for example, then the phonetic transcription will differ significantly from this construction, since the pronunciation requires one but long sound: [k`as: a].

However, the notation in textbooks varies. You can also meet [k'assa]. Sometimes they write one letter "c", but underline it on top.

phonetic word

What is a word? In writing and transcription, this is not at all the same thing. In writing, we distinguish parts of speech into service or independent, and write everything separately. Suggestions, for example. The phonetic transcription of Russian words suggests a different attitude. This is a sequence of syllables in a single whole, a phonetic word has a single organizing center, a single stress.

This means that all prepositions, conjunctions, particles that are pronounced together with their main words are also written in the same way. Of course, all changes that have occurred with the sounds that make up the word are also recorded. For example, "with him" -, "beyond the river" - [zar "ik`oy], even more interesting: "asked b" - [spʌs"` ilp].

The details with which the phonetic transcription is recorded depend on the characteristics of the sound, where both individual and situational (emotional, for example) speech productions are included. Here the phonetic transcription of the pronunciation as such dictates.

Now back to basics

The Russian alphabet consists of thirty-three letters, the so-called graphemes, which we divide into vowels and consonants. The sound form of each grapheme is a phoneme that has variants, that is, allophones.

Consonants are divided into voiceless and voiced. It's pretty simple. A jet of air vibrates the vocal cords and thus causes a sound - a tone, which is then modified by natural barriers in the oral and nasal cavities, converting the tone into noise. According to the nature of this noise, it is easy to divide consonants into voiced ones (in which the tone has not completely “died”) and deaf ones, in which there is nothing left but noise.

It is necessary to divide them into soft and hard. There are thirty-three letters in the alphabet, and thirty-six phonemes of only consonants. Of these, fifteen are paired (hard-soft), always hard three consonants ("sh", "g", "c") and three are always soft ("h", "u", "d").

Vowel sounds voice box when the air jet exits, it does not put any barriers, leaving them with the purest tone. So we have six vowel phonemes: "a", "y", "e", "i", "o", "s". Allophones are also present here and depend on the stress in the word.

Phonetic transcription rules for schoolchildren

1. Transcription is always placed in square brackets.

2. Capital letters and punctuation marks are not used. Pauses, most often coinciding with punctuation marks, are fixed with a double line - a long, significant pause, or a single line - a short pause.

3. Words consisting of two or more syllables must be stressed.

4. Two words, united by one stress, are written together: to the garden - [fsat].

5. Soft consonants necessarily with an apostrophe: sat down -.

6. Among consonants, phonetic transcription never uses "u" and "y".

7. Long consonants are indicated either by an overline or a colon: bath - [van: a]. The letter "u" is not used, but its phoneme is [w"] or [w":].

8. The sounds u, y, h are only soft, however, the apostrophe for "h" and "y" is not allowed, although it sometimes occurs. "F", "w", "c" are always only solid. Exceptions for French words: parachute, jury, julienne, Jules (Verne) and so on, in which the letter "zh" is written [zh"].

Vowel sounds

Stressed vowels have six characters: [i], [s], [y], [e], [o], [a]. For example, feast - [p'ir], ardor - [ardor], ray - [beam], forest - [l'es], house - [house], garden - [garden].

For the letters "e", "yo", "yu", "ya" one sound is not enough, therefore "e" is [ye], "yo" - [yo], "I" - [ya], "yu" - [yu]. If after the letter "and" the spelling dictates a soft sign, then the phonetic transcription will also write doubly: sparrows - [varʌb`yi]. Just do not forget that the letter "y" is replaced by the Latin "j".

Do you know why Russian is so hard for foreigners to learn? Especially those whose languages ​​are not at all similar to Russian? One of the reasons is that you can’t say anything about our language, that words can be written as they are heard. We say “MALAKO”, but we remember that the word must be written through 3 letters O: “MILKO”.

This is the simplest and most obvious example. And no one, as a rule, thinks about how the transcription (that is, the graphic recording of sounds) of the most familiar words for us looks like. To learn how to figure out what sounds words consist of, schools and even universities perform such a task as phonetic analysis of a word.

It is not easy for everyone, but we will help you understand and successfully cope with it in the classroom and when preparing homework.

Phonetic analysis of the word- a task aimed at disassembling a word into letters and sounds. Compare how many letters it contains and how many sounds. And find out that the same letters in different positions can mean different sounds.

Vowels

There are 10 vowels in the alphabet of the Russian language: "a", "o", "y", "e", "s", "ya", "e", "yu", "e", "i".

But there are only 6 vowels: [a], [o], [y], [e], [s], [and]. The vowels "e", "ё", "yu", "ya" consist of two sounds: vowel + th. They are written as follows: "e" = [y'+e], "e" = [y'+o], "yu" = [y'+y], "i" = [y'+a]. And they are called iotized.

Remember that in transcription “e”, “e”, “yu”, “I” do not always decompose into two sounds. But only in the following cases:

1. when they stand at the beginning of the word: food [y'eda], ruff [y'orsh], skirt [y'upka], pit [y'ama];
2. when they stand after other vowels: my [my'em], my [may'o], wash [my'ut], warrior [way'aka];
3. when they stand after “b” and “b”: pedestal [p’y’ed’estal], drink [p’y’ot], drink [p’y’ut], nightingale [salav’y’a].

If "e", "e", "yu", "i" are in the word after soft consonants, they can be confused with [a], [o], [y], [e]: ball [m'ach'] , honey [m'ot], muesli [m'usl'i], branch [v'etka]. They denote one sound in a position after consonants and under stress.

Not under the stress “e”, “e”, “yu”, “I” give a sound [and]: rows [r’ida], forest [l’isok]. In other cases, the letter "I" without stress can be pronounced as [e]: quagmire [tr'es'ina].

Another interesting thing about the relationship between “b” and vowels: if after the soft sign in the word there is the letter “and”, it is pronounced as two sounds: streams [ruch’y’i].

But after the consonants "zh", "sh" and "c", the letter "i" gives the sound [s]: reeds [reeds].

The vowels "a", "o", "u", "e", "s" denote the hardness of consonants. The vowels "e", "ё", "yu", "ya", "and" denote the softness of consonant sounds.

By the way, in many words with the vowel "ё" it is always stressed. But this rule does not work for loanwords (amebiasis) and compound words (such as trinuclear).

Consonants

There are 21 consonants in Russian. And these letters form as many as 36 sounds! How is this possible? Let's figure it out.

So, among the consonants there are 6 pairs according to the sonority of deafness:

1. [b] - [p]: [b] a [b] eyelet - [p] a [n] a;
2. [c] - [f]: [c] oda - [f] anera;
3. [g] - [k]: [g] olos - [k] orova;
4. [d] - [t]: [d ’] yatel - [t] teaching;
5. [w] - [w]: [w ’] life - [w] suba;
6. [h] - [s]: [h ’] ima - o [s ’] en.

This is interesting because paired sounds are denoted by different letters. Such pairs are not found in all languages. And in some, for example, Korean, paired voiceless and voiced sounds are indicated by the same letter. Those. the same letter is read as a voiced or unvoiced sound, depending on the position in the word.

And there are 15 pairs of hardness-softness:

1. [b] - [b ’]: [b] a [b] point - [b ’] tree;
2. [in] - [in ']: [in] ata - [in '] fork;
3. [g] - [g ’]: [g] amak - [g ’] idrant;
4. [d] - [d ']: [d] wait [d '];
5. [h] - [h ’]: [h] gold - [h ’] to eat;
6. [k] - [k ']: [k] mouth - [k '] true;
7. [l] - [l ']: [l] dot - [l '] istik;
8. [m] - [m ’]: [m] a [m] a - [m ’] claim;
9. [n] - [n ']: [n] os - [n '] yuh;
10. [n] - [n ']: [n] archa - [n '] and [n '] mark;
11. [r] - [r ’]: [r] ys - [r ’] is;
12. [s] - [s ']: [s] both - [s '] herring;
13. [t] - [t ’]: [t] apok - [t ’] hen;
14. [f] - [f ']: [f] camera - [f '] hunting;
15. [x] - [x ']: [x] okkey - [x '] ek.

As you can see, the softness of sounds is provided by the letter “b” and soft consonants after the consonants.

There are unpaired consonant sounds in Russian that are never deaf:

• [th '] - [th '] od;
• [l] - [l]ama;
• [l '] - [l '] lake;
• [m] - [m] orkovka;
• [m '] - [m '] yusli;
• [n] - [n] rhino;
• [n '] - [n '] bat;
• [r] - [r] daisy;
• [p '] - [p '] child.

To make it easier to remember all voiced sounds, you can use the following phrase: "We didn't forget each other".

As well as unpaired sounds, which, in turn, are never voiced. Try reading the words from the examples aloud and see for yourself:

• [x] - [x] orek;
• [x ‘] - [x ‘] irrg;
• [c] - [c] drop;
• [h '] - [h '] man;
• [u’] - [u’] etina.

To remember exactly which sounds remain deaf in any situation, two phrases will help: "Stepka, do you want a cabbage?" - "Fi!" and “Foka, do you want to eat a cabbage soup?”.

If you carefully read the examples above, you probably already noticed that some consonants in Russian are never soft:

• [f] - [f]uk and even [f] acorn;
• [w] - [w] uba and [w] ilo are read equally firmly;
• [c] - [c] scratch and [c] irk - the same thing, the sound is pronounced firmly.

Remember that in some borrowed words and names, “w” is still soft [w ’]: jury [w ’] yuri, Julien [w ’] julienne.

Similarly, there are consonants in Russian that are never pronounced firmly:

• [th '] - [th '] cucumber;
• [h '] - [h '] yell and [h '] asy - the sound is equally soft;
• [u’] - [u’] eka and [u’] dropped - similarly: no matter what vowel comes after this consonant, it is still pronounced softly.

Sometimes, in some textbooks, the softness of these sounds is not indicated by an apostrophe during transcription - since everyone already knows that these sounds are not hard in Russian. And “u” is often referred to as [w ’:].

Remember also that the consonants "zh", "sh", "h", "u" are called hissing.

Phonetic parsing plan

1. First you need to spell the word correctly in terms of spelling.
2. Then divide the word into syllables (remember that there are as many syllables in a word as there are vowels in it), mark the stressed syllable.
3. The next item is the phonetic transcription of the word. Do not immediately transcribe the word - first try to pronounce it out loud. If necessary, speak several times - until you can say with certainty which sounds to record.
4. Describe in order all vowel sounds: designate stressed and unstressed.
5. Describe in order all consonant sounds: designate paired and unpaired ones according to sonority / deafness and hardness / softness.
6. Count and write down how many letters and how many sounds are in the word.
7. Note those cases in which the number of sounds does not correspond to the number of letters, and explain them.

In written phonetic analysis, sounds are written from top to bottom in a column, each sound is enclosed in square brackets -. At the end, you should draw a line and under it write down the number of letters and sounds in the word.

Special transcription marks

Now about how to correctly designate sounds during transcription:

• ["] - this is how the stressed vowel is designated in the main stressed syllable (O "canopy);
• [ `] - this is how a side (secondary) substressed vowel sound is indicated: usually such a substressed syllable is located at the beginning of a word, occurs in compound words and words with prefixes anti-, inter-, near-, counter-, super-, super-, ex -, vice and others (`near "many);
• ['] - a sign of softening a consonant sound;
• [Λ] - transcription sign for "o" and "a" in the following cases: position at the beginning of a word, the first pre-stressed syllable in a position after a solid consonant (arch [Λrka], king [kΛrol']);
• - a more "advanced" transcription sign for recording iotized sounds, you can also use [y '].
• [and e] - something between [and] and [e], used to denote the vowels "a", "e", "e" in the first pre-stressed syllable in a position after a soft consonant (baubles [bl "and e sleep]) ;
• [s e] - something between [s] and [e] or [s] and [a], is used to denote the vowels “e”, “e” in the first pre-stressed syllable in position after a solid consonant (whisper [shy e ptat '];
• [b] - a transcription sign for the vowels "o", "a", "e" in positions after a solid consonant in the pre-stressed and stressed syllable (milk [milk]);
• [b] - a transcription sign for the vowels "o", "a", "ya", "e" in the position after a soft consonant in an unstressed syllable (mitten [var'shka]);
• [–] - a sign indicating the absence of sound in place of "ъ" and "ь";
• [ ‾ ] / [ : ] - transcription marks (you can use one or the other of your choice - this will not be a mistake) to indicate the longitude of consonants (to be afraid of [bΛy'atz: b]).

As you can see, everything is very difficult with the transcription of letters into sounds. In the school curriculum, as a rule, these complicated and more accurate transcription signs are not used or are used little. Only with in-depth study of the Russian language. Therefore, instead of “and with an overtone e” and other complex designations, it is allowed to use the sounds [a], [o], [y], [e], [s], [i] and [th ’] in phonetic analysis.

Transcription rules

Do not forget also about the following rules for transcription of consonants:

• voicing of deaf consonants in a position before voiced ones (bend [zg'ibat '], mowing [kΛz'ba]);
• stunning voiced consonants in position at the end of a word (ark [kΛfch'ek]);
• stunning a voiced consonant in a position before a deaf one, for example, a voiced “g”, which can turn into deaf sounds [k] and [x] (nails [noct’i], light [l’ohk’iy’]);
• softening of the consonants "n", "s", "z", "t", "d" in a position in front of soft consonants (kantik [kan't'ik]);
• mitigation of “s” and “z” in prefixes with-, from-, times- in the position before “b” (remove [from’y’at’]);
• unreadable consonants "t", "d", "v", "l" in combinations of several consonant letters in a row: in this case, the combination "stn" is pronounced as [sn], and "zdn" - as [zn] (district [uy 'ezny']);
• combinations of the letters "sch", "zch", "zsch" are read as [u'] (accounts [sh'oty]);
• combinations of "ch", "th" are pronounced [w] (what [what], of course [kΛn'eshn]);
• infinitive suffixes -tsya / -tsya are transcribed [c] (bite [bite: b]);
• the endings of the -th / -it are pronounced through the sound [in] (your [tvy’evo]);
• in words with double consonants, two transcription options are possible: 1) double consonants are located after the stressed syllable and form a double sound (kassa [kas: b]); 2) double consonants are located before the stressed syllable and give the usual consonant sound (million [m'il'ion]).

And now let's look at the phonetic transcription of words with examples. For recording, we will use a simplified system of transcription of consonants.

Examples of phonetic transcription of words

1. departure
2. ot-e "zd (2 syllables, stress falls on the 2nd syllable)
3. [aty'e "st]
4. o - [a] - vowel, unstressed
   t- [t] - consonant, deaf (pair), hard (pair)
   ъ – [–]
   e - [y ’] - consonant, voiced (unpaired), soft (unpaired) and [e] - vowel, stressed
   s - [s] - consonant, deaf (pair), hard (pair)
   d - [t] - consonant, deaf (pair), hard (pair)
5. 6 letters, 6 sounds
6. The letter "e" after the dividing "b" gives two sounds: [th "] and [e]; the letter "d" at the end of the word is stunned into the sound [t]; the letter "z" is stunned to the sound [c] in the position before the deaf sound.

One more example:

1. grammar
2. gram-ma "-ti-ka (4 syllables, stress falls on the 2nd syllable)
3. [gram: at "ika]
4. g - [g] - consonant, voiced (paired), solid (solid)
   p - [r] - consonant, voiced (unpaired), solid (paired)
   mm - [m:] - double sound, consonant, voiced (unpaired), solid (paired)
   a - [a] - vowel, stressed
   t - [t '] - consonant, deaf (pair), soft (pair)
   k - [k] - consonant, deaf (paired), solid (paired)
   a - [a] - vowel, unstressed
5. 10 letters, 9 sounds
6. Double consonants "mm" give a double sound [m:]

And last:

1. became
2. sta-no-vi "-lis (4 syllables, stress falls on the 3rd syllable)
3. [standav'i "l'is']
4. s - [s] - consonant, deaf (pair), hard (pair)
   t - [t] - concordant, deaf (paired), solid (paired)
   a - [a] - vowel, unstressed
   n - [n] - consonant, voiced (unpaired), solid (paired)
   o - [a] - vowel, unstressed
   in - [in '] - consonant, voiced (paired), soft (paired)
   and - [and] - vowel, stressed
   l - [l '] - consonant, voiced (unpaired), soft (paired)
   and - [and] - vowel, unstressed
   s - [s '] - consonant, deaf (paired), soft (paired)
   b - [-]
5. 11 letters, 10 sounds
6. The letter "o" in an unstressed position gives the sound [a]; the letter "b" does not denote a sound and serves to soften the consonant preceding it.

Instead of an afterword

Well, did this article help you deal with the phonetic parsing of words? It is not so easy to correctly write down the sounds that make up a word - there are many pitfalls along the way. But we tried to make it easier for you and explain all the slippery moments in as much detail as possible. Now such a task at school will not seem very difficult to you. Don't forget to teach your classmates and show them our helpful instructions.

Use this article when preparing for lessons and passing the GIA and the Unified State Examination. And be sure to tell us in the comments what examples of phonetic parsing of words you are asked at school.

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