Undoubtedly, when parents send a small child to first grade, the child may encounter new and unforeseen difficulties. He receives most of the knowledge from his teacher, but not everything can be assimilated and remain in his head forever. The problem may be that the child is still too young to have time to “grab” everything at once.
Such barriers can be given in many subjects and topics. And no, it's not only exact sciences, such as mathematics and natural history. The Russian language can also be overwhelming for many children, because it is one of the the most complex languages peace!
As you know, everything big begins with small things, and children, as a rule, begin to study Russian with sounds, which in turn are classified into soft or hard consonants, stressed consonants and unstressed ones. This topic includes many aspects, the study of which is extremely necessary so that every child can perfectly know the basics of the Russian language.
First of all, for a student to begin to study sounds and their features, he needs to become familiar with the letters, which in their own way are divided into consonants and vowels. You also need to know that there are as many as 33 letters in the alphabet, of which only 21 are consonant sounds in the Russian language, which in pronunciation can give 36 different sound pronunciations.
Consonants are always classified. There are hard and soft consonants, voiceless or voiced, sonorant and noisy, paired or unpaired. At the same time, the voiceless and voiced consonants of the word being defined depend on the pronunciation. They consist of noise and voice. Thus, dull sounds are formed with the help of noise and give only deafness, while the latter are distinguished by the presence of sonority due to the voice.
There are fewer vowel sounds; there are only 10 of them in the alphabet, giving only six sounds. They can be shock or unstressed. When the future first-grader has already familiarized himself with and understood well this material, we begin to improve the skill when the student could easily distinguish a soft consonant sound from a hard one.
At the same time, you need to learn to distinguish using different signs, because simply memorizing does not always help. There are cases when a consonant sound in a word can sound either soft or hard, but there are exceptions. Now let's start learning the rules.
Before what vowel?
Which vowels are soft and which are hard? Let's try to figure it out. The first rule sounds like this: “In the case when a consonant is followed by one of the following vowels - a, o, u, e, s - then the sound will always be hard. And “e, yu, ya, e” always makes consonants soft.” As a result, the last all consonant soft words are given. For example, let’s take the word “mother”.
After the consonant “m” comes the vowel “a”, which makes the sound hard, and in the word “uncle” the sounds “ya - ya” make the consonant “d” soft. If children learn this simple rule and learn to use it, subsequent determination of the softness or hardness of a sound will not be difficult for them.
To reinforce the material “Hard and soft consonant sounds” even better, give children similar exercises that reinforce these rules. We advise you to start with the simplest words.
Two consonants in a row
In the case of subsequent consonants, we figured it out without difficulty, but what to do when two consonants are in a row and how to determine the characteristics of the sound in this case? Another rule applies here. Such cases always mean that the consonant will always be hard. Only soft consonants do not appear in this rule.
- As an example, you can take the word “pen”. After “ch” comes the sound “k”, and the child must understand that “ch” will automatically become a hard sound, since the next “k” is a consonant.
- Take your time when explaining to your child these simple, but important and sometimes confusing rules. Monitor whether the child understands, ask questions and don’t be lazy to explain several times.
Indication of hardness and softness in writing
Traditionally, all sound recordings are made through transcription. So, in transcription, if the sound is soft, we put an apostrophe after it, which looks like a comma on top. Showing: `. For example, take the letter “b”. In the word “lamb” there is a hard sound, its sound recording is as follows: [b], and in the word “white” it is already [b`]. In the word “ice”, only “l” and “d” will be soft. That is, in essence, the child writes the same letter, but it, in turn, has different pronunciations.
In transcriptions and in writing, a similar moment can be indicated differently, that is, in two ways:
- In the case when soft consonants in Russian appear at the end of a word or before another consonant (in most cases a hard one), softness is indicated by a soft sign, the transcription is an apostrophe. For example, “horse”, “ash”
- If after a consonant there is a softening vowel (which one, see above in the rule), then it is with its help that the softness of consonant sounds is indicated. For example: “chalk”, “sang”, “luk” - the first sounds are always soft.
It is important to know that you should not ignore the fact that any method of indicating the softness of a sound applies only to those who have a pair in hardness. This means that, for example, in the words “tush” and “tush” soft sign in the second case, it indicates only that the given object/phenomenon/creature belongs to the feminine gender. Similar words are: “pike”, “sew”, “drink”, “thicket”.
Constant hardness and softness of a consonant sound
You need to know that there are sounds that, regardless of position, rule or even exception, do not change their position. These are “zh, sh, ts” - they are always hard, and “ch, shch, th” are invariably soft, where zh, sh, ch, shch are hissing consonant sounds.
But it can be difficult for children to remember this aspect well, and then the parent can easily prepare a reminder in a notebook, which will look something like this: zh, sh, ts, ch`, sch`, й`or just underline the last three letters.
“Soft” words
This can be called words in which all soft consonant sounds are soft. Their great amount. For example: “frost”, “glasses”, “skullcaps”, “fun”, “predators”, “squint” - these are words with soft consonants.
- A very exciting and educational activity not only for the child, but also for the parent, will be the search for similar new words in which all the consonants are soft.
- If you have any difficulties, please contact our help! “Pikes”, “uncle”, “blizzard”, “aunt”, “rulers”, “fives”, “ten”, “lilac”, “dates”, “nannies”, “cherry”, “ten” - words, where all consonants are soft. Also play in reverse: we look for all the consonants in the words that are now hard.
Learning by playing
Some sources and reference books recommend focusing on educational games. That is, a child who is carried away by such an activity does not notice how he grasps and learns difficult material. An example of such a game could be the familiar “Find a Pair”.
All that is necessary is to give the child words with hard sounds, and he must come up with something else in response, but with soft ones. This is how you can easily and naturally learn soft consonant sounds in 1st grade!
In the Russian language, not all speech sounds are designated, but only the main ones. The Russian language has 43 basic sounds - 6 vowels and 37 consonants, while the number of letters is 33. The number of basic vowels (10 letters, but 6 sounds) and consonants (21 letters, but 37 sounds) also does not match. The difference in the quantitative composition of basic sounds and letters is determined by the peculiarities of Russian writing. In the Russian language, hard and soft sounds are denoted by the same letter, but the sounds soft and hard are considered different, which is why there are more consonant sounds than the letters with which they are denoted.
Voiced and voiceless consonants
Consonant sounds are divided into voiced and voiceless. Voiced ones consist of noise and voice, deaf ones consist only of noise.
Voiced consonant sounds: [b] [b"] [c] [v"] [d] [g"] [d] [d"] [z] [z"] [zh] [l] [l"] [ m] [m"] [n] [n"] [r] [r"] [th]
Voiceless consonants: [p] [p"] [f] [f"] [k] [k"] [t] [t"] [s] [s"] [w] [x] [x"] [ h"] [h"]
Paired and unpaired consonants
Many consonants form pairs of voiced and voiceless consonants:
Voiced [b] [b"] [c] [c"] [g] [g"] [d] [d"] [z] [z"] [g]
Voiceless [p] [p"] [f] [f"] [k] [k"] [t] [t"] [s] [s"] [w]
The following voiced and voiceless consonant sounds do not form pairs:
Voiced [l] [l"] [m] [m"] [n] [n"] [r] [r"] [th]
Voiceless [x] [x"] [ch"] [sch"]
Soft and hard consonants
Consonant sounds are also divided into hard and soft. They differ in the position of the tongue when pronounced. When pronouncing soft consonants, the middle back of the tongue is raised towards the hard palate.
Most consonants form pairs of hard and soft consonants:
Solid [b] [c] [d] [d] [h] [j] [l] [m] [n] [p] [r] [s] [t] [f] [x]
Soft [b"] [c"] [d"] [d"] [h"] [k"] [l"] [m"] [n"] [p"] [p"] [s"] [ t"] [f"] [x"]
The following hard and soft consonant sounds do not form pairs:
Solid [f] [w] [c]
Soft [h"] [sch"] [th"]
Sibilant consonants
The sounds [zh], [sh], [ch’], [sh’] are called hissing.
[g] [w] [h"] [sch"]
Whistling consonants
[z] [z"] [s] [s"] [ts]
Whistling sounds s-s, z-z, anterior lingual, fricative. When articulating hard s-z teeth exposed, the tip of the tongue touches the lower teeth, the back of the tongue is slightly curved, the lateral edges of the tongue are pressed against the upper molars, causing a groove to form in the middle. Air passes through this groove creating frictional noise.
When pronouncing soft s, s, the articulation is the same, but in addition the back of the tongue rises to the hard palate. When pronouncing sounds z-z, the ligaments are closed and vibrate. The velum is raised.
In this chapter:
§1. Sound
Sound- the minimum unit of sounding speech. Each word has a sound shell consisting of sounds. The sound corresponds to the meaning of the word. Different words and word forms have different sound patterns. The sounds themselves are not important, but they serve an important role: they help us distinguish between:
- words: [house] - [tom], [tom] - [there], [m’el] - [m’el’]
- forms of the word: [house] - [lady´ ] - [house´ ma].
Note:
words written in square brackets are given in transcription.
§2. Transcription
Transcription is a special recording system that displays sound. The following symbols are used in the transcription:
Square brackets indicating transcription.
[ ´ ] - emphasis. The accent is placed if the word consists of more than one syllable.
[b’] - the icon next to the consonant indicates its softness.
[j] and [th] are different designations for the same sound. Since this sound is soft, these symbols are often used with an additional designation of softness: [th’]. This site uses the notation [th’], which is more familiar to most guys. The soft icon will be used to help you get used to the sound being soft.
There are other symbols. They will be introduced gradually as you become familiar with the topic.
§3. Vowels and consonants
Sounds are divided into vowels and consonants.
They have different natures. They are pronounced and perceived differently, and also behave differently in speech and play different roles in it.
Vowels- these are sounds during the pronunciation of which air passes freely through the oral cavity without encountering an obstacle on its way. Pronunciation (articulation) is not focused in one place: the quality of vowels is determined by the 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 out. You can shout them. And if you put your hand to your throat, then work vocal cords When pronouncing vowels, you can feel it with your hand. Vowels are the basis of a syllable; they organize it. There are as many syllables in a word as there are vowels. For example: He- 1 syllable, she- 2 syllables, Guys- 3 syllables, etc. There are words that consist of one vowel sound. For example, unions: and, and and interjections: Oh!, Ah!, Oooh! and others.
In a word, vowels can be in stressed and unstressed syllables.
Stressed syllable one in which the vowel is pronounced clearly and appears in its basic form.
IN unstressed syllables vowels are modified and pronounced differently. Changing vowels in unstressed syllables is called reduction.
There are six stressed vowels in the Russian language: [a], [o], [u], [s], [i], [e].
Remember:
There are words that can only consist of vowels, but consonants are also necessary.
In the Russian language there are many more consonants than vowels.
§4. Method of formation of consonants
Consonants- these are sounds, when pronounced, the air encounters an obstacle in its path. There are two types of obstruents in the Russian language: gap and stop - these are the two main ways of forming consonants. The type of obstruction determines the nature of the consonant sound.
Gap is formed, for example, when pronouncing sounds: [s], [z], [w], [z]. The tip of the tongue only approaches the lower or upper teeth. Friction consonants can be pulled: [s-s-s-s], [sh-sh-sh-sh] . As a result, you will clearly hear the noise: when pronouncing [c] - whistling, and when pronouncing [w] - hissing.
Bow, The second type of articulation of consonants is formed when the organs of speech close. The air flow abruptly overcomes this obstacle, the sounds are short and energetic. That's why they are called explosive. You won't be able to pull them. These are, for example, the sounds [p], [b], [t], [d] . Such articulation is easier to feel and sense.
So, when pronouncing consonants, noise is heard. The presence of noise is a distinctive feature of consonants.
§5. Voiced and voiceless consonants
According to the ratio of noise and voice, consonants are divided into voiced and unvoiced.
When spoken voiced consonants, both voice and noise are heard, and deaf- only noise.
Deaf words cannot be spoken loudly. They cannot be shouted.
Let's compare the words: house And cat. Each word has 1 vowel sound and 2 consonants. The vowels are the same, but the consonants are different: [d] and [m] are voiced, and [k] and [t] are voiceless. Voicedness-voicelessness is the most important feature of consonants in the Russian language.
voiced-voiceless pairs:[b] - [p], [z] - [c] and others. There are 11 such pairs.
Voiceless-voiced pairs: [p] and [b], [p"] and [b"], [f] and [v], [f"] and [v"], [k] and [d], [k"] and [g"], [t] and [d], [t"] and [d"], [w] and [g], [s] and [z], [s"] and [ z"].
But there are sounds that do not have a pair on the basis of voicedness - deafness. For example, the sounds [r], [l], [n], [m], [y’] do not have a voiceless pair, but [ts] and [ch’] do not have a voiced pair.
Unpaired according to deafness-voicing
Voiced unpaired:[r], [l], [n], [m], [th"], [r"], [l"], [n"], [m"] . They are also called sonorous.
What does this term mean? This is a group of consonants (9 in total) that have peculiarities of pronunciation: when they are pronounced, obstacles also arise in the oral cavity, but such that the air stream, passing through an obstacle produces only a slight noise; air passes freely through an opening in the nasal cavity or mouth. Sonorants are pronounced using the voice with the addition of slight noise. Many teachers do not use this term, but everyone should know that these sounds are unpaired voiced sounds.
Sonorants have two important features:
1) they are not deafened, like paired voiced consonants, before voiceless consonants and at the end of a word;
2) before them there is no voicing of paired deaf consonants (i.e. the position in front of them is strong in deafness-voicing, just like before vowels). See more about positional changes.
Voiceless unpaired:[ts], [h"], [w":], [x], [x"].
How can it be easier to remember lists of voiced and voiceless consonants?
The following phrases will help you remember lists of voiced and voiceless consonants:
Oh, we didn’t forget each other!(Here only voiced consonants)
Foka, do you want to eat some soup?(Here only voiceless consonants)
True, these phrases do not include pairs of hardness and softness. But usually people can easily figure out that not only hard [z] is voiced, but also soft [z"] too, not only [b], but also [b"], etc.
§6. Hard and soft consonants
Consonants differ not only in deafness and voicedness, but also in hardness and softness.
Hardness-softness- the second most important sign of consonants in the Russian language.
Soft consonants differ from solid special position of the tongue. When pronouncing hard words, the entire body of the tongue is pulled back, and when pronouncing soft words, it is moved forward, and the middle part of the tongue is raised. Compare: [m] - [m’], [z] - [z’]. Voiced soft ones sound higher than hard ones.
Many Russian consonants form hardness-softness pairs: [b] - [b’], [v] - [v’] and others. There are 15 such pairs.
Hardness-softness pairs: [b] and [b"], [m] and [m"], [p] and [p"], [v] and [v"], [f] and [f"] , [z] and [z"], [s] and [s"], [d] and [d"], [t] and [t"], [n] and [n"], [l] and [l"], [p] and [p"], [k] and [k"], [g] and [g"], [x] and [x"].
But there are sounds that do not have a pair on the basis of hardness and softness. For example, the sounds [zh], [sh], [ts] do not have a soft pair, but [y’] and [h’] do not have a hard pair.
Unpaired in hardness-softness
Hard unpaired: [zh], [w], [ts] .
Soft unpaired: [th"], [h"], [w":].
§7. Indication of softness of consonants in writing
Let's take a break from pure phonetics. Let's consider a practically important question: how is the softness of consonants indicated in writing?
There are 36 consonant sounds in the Russian language, including 15 hard-soft pairs, 3 unpaired hard and 3 unpaired soft consonants. There are only 21 consonants. How can 21 letters represent 36 sounds?
Various methods are used for this:
- iotized letters e, e, yu, i after consonants, except w, w And ts, unpaired in hardness-softness, indicate that these consonants are soft, for example: aunt- [t’o´ t’a], uncle -[Yes Yes] ;
- letter And after consonants, except w, w And ts. Consonants indicated by letters w, w And ts, unpaired solids. Examples of words with a vowel letter And: nothing- [n’i´ tk’i], sheet- [l’ist], Cute- [Cute'] ;
- letter b, after consonants, except w, w, after which the soft sign is an indicator grammatical form. Examples of words with a soft sign : request- [prose], stranded- [m’el’], distance- [gave’].
Thus, the softness of consonants in writing is conveyed not by special letters, but by combinations of consonants with letters and, e, e, yu, I And b. Therefore, when parsing, I advise you to pay special attention to adjacent letters after the consonants.
Discussing the problem of interpretation
School textbooks say that [w] and [w’] -
unpaired in hardness and softness. How so? We hear that the sound [w’] is a soft analogue of the sound [w].
When I was studying at school myself, I couldn’t understand why? Then my son went to school. He had the same question. It appears in all children who approach learning thoughtfully.
Confusion arises because school textbooks do not take into account that the sound [sh’] is also long, but the hard sound [sh] is not. Pairs are sounds that differ in only one attribute. And [w] and [sh’] - two. Therefore [w] and [w’] are not pairs.
For adults and high school students.
In order to maintain correctness, it is necessary to change the school tradition of transcribing the sound [w’]. It seems that it is easier for the guys to use one more additional sign than to face an illogical, unclear and misleading statement. It's simple. So that generation after generation does not rack their brains, it is necessary to finally show that a soft hissing sound is long.
For this purpose, in linguistic practice there are two icons:
1) superscript above the sound;
2) colon.
Using a superscript is inconvenient because it is not provided by the set of characters that can be used in computer typing. This means that the following possibilities remain: using a colon [w’:] or a grapheme denoting the letter [w’] . It seems to me that the first option is preferable. Firstly, children often mix sounds and letters at first. The use of a letter in transcription will create the basis for such confusion and provoke an error. Secondly, the guys are now starting to study early foreign languages. And the [:] symbol, when used to indicate the length of a sound, is already familiar to them. Thirdly, transcription indicating longitude with a colon [:] will perfectly convey the features of the sound. [sh’:] - soft and long, both features that make up its difference from the sound [sh] are presented clearly, simply and unambiguously.
What advice can you give to children who are now studying using generally accepted textbooks? You need to understand, comprehend, and then remember that in fact the sounds [w] and [w’:] do not form a pair in terms of hardness and softness. And I advise you to transcribe them the way your teacher requires.
§8. Place of formation of consonants
Consonants differ not only according to the characteristics already known to you:
- deafness-voice,
- hardness-softness,
- method of formation: bow-slit.
The last, fourth sign is important: place of education.
The articulation of some sounds is carried out by the lips, others - by the tongue, its different parts. So, the sounds [p], [p'], [b], [b'], [m], [m'] are labial, [v], [v'], [f], [f' ] - labiodental, all others - lingual: anterior lingual [t], [t'], [d], [d'], [n], [n'], [s], [s'], [z ], [z'], [w], [w], [w':], [h'], [c], [l], [l'], [r], [r'] ,
middle lingual [th’] and back lingual [k], [k’], [g], [g’], [x], [x’].
§9. Positional changes of sounds
1. Strong-weak positions for vowels. Positional changes of vowels. Reduction
People do not use spoken sounds in isolation. They don't need it.
Speech is a sound stream, but a stream organized in a certain way. The conditions in which a particular sound appears are important. The beginning of a word, the end of a word, a stressed syllable, an unstressed syllable, a position before a vowel, a position before a consonant - these are all different positions. We will figure out how to distinguish between strong and weak positions, first for vowels, and then for consonants.
Strong position one in which sounds do not undergo positionally determined changes and appear in their basic form. A strong position is allocated for groups of sounds, for example: for vowels, this is a position in a stressed syllable. And for consonants, for example, the position before vowels is strong.
For vowels, the strong position is under stress, and the weak position is unaccented..
In unstressed syllables, vowels undergo changes: they are shorter and are not pronounced as clearly as under stress. This change in vowels in a weak position is called reduction. Due to reduction, fewer vowels are distinguished in the weak position than in the strong position.
The sounds corresponding to stressed [o] and [a] after hard consonants in a weak, unstressed position sound the same. “Akanye” is recognized as normative in the Russian language, i.e. non-discrimination ABOUT And A in an unstressed position after hard consonants.
- under stress: [house] - [dam] - [o] ≠ [a].
- without accent: [d A ma´ ] -home´ - [d A la´ ] -dala´ - [a] = [a].
The sounds corresponding to stressed [a] and [e] after soft consonants in a weak, unstressed position sound the same. The standard pronunciation is “hiccup”, i.e. non-discrimination E And A in an unstressed position after soft consonants.
- under stress: [m’ech’] - [m’ach’] - [e] ≠[a].
- without accent: [m’ich’o´ m]- sword´ m -[m'ich'o´ m] - ball´ m - [and] = [and].
- But what about the vowels [i], [s], [u]? Why was nothing said about them? The fact is that these vowels in a weak position are subject to only quantitative reduction: they are pronounced more briefly, weakly, but their quality does not change. That is, as for all vowels, an unstressed position for them is a weak position, but for a schoolchild these vowels in an unstressed position do not pose a problem.
[ski´ zhy], [in _lu´ zhu], [n’i´ t’i] - in both strong and weak positions the quality of vowels does not change. Both under stress and in unstressed position we clearly hear: [ы], [у], [и] and we write the letters that are usually used to denote these sounds.
Discussing the problem of interpretation
What vowel sounds are actually pronounced in unstressed syllables after hard consonants?
When performing phonetic analysis and transcribing words, many guys express bewilderment. In long polysyllabic words, after hard consonants, it is not the sound [a] that is pronounced, as school textbooks say, but something else.
They are right.
Compare the pronunciation of words: Moscow - Muscovites. Repeat each word several times and listen to what vowel sounds in the first syllable. With the word Moscow it's simple. We pronounce: [maskva´] - the sound [a] is clearly audible. And the word Muscovites? In accordance with literary norm, in all syllables except the first syllable before stress, as well as the positions of the beginning and end of the word, we pronounce not [a], but another sound: less distinct, less clear, more similar to [s] than to [a]. In the scientific tradition, this sound is designated by the symbol [ъ]. This means that in reality we pronounce: [mаlako´] - milk ,[khrasho´ ] - Fine ,[kalbasa´] - sausage.
I understand that by giving this material in textbooks, the authors tried to simplify it. Simplified. But many children with good hearing, who clearly hear that the sounds in the following examples are different, cannot understand why the teacher and the textbook insist that these sounds are the same. In fact:
[V A Yes ] - water´ -[V ъ d'inoy'] - water:[а]≠[ъ]
[other A wa´ ] - firewood´ -[other ъ in’ino´ th’] - wood-burning:[а]≠[ъ]
A special subsystem consists of the realization of vowels in unstressed syllables after sibilants. But in school course This material is not presented at all in most textbooks.
What vowel sounds are actually pronounced in unstressed syllables after soft consonants?
I feel the greatest sympathy for the children who study from textbooks that offer on-site A,E, ABOUT after soft consonants, hear and transcribe the sound “and, inclined to e.” I think it is fundamentally wrong to give schoolchildren as the only option the outdated pronunciation norm - “ekanya”, which is found today much less often than “icanya”, mainly among very elderly people. Guys, feel free to write in an unstressed position in the first syllable before the stress in place A And E- [And].
After soft consonants in other unstressed syllables, except for the position of the end of the word, we pronounce a short weak sound reminiscent of [i] and denoted as [b]. Say the words eight, nine and listen to yourself. We pronounce: [vo´ s’m’] - [b], [d’e´ v’t’] - [b].
Do not confuse:
Transcription marks are one thing, but letters are another.
The transcription sign [ъ] indicates a vowel after hard consonants in unstressed syllables, except for the first syllable before stress.
The letter ъ is a solid sign.
The transcription sign [b] indicates a vowel after soft consonants in unstressed syllables, except for the first syllable before stress.
The letter ь is a soft sign.
Transcription signs, unlike letters, are given in square brackets.
End of the word- special position. It shows clearing of vowels after soft consonants. System unstressed endings is a special phonetic subsystem. In it E And A differ:
Building[building n’ii’e] - building[building n’ii’a], opinion[mn’e´ n’i’e] - opinion[mn’e´ n’ii’a], more[mo´ r’e] - seas[mo´ r’a], will[vo´l’a] - at will[na_vo´l’e]. Remember this when doing phonetic analysis of words.
Check:
How your teacher requires you to mark vowels in an unstressed position. If he uses a simplified transcription system, that's okay: it's widely accepted. Just don’t be surprised that you actually hear different sounds in the unstressed position.
2. Strong-weak positions for consonants. Positional changes of consonants
For all consonants without exception, the strong position is position before vowel. Before vowels, consonants appear in their basic form. Therefore, when doing phonetic analysis, do not be afraid to make a mistake when characterizing a consonant in a strong position: [dach’a] - country house,[t'l'iv'i´ z'r] - TV,[s’ino´ n’ima] - synonyms,[b'ir'o´ zy] - birch trees,[karz"i´ny] - baskets. All consonants in these examples come before vowels, i.e. in a strong position.
Strong positions on deafness of voicedness:
- before vowels: [there] - there,[ladies] - I'll give,
- before unpaired voiced [p], [p’], [l], [l’], [n], [n’], [m], [m’], [y’]: [dl’a] - For,[tl'a] - aphids,
- Before [in], [in’]: [own’] - mine,[ringing] - ringing.
Remember:
In a strong position, voiced and voiceless consonants do not change their quality.
Weak positions in deafness and voicedness:
- before paired ones according to deafness-voicing: [sl´ tk’ii] - sweet,[zu´ pk’i] - teeth.
- before voiceless unpaired ones: [aphva´ t] - girth, [fhot] - entrance.
- at the end of a word: [zup] - tooth,[dup] - oak.
Positional changes of consonants according to deafness-voicing
In weak positions, consonants are modified: positional changes occur with them. Voiced ones become voiceless, i.e. are deafened, and the deaf are voiced, i.e. call out. Positional changes are observed only for paired consonants.
Stunning-voicing of consonants
Stunning voiced occurs in positions:
- before paired deaf people: [fsta´ in’it’] - V put,
- at the end of the word: [clat] - treasure.
Voicing of the deaf occurs at position:
- before paired voiced ones: [kaz’ba´ ] - to With bah´
Strong positions in terms of hardness and softness:
- before vowels: [mat’] - mother,[m’at’] - crush,
- at the end of the word: [von] - out there,[won’] - stench,
- before labialials: [b], [b'], [p], [p'], [m], [m'] and posterior linguals: [k], [k'], [g], [g' ], [x[, [x'] for sounds [s], [s'], [z], [z'], [t], [t'], [d], [d'], [n ], [n'], [r], [r']: [sa´ n'k'i] - Sa´nki(gen. fall.), [s´ ank’i] - sled,[bun] - bun,[bu´ l’qt’] - gurgle,
- all positions for sounds [l] and [l’]: [forehead] - forehead,[pal'ba] - firing.
Remember:
In a strong position, hard and soft consonants do not change their quality.
Weak positions in hardness-softness and positional changes in hardness-softness.
- before soft [t’], [d’] for consonants [c], [z], which are necessarily softened: , [z’d’es’],
- before [h’] and [w’:] for [n], which is necessarily softened: [po´ n’ch’ik] - donut,[ka´ m’n’sh’:ik] - mason.
Remember:
In a number of positions today, both soft and hard pronunciation is possible:
- before soft front-lingual [n’], [l’] for front-lingual consonants [c], [z]: snow -[s’n’ek] and , make angry -[z’l’it’] and [zl’it’]
- before soft front-lingual, [z’] for front-lingual [t], [d] - lift -[pad’n’a´ t’] and [padn’a´ t’] , take away -[at’n’a´ t’] and [atn’a´ t’]
- before soft front-lingual [t"], [d"], [s"], [z"] for front-lingual [n]: vi´ntik -[v’i´ n"t"ik] and [v’i´ nt’ik], pension -[p'e´ n's'ii'a] and [p'e´ n's'ii'a]
- before soft labials [v’], [f’], [b’], [p’], [m’] for labials: enter -[f"p"isa´ t’] and [fp"is´ at’], ri´ fme(Dan. fall.) - [r'i´ f"m"e] and [r'i´ fm"e]
Remember:
In all cases, positional softening of consonants is possible in a weak position.
It is a mistake to write a soft sign when softening consonants positionally.
Positional changes of consonants based on the method and place of formation
Naturally, in the school tradition it is not customary to present the characteristics of sounds and the positional changes that occur with them in all the details. But the general principles of phonetics need to be learned. It's hard to do without it phonetic analysis and complete test tasks. Therefore, below is a list of positionally determined changes in consonants based on the method and place of formation. This material is a tangible help for those who want to avoid mistakes in phonetic analysis.
Assimilation of consonants
The logic is this: the Russian language is characterized by similarity of sounds if they are similar in some way and at the same time are nearby.
Learn the list:
[c] and [w] → [w:] - sew
[z] and [zh] → [zh:] - compress
[s] and [h’] - at the root of words →
[sh’:] - happiness, score
- at the junction of morphemes and words →
[w’:h’] -
comb, dishonest, with what (a preposition followed by a word is pronounced together as one word)
[s] and [w’:] → [w’:] - split
[t] and [c] - in verb forms → [ts:] - smiles
-at the junction prefixes and roots →
[tss] - sleep it off
[t] and [ts] → [ts:] - unhook
[t] and [h’] → [h’:] - report
[t] and [t] and [w’:]←[c] and [h’] - Countdown
[d] and [w’:] ←[c] and [h’] - counting
Dissociation of consonants
Disassociation is a process positional change, the opposite of likening.
[g] and [k’] → [h’k’] - easy
Simplifying consonant clusters
Learn the list:
vst - [stv]: hello, feel
zdn - [zn]: late
zdc - [sc] : by the reins
lnts - [nts]: Sun
NDC -
[nc]: Dutch
ndsh -
[ns:] landscape
NTG - [ng]: x-ray
rdc -
[rts]: heart
rdch -
[rh’]: little heart
stl - [sl’]: happy
stn - [dn]: local
Pronunciation of sound groups:
In the forms of adjectives, pronouns, participles there are letter combinations: wow, him. IN place G they are pronounced [in]: him, beautiful, blue.
Avoid reading letter by letter. Say the words him, blue, beautiful Right.
§10. Letters and sounds
Letters and sounds have different purposes and different natures. But these are comparable systems. Therefore, you need to know the types of ratios.
Types of relationships between letters and sounds:
- The letter denotes a sound, for example, vowels after hard consonants and consonants before vowels: weather.
- The letter has no own sound value, For example b And ъ: mouse
- A letter represents two sounds, for example iotated vowels e, e, yu, i in positions:
- the beginning of a word
- after vowels,
- after separators b And ъ.
- A letter can denote a sound and the quality of the preceding sound, such as iotated vowels and And after soft consonants.
- The letter may indicate the quality of the preceding sound, for example b in words shadow, stump, gunfire.
- Two letters can represent one sound, usually a long one: sew, compress, rush
- Three letters correspond to one sound: smile - shh -[ts:]
Test of strength
Check your understanding of this chapter.
Final test
What determines the quality of a vowel sound?
- From the shape of the oral cavity at the moment of pronouncing the sound
- From the barrier formed by the speech organs at the moment of pronouncing a sound
What is reduction called?
- pronouncing vowels under stress
- pronouncing unstressed vowels
- special pronunciation of consonants
For which sounds does the air stream encounter an obstacle on its path: a bow or a gap?
- In vowels
- In consonants
Can voiceless consonants be pronounced loudly?
Are the vocal cords involved in pronouncing voiceless consonants?
How many pairs of consonants are formed according to deafness and voicedness?
How many consonants do not have a voiced-voiced pair?
How many pairs do Russian consonants form according to hardness and softness?
How many consonants do not have a hard-soft pair?
How is the softness of consonants conveyed in writing?
- Special icons
- Letter combinations
What is the name of the position of a sound in a stream of speech in which it appears in its basic form, without undergoing positional changes?
- Strong position
- Weak position
What sounds have strong and weak positions?
- In vowels
- In consonants
- For everyone: both vowels and consonants
Right answers:
- From the shape of the oral cavity at the moment of pronouncing the sound
- pronouncing unstressed vowels
- In consonants
- Letter combinations
- Strong position
- For everyone: both vowels and consonants
In contact with
Sound is the smallest unit of language pronounced with the help of the organs of the speech apparatus. Scientists have discovered that at birth, the human ear perceives all the sounds it hears. All this time, his brain sorts out unnecessary information, and by 8-10 months a person is able to distinguish sounds that are exclusively native language, and all the nuances of pronunciation.
33 letters make up the Russian alphabet, 21 of them are consonants, but letters must be distinguished from sounds. A letter is a sign, a symbol that can be seen or written. The sound can only be heard and pronounced, and in writing it can be designated using transcription - [b], [c], [d]. They carry a certain semantic load, connecting with each other to form words.
36 consonant sounds: [b], [z], [v], [d], [g], [zh], [m], [n], [k], [l], [t], [p ], [t], [s], [sch], [f], [c], [w], [x], [h], [b"], [z"], [v"], [ d"], [th"], [n"], [k"], [m"], [l"], [t"], [s"], [p"], [r"], [ f"], [g"], [x"].
Consonant sounds are divided into:
- soft and hard;
voiced and voiceless;
paired and unpaired.
Soft and hard consonants
The phonetics of the Russian language is significantly different from many other languages. It contains hard and soft consonants.
At the moment of pronunciation soft sound the tongue is pressed harder against the palate than when pronouncing a hard consonant, preventing the release of air. This is what distinguishes a hard and soft consonant sound from each other. In order to determine in writing whether a consonant sound is soft or hard, you should look at the letter immediately after the specific consonant.
Consonant sounds are classified as hard in the following cases:
- if letters a, o, u, e, s follow after them - [poppy], [rum], [hum], [juice], [bull];
- after them there is another consonant sound - [vors], [hail], [marriage];
- if the sound is at the end of the word - [darkness], [friend], [table].
The softness of sound is written as an apostrophe: mole - [mol’], chalk - [m’el], wicket - [kal’itka], pir - [p’ir].
It should be noted that the sounds [ш'], [й'], [ч'] are always soft, and hard consonants are only [ш], [тс], [ж].
A consonant sound will become soft if it is followed by “b” and vowels: i, e, yu, i, e. For example: gen - [g"en], flax - [l"on], disk - [d"ysk] , hatch - [l "uk", elm - [v "yaz", trill - [tr "el"].
Voiced and voiceless, paired and unpaired sounds
Based on their sonority, consonants are divided into voiced and voiceless. Voiced consonants can be sounds created with the participation of the voice: [v], [z], [zh], [b], [d], [y], [m], [d], [l], [r] , [n].
Examples: [bor], [ox], [shower], [call], [heat], [goal], [fishing], [pestilence], [nose], [genus], [swarm].
Examples: [kol], [floor], [volume], [sleep], [noise], [shch"uka], [choir], [king"], [ch"an].
Paired voiced and voiceless consonants include: [b] - [p], [zh] - [w], [g] - [x], [z] - [s]. [d] - [t], [v] - [f]. Examples: reality - dust, house - volume, year - code, vase - phase, itch - court, live - sew.
Sounds that do not form pairs: [h], [n], [ts], [x], [p], [m], [l].
Soft and hard consonants can also have a pair: [p] - [p"], [p] - [p"], [m] - [m"], [v] - [v"], [d] - [ d"], [f] - [f"], [k] - [k"], [z] - [z"], [b] - [b"], [g] - [g"], [ n] - [n"], [s] - [s"], [l] - [l"], [t] - [t"], [x] - [x"]. Examples: byl - bel, height - branch, city - cheetah, dacha - business, umbrella - zebra, skin - cedar, moon - summer, monster - place, finger - feather, ore - river, soda - sulfur, pillar - steppe, lantern - farm, mansions - hut.
Table for memorizing consonants
To clearly see and compare soft and hard consonants, the table below shows them in pairs.
Solid - before the letters A, O, U, Y, E Soft - before the letters I, E, E, Yu, I | Hard and soft consonants | |||
| b | ball | b" | battle | |
| V | howl | V" | eyelid | |
| G | garage | G" | hero | |
| d | hole | d" | tar | |
| h | ash | z" | yawn | |
| To | godfather | To" | sneakers | |
| l | vine | l" | foliage | |
| m | March | m" | month | |
| n | leg | n" | tenderness | |
| P | spider | P" | song | |
| R | height | R" | rhubarb | |
| With | salt | With" | hay | |
| T | cloud | T" | patience | |
| f | phosphorus | f" | firm | |
| X | thinness | X" | chemistry | |
| Unpaired | and | giraffe | h | miracle |
| w | screen | sch | hazel | |
| ts | target | th | felt | |
Another table will help you remember consonant sounds.
| Doubles | Voiced | Deaf |
| B | P | |
| IN | F | |
| G | TO | |
| D | T | |
| AND | Sh | |
| Z | WITH | |
| Unpaired | L, M, N, R, J | X, C, Ch, Shch |
Children's poems for better mastery of the material
There are exactly 33 letters in the Russian alphabet,
To find out how many consonants -
Subtract ten vowels
Signs - hard, soft -
It will immediately become clear:
The resulting number is exactly twenty-one.
Soft and hard consonants are very different,
But not dangerous at all.
If we pronounce it with noise, then they are deaf.
The consonant sounds proudly say:
They sound different.
Hard and soft
In fact, very light.
Remember one simple rule forever:
W, C, F - always hard,
But Ch, Shch, J are only soft,
Like a cat's paws.
And let’s soften others like this:
If we add a soft sign,
Then we get spruce, moth, salt,
What a cunning sign!
And if we add the vowels I, I, Yo, E, Yu,
We get a soft consonant.
Brother signs, soft, hard,
We don't pronounce
But to change the word,
Let's ask for their help.
The rider rides on a horse,
Con - we use it in the game.
Sound is the smallest unit of language pronounced with the help of the organs of the speech apparatus. Scientists have discovered that at birth, the human ear perceives all the sounds it hears. All this time, his brain sorts out unnecessary information, and by 8-10 months a person is able to distinguish sounds unique to his native language and all the nuances of pronunciation.
33 letters make up the Russian alphabet, 21 of them are consonants, but letters must be distinguished from sounds. A letter is a sign, a symbol that can be seen or written. The sound can only be heard and pronounced, and in writing it can be designated using transcription - [b], [c], [d]. They carry a certain semantic load, connecting with each other to form words.
36 consonant sounds: [b], [z], [v], [d], [g], [zh], [m], [n], [k], [l], [t], [p ], [t], [s], [sch], [f], [c], [w], [x], [h], [b"], [z"], [v"], [ d"], [th"], [n"], [k"], [m"], [l"], [t"], [s"], [p"], [r"], [ f"], [g"], [x"].
Consonant sounds are divided into:
- soft and hard;
voiced and voiceless;
paired and unpaired.
Soft and hard consonants
The phonetics of the Russian language is significantly different from many other languages. It contains hard and soft consonants.
When pronouncing a soft sound, the tongue is pressed harder against the palate than when pronouncing a hard consonant sound, preventing the release of air. This is what distinguishes a hard and soft consonant sound from each other. In order to determine in writing whether a consonant sound is soft or hard, you should look at the letter immediately after the specific consonant.
Consonant sounds are classified as hard in the following cases:
- if letters a, o, u, e, s follow after them - [poppy], [rum], [hum], [juice], [bull];
- after them there is another consonant sound - [vors], [hail], [marriage];
- if the sound is at the end of the word - [darkness], [friend], [table].
The softness of sound is written as an apostrophe: mole - [mol’], chalk - [m’el], wicket - [kal’itka], pir - [p’ir].
It should be noted that the sounds [ш'], [й'], [ч'] are always soft, and hard consonants are only [ш], [тс], [ж].
A consonant sound will become soft if it is followed by “b” and vowels: i, e, yu, i, e. For example: gen - [g"en], flax - [l"on], disk - [d"ysk] , hatch - [l "uk", elm - [v "yaz", trill - [tr "el"].
Voiced and voiceless, paired and unpaired sounds
Based on their sonority, consonants are divided into voiced and voiceless. Voiced consonants can be sounds created with the participation of the voice: [v], [z], [zh], [b], [d], [y], [m], [d], [l], [r] , [n].
Examples: [bor], [ox], [shower], [call], [heat], [goal], [fishing], [pestilence], [nose], [genus], [swarm].
Examples: [kol], [floor], [volume], [sleep], [noise], [shch"uka], [choir], [king"], [ch"an].
Paired voiced and voiceless consonants include: [b] - [p], [zh] - [w], [g] - [x], [z] - [s]. [d] - [t], [v] - [f]. Examples: reality - dust, house - volume, year - code, vase - phase, itch - court, live - sew.
Sounds that do not form pairs: [h], [n], [ts], [x], [p], [m], [l].
Soft and hard consonants can also have a pair: [p] - [p"], [p] - [p"], [m] - [m"], [v] - [v"], [d] - [ d"], [f] - [f"], [k] - [k"], [z] - [z"], [b] - [b"], [g] - [g"], [ n] - [n"], [s] - [s"], [l] - [l"], [t] - [t"], [x] - [x"]. Examples: byl - bel, height - branch, city - cheetah, dacha - business, umbrella - zebra, skin - cedar, moon - summer, monster - place, finger - feather, ore - river, soda - sulfur, pillar - steppe, lantern - farm, mansions - hut.
Table for memorizing consonants
To clearly see and compare soft and hard consonants, the table below shows them in pairs.
Solid - before the letters A, O, U, Y, E Soft - before the letters I, E, E, Yu, I | Hard and soft consonants | |||
| b | ball | b" | battle | |
| V | howl | V" | eyelid | |
| G | garage | G" | hero | |
| d | hole | d" | tar | |
| h | ash | z" | yawn | |
| To | godfather | To" | sneakers | |
| l | vine | l" | foliage | |
| m | March | m" | month | |
| n | leg | n" | tenderness | |
| P | spider | P" | song | |
| R | height | R" | rhubarb | |
| With | salt | With" | hay | |
| T | cloud | T" | patience | |
| f | phosphorus | f" | firm | |
| X | thinness | X" | chemistry | |
| Unpaired | and | giraffe | h | miracle |
| w | screen | sch | hazel | |
| ts | target | th | felt | |
Another table will help you remember consonant sounds.
| Doubles | Voiced | Deaf |
| B | P | |
| IN | F | |
| G | TO | |
| D | T | |
| AND | Sh | |
| Z | WITH | |
| Unpaired | L, M, N, R, J | X, C, Ch, Shch |
Children's poems for better mastery of the material
There are exactly 33 letters in the Russian alphabet,
To find out how many consonants -
Subtract ten vowels
Signs - hard, soft -
It will immediately become clear:
The resulting number is exactly twenty-one.
Soft and hard consonants are very different,
But not dangerous at all.
If we pronounce it with noise, then they are deaf.
The consonant sounds proudly say:
They sound different.
Hard and soft
In fact, very light.
Remember one simple rule forever:
W, C, F - always hard,
But Ch, Shch, J are only soft,
Like a cat's paws.
And let’s soften others like this:
If we add a soft sign,
Then we get spruce, moth, salt,
What a cunning sign!
And if we add the vowels I, I, Yo, E, Yu,
We get a soft consonant.
Brother signs, soft, hard,
We don't pronounce
But to change the word,
Let's ask for their help.
The rider rides on a horse,
Con - we use it in the game.
