Vowels and consonants letters and sounds. Hard and soft consonants

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], [ts], [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.

Another table will help you remember consonant sounds.

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.

At the initial stage of learning the Russian language in 1st grade, it is necessary to learn the vowels and consonants of the alphabet. TO consonants relate: B, V, G, D, F, Z, J, K, L, M, N, P, R, S, T, F, X, C, H, W, Shch . Note, Y- consonant letter. TO vowel letters refer to A, E, E, I, O, U, Y, E, Y, I . Letters b And Kommersant do not apply to either vowels or consonants. Vowels are pronounced with the voice and can be sung. Consonants consist only of noise; they cannot be sung. (When learning vowels and consonants, you can try to sing them.)

We offer you an online game that will help you learn the vowels and consonants of the Russian alphabet in a playful way. It is created similar to online coloring books, and can be used not only by first graders, but also to prepare for school. In the game you need to color the vowels red and the consonants blue. To color a letter, click on it. Each time you press the color changes.

Online game “Vowels and consonants”

In the Russian language there are 10 vowel letters, 6 vowel sounds. Vowel letters: a, i, e, ё, o, u, ы, e, yu, ya. Vowel sounds: [a], [o], [u], [e], [i], [s]. In the school curriculum, vowel sounds are indicated in red on the diagrams. In the elementary grades they explain: vowel letters are called that because they “voice”, are pronounced “vocally,” while consonant letters received this name because they “agree” with the vowels.

Scheme 1. Vowels and vowel sounds of the Russian language.

Stressed and unstressed vowel sounds

Vowel sounds are:

• percussive: juice [o] - ice ['o], forest ['e] - mayor [e], drill [u] - hatch ['u],
• unstressed: in O yes [a], s at dak [u], l e juice [and].

Note. It is correct to say “stressed syllable” and “unstressed syllable”. Instead of “the stress falls on the vowel,” say “the stress falls on the syllable with the vowel.” However, in the literature there are formulations “stressed vowel” and “unstressed vowel”.

Stressed vowels are in a strong position and are pronounced with greater force and intonation. Unstressed vowels are in a weak position, they are pronounced with less force and can be subject to change.

Note. The designation of the letter e in weak position differs in different school programs. Above we showed the sound [and], in other school programs the designation [e] is found, in the institute program - [e and ] (e with the overtone and).

In the Russian language there are compound words with primary and secondary stress. In them, we highlight the main stress with strong intonation, and the secondary stress with weak intonation. For example, in the word foam blocks, the main stress falls on the syllable with the letter o, the secondary stress on the syllable with the letter e. In phonetic analysis, the vowel with the main stress is stressed, the vowel with the secondary stress is unstressed. For example: tricuspid, three-year-old.

Yotated vowel sounds

The letters i, yu, e, e are called iotized and mean two sounds in the following positions of the word:

1. at the beginning of the word: fir tree [y "olka], Yana [y "ana], raccoon [y "inot];
2. after a vowel: hare [zai"its], bayan [bai"an];
3. after ь or ъ: streams [ruch "y", rise [fall "om].

For ё and stressed vowels I, yu, e, a replacement is made: I → [y’a], yu → [y’u], e → [y’e], ё → [y’o]. For unstressed vowels, a replacement is used: i → [th"i], e → [th"i]. In some school programs, when compiling a transcription of a word and during phonetic analysis, the Latin j is written instead of th.

In the Russian language there are voiced and voiceless consonants. When studying phonetics (the study of speech sounds) and graphics (the study of letters of the alphabet), it is necessary to clearly know which sounds are unvoiced and which are voiced.

What is it for?

The fact is that in the Russian language, letters denoting voiced consonants are not necessarily read voiced in all cases. There are also cases when letters denoting dull sounds are read loudly. The correct correlation of letters and sounds will significantly help in learning the rules of writing words.

Let us examine in more detail what the concepts of deafness and voicedness mean. The formation of voiced consonants occurs due to noise and voice: the air stream not only overcomes the obstacle in the oral cavity, but also vibrates the vocal cords.

• The following sounds are voiced: b, v, g, d, zh, z, l, m, n, r, y.
• However, in phonetics, from this series of sounds, so-called sonorant sounds are also distinguished, which are as close as possible in their characteristics to vowel sounds: they can be sung and prolonged in speech. These sounds include y, r, l, n, m.

Voiceless consonant sounds are pronounced without the participation of the voice, only with the help of noise, while the vocal cords are relaxed.

• These letters and sounds include the following: k, p, s, t, f, x, c, ch, sh, shch. In order to make it easier to remember all the voiceless consonants in the Russian language, you need to learn the phrase: “Styopka, do you want shchetc?” - “Fi!” All consonant sounds in it are unvoiced.

Pairs of voiced and voiceless consonants

Voiced and unvoiced sounds and the letters denoting them are contrasted in Russian and form pairs:

1. b-p,
2. w-f,
3. g-k,
4. d-t,
5. ss,
6. w-sh.

If we take into account that the consonants in these pairs can also be soft (except zh-sh), then there are a total of 11 contrasting pairs of deafness and voicedness. The listed sounds are called paired. The remaining voiced and unvoiced sounds do not have pairs. The voiced unpaired ones include the above sonorants, and the voiceless ones include x, c, ch, shch. The table of consonants presented on our website will help you study these sounds in more detail.

Click on the picture to print a table with voiced and voiceless consonants

How is it that letters in the Russian alphabet can represent several sounds?

Features of the pronunciation of a sound are often predetermined by its position in a word. Thus, a voiced sound at the end of a word is deafened, and this position of the sound is called “weak”. Stunning can also occur before the next voiceless consonant, for example: pond, booth. We write voiced consonants and pronounce: twig, butka.

Conversely, a voiceless consonant can become voiced if it is followed by a voiced sound: threshing, but we pronounce malad ba. Knowing this feature of Russian phonetics, we check the spelling of consonants at the end and middle of a word using test words: molotba - thresh, pond-ponds, booth - booth. We select the test word so that after the dubious consonant there is a vowel.

To remember what a sound is according to its characteristics, it is necessary to make mental associations of the sound with some object, event or natural sound. For example, the sound sh is similar to the rustling of leaves, and the sound z is similar to the hum of bees. The association will help you find your way in time. Another way is to create a phrase with a specific set of sounds.

Thus, knowing the letter-sound relationship is extremely important for spelling and correct pronunciation. Without studying phonetics, it is impossible to study and correctly perceive the melody of a language.

Video lesson about voiced and voiceless consonants:

Tralik and Valik about voiced and voiceless consonants

Another video lesson for children with riddles about voiced and voiceless consonants

Sounds belong to the section of phonetics. The study of sounds is included in any school curriculum in the Russian language. Familiarization with sounds and their basic characteristics occurs in the lower grades. A more detailed study of sounds with complex examples and nuances takes place in middle and high school. This page provides only basic knowledge according to the sounds of the Russian language in a compressed form. If you need to study the structure of the speech apparatus, the tonality of sounds, articulation, acoustic components and other aspects that go beyond the scope of the modern school curriculum, refer to specialized manuals and textbooks on phonetics.

What is sound?

Sound, like words and sentences, is the basic unit of language. However, the sound does not express any meaning, but reflects the sound of the word. Thanks to this, we distinguish words from each other. Words differ in the number of sounds (port - sport, crow - funnel), a set of sounds (lemon - estuary, cat - mouse), a sequence of sounds (nose - sleep, bush - knock) up to complete mismatch of sounds (boat - speedboat, forest - park).

What sounds are there?

In Russian, sounds are divided into vowels and consonants. The Russian language has 33 letters and 42 sounds: 6 vowels, 36 consonants, 2 letters (ь, ъ) do not indicate a sound. The discrepancy in the number of letters and sounds (not counting b and b) is caused by the fact that for 10 vowel letters there are 6 sounds, for 21 consonant letters there are 36 sounds (if we take into account all combinations of consonant sounds: deaf/voiced, soft/hard). On the letter, the sound is indicated in square brackets.
There are no sounds: [e], [e], [yu], [ya], [b], [b], [zh'], [sh'], [ts'], [th], [h] , [sch].

Scheme 1. Letters and sounds of the Russian language.

How are sounds pronounced?

We pronounce sounds when exhaling (only in the case of the interjection “a-a-a”, expressing fear, the sound is pronounced when inhaling.). The division of sounds into vowels and consonants is related to how a person pronounces them. Vowel sounds are pronounced by the voice due to exhaled air passing through tense vocal cords and freely exiting through the mouth. Consonant sounds consist of noise or a combination of voice and noise due to the fact that the exhaled air encounters an obstacle in its path in the form of a bow or teeth. Vowel sounds are pronounced loudly, consonant sounds are pronounced muffled. A person is able to sing vowel sounds with his voice (exhaled air), raising or lowering the timbre. Consonant sounds cannot be sung; they are pronounced equally muffled. Hard and soft signs do not represent sounds. They cannot be pronounced as an independent sound. When pronouncing a word, they influence the consonant in front of them, making it soft or hard.

Transcription of the word

Transcription of a word is a recording of the sounds in a word, that is, actually a recording of how the word is correctly pronounced. Sounds are enclosed in square brackets. Compare: a - letter, [a] - sound. The softness of consonants is indicated by an apostrophe: p - letter, [p] - hard sound, [p’] - soft sound. Voiced and voiceless consonants are not indicated in writing in any way. The transcription of the word is written in square brackets. Examples: door → [dv’er’], thorn → [kal’uch’ka]. Sometimes the transcription indicates stress - an apostrophe before the stressed vowel.

There is no clear comparison of letters and sounds. In the Russian language there are many cases of substitution of vowel sounds depending on the place of stress of the word, substitution of consonants or loss of consonant sounds in certain combinations. When compiling a transcription of a word, the rules of phonetics are taken into account.

Color scheme

In phonetic analysis, words are sometimes drawn with color schemes: letters are painted in different colors depending on what sound they represent. The colors reflect the phonetic characteristics of sounds and help you visualize how a word is pronounced and what sounds it consists of.

All vowels (stressed and unstressed) are marked with a red background. Iotated vowels are marked green-red: green means the soft consonant sound [й‘], red means the vowel that follows it. Consonants with hard sounds are colored blue. Consonants with soft sounds are colored green. Soft and hard signs are painted gray or not painted at all.

Designations:
- vowel, - iotated, - hard consonant, - soft consonant, - soft or hard consonant.

Note. The blue-green color is not used in phonetic analysis diagrams, since a consonant sound cannot be soft and hard at the same time. The blue-green color in the table above is only used to demonstrate that the sound can be either soft or hard.