Russian has 21 consonants and 36 consonants. Consonants and their corresponding consonant sounds:
b - [b], c - [c], d - [g], d - [e], f - [g], d - [d], h - [h], k - [k], l - [l], m - [m], n - [n], n - [n], r - [p], s - [s], t - [t], f - [f], x - [x ], c - [c], h - [h], w - [w], u - [u].
Consonants are divided into voiced and deaf, hard and soft. They are paired and unpaired. There are 36 different combinations of consonants in terms of pairing-unpairing of hard and soft, deaf and voiced: deaf - 16 (8 soft and 8 hard), voiced - 20 (10 soft and 10 hard).
Scheme 1. Consonant letters and consonant sounds of the Russian language.
Hard and soft consonants
Consonants are hard and soft. They are divided into paired and unpaired. Paired hard and paired soft consonants help us distinguish between words. Compare: horse [kon '] - con [kon], bow [bow] - hatch [l'uk].
For understanding, let's explain "on the fingers". If a consonant letter in different words means either a soft or a hard sound, then the sound is paired. For example, in the word cat, the letter k denotes a solid sound [k], in the word whale, the letter k denotes soft sound[to']. We get: [k] - [k '] form a pair of hardness-softness. Sounds for different consonants cannot be attributed to a pair, for example [v] and [k '] do not make a pair in hardness-softness, but make a pair [v] - [v ']. If a consonant is always hard or always soft, then it belongs to unpaired consonants. For example, the sound [g] is always solid. There are no words in Russian where it would be soft [zh']. Since there is no pair [w] - [w ’], then it belongs to unpaired ones.
Voiced and voiceless consonants
Consonants are voiced and voiceless. Thanks to voiced and deaf consonants, we distinguish words. Compare: ball - heat, count - goal, house - volume. Deaf consonants are pronounced with the mouth almost covered; when they are pronounced, the vocal cords do not work. For voiced consonants, more air is needed, the vocal cords work.
Some consonant sounds have a similar sound in terms of pronunciation, but are pronounced with different tonality - deaf or sonorous. Such sounds are combined in pairs and form a group of paired consonants. Accordingly, paired consonants are a pair of voiceless and voiced consonants.
- paired consonants: b-p, v-f, g-k, d-t, s-s, f-sh.
- unpaired consonants: l, m, n, p, d, c, x, h, u.
Sonorant, noisy and hissing consonants
Sonorant - voiced unpaired consonants. There are 9 sonorous sounds: [th '], [l], [l '], [m], [m '], [n], [n '], [p], [p '].
Noisy consonants are voiced and deaf:
- Noisy voiceless consonants (16): [k], [k "], [p], [p"], [s], [s"], [t], [t"], [f], [f "], [x], [x'], [q], [h'], [w], [w'];
- Noisy voiced consonants (11): [b], [b '], [c], [c '], [g], [g '], [d], [d '], [g], [s ], [h'].
Hissing consonants (4): [g], [h '], [w], [u '].
Paired and unpaired consonants
Consonants (soft and hard, deaf and voiced) are divided into paired and unpaired. The tables above show the division. Let's summarize everything with a diagram:
Scheme 2. Paired and unpaired consonants. To be able to do phonetic analysis, in addition to consonants, you need to know
As you know, speech sounds can be divided into vowels (pronounced only by voice) and consonants (noise is involved in their pronunciation). Many consonants can be paired according to their characteristics, but not all.
Paired and unpaired consonants according to deafness-voicedness
We must immediately make a reservation that there are only four such sounds that are unpaired in all respects. We will talk about them at the end of the article. The majority, on one basis, is included in the pair, but on the other - not. Therefore, it makes no sense to write about the consonant "unpaired" - it is necessary to indicate on what basis.
Consonants differ in voicelessness-voicedness. This means that when pronouncing some of them, more voice is used (sonorous, sonorous), while others use more noise (deaf) or even one noise at all (hissing).
Sonorants are very voiced consonants, they have a lot of voices, but little noise.
Two sonorous consonants - [L] and [P] - can even form a syllable under some circumstances, that is, behave like vowels. Surely you have met the erroneous spelling "teator". It is explained precisely by the fact that [P] in this word is syllable-forming. Other examples are the words "Alexander", "meaning".
Unpaired voiced consonants are just sonorants. There are five of them:
Sometimes [Y] is not classified as sonorant, but it still remains voiced unpaired. Let's look at the table.
It shows that, in addition to voiced unpaired, there are also sounds that are unpaired deaf. Most of them are hissing; only the deaf unpaired consonant sound [Ts] does not belong to hissing ones.
In this article, we consider only Russian speech sounds. In other languages, the distribution in pairs may be different. For example, in Tibetan there is a voiceless pair to the voiced [L].
Pairs of hardness-softness
In addition to deafness-voicedness, Russian consonants form pairs according to hardness-softness.
This means that some of them are perceived as softer by ear. Then we usually somehow denote it in writing: for example, we write a soft sign or one of the vowels E, Yo, Yu, Ya.
Oral speech is primary (it is clear to anyone that it appeared before written language), so it is wrong to say: “The sound [H ’] in the word HORSE is soft, because it is followed by b.” On the contrary, we write b because H' is soft.
By hardness-softness, consonants also make up pairs. But in this case, not all. In Russian, there are unpaired soft and unpaired hard consonants.
Unpaired solid consonants are mainly hissing ([Ж], [Ш]) and [Ц]. They always form in the distant palate.
But in the ancestor of our language, Old Slavonic, on the contrary, [Ж] and [Ш] were always soft and did not have a hard pair. Then [K], [G] and [X] were not soft. Currently, you can meet the (once the only possible) pronunciation with a soft [F '] [DROZH'ZH'I] or [DOZH '] (rain), but this is now optional.
Unpaired soft ones are [Y '] and again hissing [H '] and [Sch '].
That is, all sibilants are either always hard or always soft. The letter b after them does not indicate softness, it performs a grammatical function (for example, without even knowing what “baldness” is, anyone will immediately say that this is a feminine word, because in the masculine gender after hissing b is not put). Solid unpaired hissing consonants in a word can have b with them, but this does not mean that they should be softened. This means that we have a noun of 3 declensions, an adverb or a verb.
Unpaired soft consonants in a word make you want to put b after them, which is often not required. Therefore, it makes sense to remember that in combinations of CHK, CHN, etc. b after h is not needed.
Sounds "completely unpaired"
In Russian, the majority of consonants are either paired on both grounds, or paired on one ground and unpaired on another. for example, in the word [P'EN '] (stump) the sound [P '] is paired both in deafness-voicedness (P '- B '), and in hardness-softness (P '- P), and the sound [N '] is paired in hardness-softness (H' - H), but unpaired in deafness-voicedness.
However, there are several sounds that are unpaired in both ways. These are the sounds [Y '] (unpaired voiced, unpaired soft), [H '] (unpaired soft, unpaired deaf), [Щ '] (unpaired soft, unpaired deaf) and [C] (unpaired hard, unpaired deaf). Such sounds are often made in Russian language olympiads. For example,"Guess the sound according to the characteristic: unpaired solid, unpaired deaf." We already see that it is [C].
What have we learned?
From the article about paired and unpaired consonants, we learned that in Russian there are both paired and unpaired consonants. Paired consonants differ in deafness-voicedness and in hardness-softness.
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What is the difference between vowels and consonants and sounds? What rules do they follow? How is the hardness and softness of sounds and letters indicated? You will get answers to all these questions in the presented article.
General information about vowels and consonants
Vowels and consonants are the basis of the entire Russian language. Indeed, with the help of their combinations, syllables are formed that add up to words, expressions, sentences, texts, and so on. That is why quite a lot of hours are devoted to this topic in high school.
and sounds in Russian
A person will learn about what vowels and consonants are in the Russian alphabet from the first grade. And despite all the seeming simplicity of this topic, it is considered one of the most difficult for students.
So, in the Russian language there are ten vowels, namely: o, i, a, s, u, i, e, e, u, e. During their direct pronunciation, you can feel how the air passes freely through oral cavity. At the same time, we hear our own voice quite clearly. It should also be noted that vowels can be pulled (ah-ah-ah-ah, uh-uh-uh, i-i-i-i-i, u-u-u-u-u and so on ).
Features and letters
Vowels are the basis of the syllable, that is, they organize it. As a rule, there are as many syllables in Russian words as there are vowels themselves. Let's give a good example: u-che-no-ki - 5 syllables, re-bya-ta - 3 syllables, he - 1 syllable, o-no - 2 syllables, and so on. There are even words that consist of only one vowel sound. Usually these are interjections (Ah!, Oh!, Woo!) and unions (and, a, etc.).
Endings, suffixes and prefixes are very important topics in the Russian language discipline. Indeed, without knowing how such letters are written in a particular word, it is rather problematic to compose a competent letter.
Consonants and sounds in Russian
Vowel and consonant letters and sounds differ significantly. And if the former can be easily pulled, then the latter are pronounced as short as possible (except for hissing ones, since they can be pulled).
It should be noted that in the Russian alphabet the number of consonant letters is 21, namely: b, c, d, e, g, h, d, k, l, m, n, p, p, s, t, f, x, c, h, sh, sh. The sounds denoted by them are usually divided into deaf and voiced. What is the difference? The fact is that during the pronunciation of voiced consonants, a person can hear not only the characteristic noise, but also his own voice (b!, z!, p!, etc.). As for the deaf, they cannot be pronounced loudly or, for example, shouted. They create only a kind of noise (sh-sh-sh-sh-sh, s-s-s-s-s, etc.).
Thus, almost everything falls into two different categories:
- voiced - b, c, d, d, f, z, d, l, m, n, r;
- deaf - k, p, s, t, f, x, c, h, w.
Softness and hardness of consonants
Not everyone knows, but vowels and consonants can be hard and soft. This is the second most important feature in the Russian language (after voiced and deaf).
A distinctive feature of soft consonants is that during their pronunciation, the human language takes on a special position. As a rule, it shifts slightly forward, and its entire middle part rises slightly. As for when they are pronounced, the tongue is pulled back. You can compare the position of your speech organ yourself: [n] - [n '], [t] - [t ']. It should also be noted that voiced and soft sounds sound somewhat higher than hard ones.
In Russian, almost all consonants have pairs on the basis of softness and hardness. However, there are those who simply do not have them. These include hard ones - [g], [w] and [c] and soft ones - [th "], [h"] and [w"].
Softness and hardness of vowels
Surely few people have heard that the Russian language has soft vowels. Soft consonants are sounds that are quite familiar to us, which cannot be said about the above. This is partly due to the fact that in high school there is practically no time for this topic. After all, it is already clear with the help of which vowels the consonants become soft. However, we still decided to dedicate you to this topic.
So, soft letters are those letters that are able to soften the consonants that come before them. These include the following: i, e, i, e, u. As for such letters as a, y, s, e, o, they are considered hard, since they do not soften the consonants going in front. To see this, here are a few examples:
The designation of the softness of consonants in the phonetic analysis of the word
The sounds and letters of the Russian language are studied by phonetics. Surely, in high school you were asked more than once to make a certain word. During such an analysis, it is imperative to indicate whether it is separately considered or not. If yes, then it must be denoted as follows: [n '], [t '], [d '], [in '], [m '], [p ']. That is, at the top right, next to the consonant letter in front of the soft vowel, you need to put a kind of dash. The following soft sounds are also marked with a similar icon - [th "], [h"] and [sh"].
All consonants in the Russian language are divided according to several criteria, including the principle of voiced-deafness. This pronunciation characteristic affects whether the voice is used when pronouncing the sound or not. The study of this topic is very important for understanding the basic principles of the phonetic system, because voiceless consonants are a very important part of it.
What is a voiceless consonant
Deaf consonants are produced only by noise, without the participation of the voice. When they are pronounced, the vocal cords are completely relaxed, the larynx does not vibrate.
Paired and unpaired voiceless consonants
Most of the sounds that fall into this category have a voiced pair. What these sounds can be found in the table “Deaf consonant sounds in Russian”.
Thus, in Russian there are 11 deaf consonants that have a voiced pair. But there are also unpaired ones - these are sounds such as [x], [x '], [h '] and [u '].
They cannot become voiced, regardless of position.
To remember all the deaf consonants that are in the Russian language, a special mnemonic phrase helps: “Stepka, do you want a cabbage? - Ugh!". But it will not help to remember their pairing in terms of hardness-softness, since deaf consonants that have a pair are presented in it in only one variety - either hard or soft.
Consonant Stunning Rule
In Russian, there are cases when a voiced consonant is written in writing, and in speech it turns into a deaf consonant. This happens, for example, when a voiced letter appears at the very end of a word, as in the word mushroom, the transcription of which will look like [flu].
Due to the fact that voiced consonants are stunned at the end, it is often difficult to reproduce such words in writing. However, there is an easy way to check which letter to use: you need to change the word so that the consonant is before the vowel, for example, mushroom - mushroom. Then it will immediately become clear what needs to be written. The same applies to cases where there is a deaf consonant at the end, and in writing it is voiced “according to general rule". You can check which letter is written in the same way: cry - cry, lot - lot.
Voiced consonants located in positions at the beginning and in the middle of a word can also be stunned if they are followed by a deaf consonant. This is easy to understand with an example: booth [butka].
What have we learned?
Deaf consonant sounds are such sounds, during the formation of which the larynx does not vibrate, that is, the voice does not participate. They consist only of noise. Most deaf consonants have a voiced pair, but there are four unpaired sounds of this type - these are [x], [x '], [h '] and [u ']. Due to the rule of stunning consonants during pronunciation, those consonants that are voiced in writing go into their deaf pair. This happens if they are at the end of a word, and also when they are preceded by another deaf consonant.
There are 21 consonants and 37 consonants in Russian:
Consonants are hard and soft, voiced and deaf. The softness of the sound is indicated as follows - ["].
Hard and soft consonants
A solid consonant is obtained if the consonant is followed by the vowel A, O, U, Y or E:
lo ku we fe
A soft consonant is obtained if the consonant is followed by a vowel E, E, I, Yu or I:
be le ki nu la
The softness of consonants is also indicated by soft sign- b. The soft sign itself does not denote a sound, it is written after a consonant letter and together with it denotes one soft consonant sound:
lynx[lynx "], the fire[fire"], winter storm[in "th" ug].
Most consonants correspond to two sounds: hard and soft, such consonants are called paired.
Paired consonants for hardness - softness:
But there are consonants that correspond to only one of the sounds: hard or soft, such consonants are called unpaired.
Unpaired hard consonants(always solid): F [g], W [w], C [c].
Unpaired soft consonants(always soft): H [h "], U [u"], Y [y"].
In Russian there is a long voiced soft sound [zh "]. It is found in a small number of words and is obtained only when pronouncing letter combinations zhzh, zhzh, zhd: reins, rattle, rain.
Voiced and voiceless consonants
Consonants can be divided into voiceless and voiced.
Deaf consonants are called such sounds, the pronunciation of which does not use a voice, they consist only of noise, for example: sounds [s], [w], [h "].
Voiced consonants are called such sounds, the pronunciation of which uses the voice, that is, they consist of voice and noise, for example: sounds [p], [g], [d].
Some sounds make up a pair: voiced - deaf, such sounds are called paired.
Paired consonants for deafness - voicedness:
Unpaired voiced consonants: Y, L, M, N, R.
Unpaired voiceless consonants: X, C, H, W.
Hissing and whistling consonants
The sounds [zh], [w], [h "], [u"] are called hissing consonants. The sounds [w] and [w] are unpaired hard hissing consonants:
bug[bug], jester[jester]
The sounds [h "] and [u"] are unpaired soft hissing consonant sounds:
siskin[h "izh], shield[shield]
Sounds [z], [z "] [s], [s"], [c] are called whistling consonants.
Letter and sound Y
The letter Y (and short) means the sound [y "]: paradise [paradise"]. The letter Y is written:
- At the beginning of words: iodine, yogurt.
- In the middle of words, before consonants: like, T-shirt, coffee pot.
- At the end of the words: paradise, May, yours.
The sound [th "] is more common than the letter Y, since it appears in words where there is no letter Y, but there are vowels I, E, Yu and Y. Let's consider in which cases the sound [y"] occurs in words that do not contain the letter Y:
- vowels I, E, Yu and Yo are at the beginning of the word: pit [th "ama]
- the vowels I, E, Yu and Yo are after the vowels: blowing [blow it]
- the vowels I, E, Yu and Yo stand after a separating hard sign (b): entry [vy "ezd]
- vowels I, E, Yu and Yo are after the dividing soft sign (b): pouring [l "th" from]
- the vowel And stands after the separating soft sign (b): hives [st "th" and]