When we speak, we make sounds. They are formed as a result of the movement of air from the lungs through the mouth and, depending on how the tongue and lips are located at this moment, have a different color.
Sounds of speech participate in the formation of words - language units that have a certain semantic meaning and are used for the communication process. Let's get to know them better!
What are letters and sounds
Everything we hear and say is sounds. They are indicated in a certain way on the letter, and what we write and then read is letters.
But the sounds of speech and the letters by which they are indicated in the Russian language vary greatly in quantity. In spoken language, we pronounce 43 basic sounds, but we use only 33 letters to write them.
That is, all the letters of our language can be divided into 3 groups.
- Letters that do not denote sounds (these are “b” and “b”). As an example, we can cite: “stump”, which is pronounced [p´en´], and “move out” - [sy´ehat´].
- Letters denoting 2 sounds. Such letters include "", "e", "u", "I". Their pronunciation uses a pair of sounds: [y´o], [y´e], [y´u], [y´a].
- The letters that indicate 1 sound (these are all the other letters).
What is the difference between vowels and consonants
There are two main groups of speech sounds - they are defined as vowels and consonants. Vowels are those sounds in which only the voice is involved. They are pronounced lingeringly, in the mouth the sound does not meet any barriers.
Consonants - this is what we pronounce, combining both voice and noise (they are called voiced) or only noise (deaf consonants). In addition, consonants can be either hard or soft.
Stressed and unstressed syllables
Vowels of speech participate in the formation of syllables, while being under stress or in an unstressed position. Stress means the pronunciation of a syllable with greater force.
The Russian language is characterized by a change in the position of stress. It can appear on any syllable, unlike the Polish or French languages, where a certain place is assigned to it. For example, in the word "whistled" the stress on the first syllable, and in the word "whistle" - on the second.
What letters indicate vowel sounds in Russian
To designate the main vowel sounds of speech (there are six in our language), ten vowels are used:
sound [and] - is indicated by the letter “and” (tiger);
[s] - the letter "s" (smoke);
[a] - the letters "a" (mother) and "I" (pit);
[o] - the letter “o” (nose) and “” (hedgehog);
[e] - the letter "e" (echo) and "e" (day);
[y] - the letter "y" (kum) and "yu" (south).
Thus, it turns out that in order to denote 4 vowels ([o], [a], [e], [y]) in the alphabet there are two whole rows of letters. It can be:
In the second row, letters perform two functions at once. They not only indicate a vowel sound, but also signal that the previous consonant was soft (chalk - [m´el]).
If they are at the beginning of a word, located after vowels or after a soft or hard dividing sign - they indicate a combination of sounds. For example, the word Christmas tree sounds [yolka], and the word sings - [pay´ot].
How are deaf and voiced consonants in a letter
Sounds of speech participate in the formation of words and are there in a weak or strong position, which often has a direct effect on their designation in writing. So, the same letter in a language can denote different sounds. Example: the letter “n” can denote 2 sounds - [n] and [n´]: niche - [n´isha] or null [null].
And one letter “b” can mean 4 variants of sounds [b], [b´] or [n], [p´]. For example: was [was] - beat [b´il] or hump [hump] - Ob [op´].
If the voiced consonant is written at the end of the word or is placed before the deaf consonants, then it can denote its paired deaf sound. This position is called weak. Pay attention to how we pronounce: kadka - ka [t] ka (sound is in front of a deaf consonant) or eye - gla [s] (sound is at the end of a word). This process is defined as stunning.
Deaf consonants can sound like their paired - voiced if they are in a strong position. For example: threshing sounds like a milk [d´] ba, and in the word request a sound [z´] is heard - about [z´] ba. This, as you know, is a blessing.
It should be noted that in Russian the position of consonants before vowels or before voiced consonants is considered a strong position in Russian.
As the letter indicates some consonant sounds
Some sounds of Russian speech are indicated on the letter by a combination of letters. By the way, this situation causes a very large number of spelling errors.
For example, a single sound [´] in a written word may look like mid, zh or zh. We write - the score, but we pronounce [shchot], we write - the cabman, and we say [izvoshchik], we write - the man, but it sounds like [muschina].
And the sound [ts] can be designated both as a combination of ts or dts, and as ts or tf. For example: read - read [q] a, twenty - two [q] at.
Letters do not always correspond to “their” sounds
As already mentioned, the sounds of speech participate in the formation of words and are indicated in letters by certain letters. And it often turns out that different sounds can “hide” behind one letter. For example, in the root of a word, when its number changes, we write the same letter, but pronounce different sounds at the same time: TABLES (st [o] l) - TABLES (st [a] ly). That is, with the letter “o” we mean two sounds: [o] and [a].
But there are cases when different sounds are indicated by one letter. So, in the word “treasure” and in the word “raft” at the end one and the same sound sounds [t], but it is indicated, as you see, by different letters: “d” and “t”.
The literal composition of words often does not coincide with the sound. For example, in the word “valiant” ten letters are written, but only nine are pronounced: [valorous “word”]. In this and similar cases, the letter "t" is an unpronounceable consonant. That is, such a letter that does not mean sound. Here are a few more examples of such letters: the sun - [sonce], the heart - [s'erze].
Features of the combination of consonants and vowels
The solid consonants of Russian speech are not combined with the vowel “and” following them, and the soft consonants cannot be combined with “s”. For example, in the word “dinner” there is always a solid sound [w] requiring sound [s], therefore we pronounce [uzhyn].
In some cases, softening occurs in speech of hard consonants, paired with soft. So, if in a word a carriage, the sound [n] is solid, then in combination with the always soft [h´] it sounds softly - the car [carriage “ch”].
The same thing happens in situations with a combination with other soft consonants: fantasy - fa [n´t´] ik, forest - le [s´n´] ik, pure - chi [c´t´] it.
The use of hard and soft sign in Russian
The sounds of speech and letters in our language, as you probably already understood, often do not coincide. For example, a hard and soft sign on a letter does not indicate any sounds.
These letters, as a rule, signal that the letters e, e, i, y behind them are pronounced as two sounds (drinks [pyot]). If b is after the consonant, then it indicates its softness (day [d´en´]).
In some cases, a soft sign plays only a grammatical role. For example, in the word “lie” it does not mean the softness of the previous consonant, but merely indicates that the given noun belongs to the female gender.
Features of the spelling and pronunciation of some borrowed words
In some words borrowed from other languages, the letter e does not sound soft, as is customary in Russian, but a solid consonant. Please note - in the word "pace" we write e, but at the same time we pronounce a solid sound [t]. The pronunciation of this and similar words needs to be memorized or refer to the orthoepic dictionary.
Kashne - [ne], model - [de], claim - [te], relay - the first syllable [re], dash - [re], test - [te], thermos - [te], tennis - [te].
As you can see, the sounds of speech (Grade 1 or 11 are left behind) is a deep and serious topic that, when carefully studied, will help you understand the intricacies of pronunciation rules and the principles of writing many words that cause difficulties. Good luck