Classification of vowels and consonants. Strong and weak positions of sounds. Strong and weak positions of consonants

Russian language is a difficult subject. We write words completely differently from how they are actually pronounced. In speech, the same phonemes manifest themselves in different sound forms. Compare, for example, the words “honey” - [m"ot] and "honey" - [m"idok]. It all depends on whether the phonemes occupy strong positions or weak positions within a word. Let's talk about this in more detail.

Speech is a continuous stream of phonemes in which the pronunciation of a sound is largely determined by its place in the word, neighboring vowels and consonants. IN weak position articulation undergoes significant changes. Phonemes lose some of their characteristics and begin to appear in other variants. For example, [o] in an unstressed position begins to sound like [a]: [vada], [sava]. The final [g] is pronounced like [k]: [druk], [kruk]. It is in such places that we make mistakes in writing.

IN strong position the phoneme, on the contrary, is heard clearly and stands in its basic form. It does not depend on its position in a word; its quality is not affected by neighboring sounds. This is, for example, the phoneme [o] in the words “water”, “owl”. Or the sound [g] in the words “to a friend”, “around”.

Morphological principle of spelling

For what to an ordinary person, far from linguistics, know the strong and weak positions of phonemes? The fact is that the spelling of 90% of Russian words is regulated by the so-called morphological principle. According to him, we should not take into account phonetic alternations when we pick up a pen or type text on a keyboard. Roots, suffixes, prefixes, endings are always written the same way. Reduction of vowels, softening of consonants before certain sounds, their voicing or deafening are not taken into account.

From this follows the conclusion: when writing, you cannot rely on hearing. Only sounds in strong positions are written as they are heard. All others need to be verified. Having determined that the phoneme is in a weak position, we begin to select a test word with the same morpheme. For example, tooth - dental, linden - pine, hike - train, to the lamp - to the water. In the test word, the phoneme must be in a strong position, and be in the same morpheme. Otherwise you might make a mistake.

Strong and weak positions of vowel sounds

Already in elementary school, children know: the sound under stress is heard for a long time, clearly and does not need to be checked. We can safely write the words “catfish”, “sam” in the notebook. This is a strong vowel position.

The unstressed position is a completely different matter. Such a vowel is in a weak position; we pronounce it briefly, with less force, indistinctly. Compare the words "soma" and "sama". They sound almost the same. In order not to make mistakes when writing them, schoolchildren are taught to select test words.

The Russian language is characterized by:

• “akanie”, when unstressed [a] and [o] are pronounced the same after hard consonants (for example, the words “at home”, “dala”);
• “hiccup”, in which unstressed [a] and [e] are indistinguishable after soft consonants (for example, in the words “ball” and “sword”).

The vowels [i], [u] and [s] in a weak position are pronounced shorter, but do not change their quality sound. However, it is better to exercise caution here too. Unstressed [i], for example, can easily be confused with the phonemes [a] and [e] that come after soft consonants.

Positions of consonants: voiceless and voiced

Consonant sounds form pairs according to such characteristics as “voiceless-voiced” and “hard-soft”. Accordingly, strong and weak positions of consonants are also determined by these two characteristics.

A strong position on the basis of “voiceless-voiced” for consonants is the position:

• before a vowel: tom-house, fence-cathedral;
• before sonorants: firewood - grass, layer - evil;
• before the letter "v": the creator is the palace.

In the listed cases, the consonants are heard clearly and do not require verification. It is hardly possible to make a mistake in spellings that do not have a pair for deafness. These include [l], [l"], [n], [n"], [p], [r"], [m], [m"], [th"]. Phonemes [x], [ ts], [x"], [sch"] and [ch"], on the contrary, do not have a voiced paired sound. They can occupy different positions in words, maintaining their basic characteristics and not coinciding with other consonants during pronunciation.

When can consonants be voiced or devoiced?

Now we will learn to distinguish between strong positions and weak positions of paired phonemes based on the voiced-voicedness of phonemes. In what cases are we at risk of making a mistake in writing? This position:

• at the end of a word, where both voiced and voiceless phonemes coincide in their sound: eye - voice, oak - dull, bough - meadow;
• before a paired voiced sound, when the adjacent consonant is also pronounced voiced: shave - [zb]rit, give - o[dd]at;
• before a voiceless consonant, when the adjacent sound is deafened: spoon - lo[shk]a, entrance - [fh]od.

To avoid mistakes, we must understand in which morpheme the questionable sound is located. Then find a test word where the required phoneme is in a strong position. So that this does not take much time, you need training. Let's select test words for the examples given above: eye - eyes, voice - glasa, oak - oak, stupid - stupid, bough - bough, meadow - meadows; shave - fold, give - drive away; spoon - apply, entrance - left.

Consonant positions: hardness and softness

The time has come to consider the strong and weak positions of consonant sounds on such a basis as “hard-soft”. There are many dangers awaiting us here. The morphological principle does not always save. For example, the sounds [zh] and [sh] are always hard, but we know: in some cases a soft sign is written after them (rye, hear). After the hard [ts] there can be the letter “y” (chicken) or “i” (circus).

The sounds [ch"] and [sch"] are always pronounced softly, but from the first grade we remember the spelling of the syllables "cha-sha" and "chu-schu". There is another principle at work here, called traditional or historical. Only a clear knowledge of the rules of the Russian language will save you from making mistakes.

Nevertheless, let's return to theory. In what case do consonants that have a pair of hardness and softness do not change their quality characteristics? This position:

• before a vowel: [mal] - [m "al", [ox] - [v "ol", [bow] - [l "uk", [life"] - [b "it"];
• at the end of the word: [kon] - [kon"], [brother] - [brother"];
• absolutely any for phonemes [l], [l"]: vo[l]a - vo[l"n]a, po[l"z]a - po[l]at;
• before back-lingual [g], [k], [x], [g"], [k"], [x"] and hard labial [b], [m], [n] for front-lingual sounds: go [rk] a - go[r"k]o, i[zb]a - re[z"b]a;
• before hard teeth [s], [z], [ts], [d], [t], [l], [n] for teeth: ko[ns]ky - yu[n"s]ky;
• before hard front-linguals [s], [z], [t], [d], [ts], [l], [r], [n], [sh], [z] for sonorant front-linguals: jan [rs] cue - September[r"s]kiy, ma[nzh]eta - de[n"zh]ata.

Weak positions according to the characteristic "softness - hardness"

There are positions in which hard consonants soften under the influence of neighboring sounds. They are considered weak. This position:

• Before [th"]: raven - vor[n"y"o]. The exception is the consonants at the end of the prefix before [th"]: [vy"est] - entry.
• Before soft dental sounds for sounds [c], [n], [z]: together [s"t"]e, [z"d"]es.
• Before the phonemes [ch"] and [sch"] for the sound [n]: drum [n"sch"]ik, roll [n"ch"]ik.

In general, it is very difficult to distinguish between strong positions and weak positions on the basis of “hard-soft consonant”. The fact is that it is not possible to select examples for all cases. So, in the Russian language before [n] we find only solid [m]: compote, shampoo, etc. Not a single word has the sound [m"] in this position. Consequently, we cannot be completely sure whether it is realized here phoneme [m] or [m"].

Absolute positions for consonants

Let's summarize. Everything is clear with vowel sounds. If they are stressed, the position is considered strong. If the stress falls on another phoneme in the word, then the position is weak. It's more complicated with consonants.

For example, in the word “tooth” the sound at the end is deafened. The position on the basis of “voice-voicelessness” will be weak. But it is also strong on the soft-hard scale. When the weak positions for both characteristics coincide, the phoneme is considered absolutely weak. It realizes itself in various variations and requires the application of spelling rules.

It happens that a consonant is in a strong position both according to the “voiced-voiceless” characteristic and according to the “soft-hard” characteristic. This is often observed in the position before a vowel sound. This position is called absolutely strong.

Knowing the strong positions and weak positions of phonemes is necessary for every person who wants to write correctly. This will allow you to quickly identify the “mistaken” place in the word and remember the corresponding rule.

In a word, consonants can occupy different positions. In some positions, consonants are contrasted with each other in terms of sonority-dullness and hardness-softness; such positions are called strong. The positions of the consonant before vowels and before sonorants are strong in voiced-voicelessness (i.e., voiced and voiceless consonants are always different here): d am – T um, b silt – n silt, h loy – With loy, d rel – T rel. Consonant positions before vowels (except [e]) are also strong in terms of hardness and softness: m al – m yal, l uk – l yuk, b yt – b it, V ol – V ate(but before [e] both a soft and a hard consonant sound are possible: sir – sir; meter(unit of measurement; pronounced with a soft [m"]) -meter(teacher, master; pronounced with [m] hard).

Positions in which consonants are not contrasted in terms of voicedness and deafness and in terms of hardness and softness are called weak. Thus, the position of the consonant at the end of a word is weak in terms of voiced-voicelessness: voiced and voiceless consonants are pronounced here in the same way - voiceless (cf. one hundred To And one hundred G, pr T And prue d). Before voiced consonants, all consonants paired according to voicedness and voicelessness are pronounced as voiced (cf. h here And With do: in both words, in the position before the voiced [d"] the voiced [z"] is pronounced, and in front of the voiceless ones - like voiceless ones (cf. true b ka And sha n ka: in both words, in the position before the deaf [k], the deaf [p] is pronounced).

Position in front of the soft lips and teeth, as well as in front of is weak for consonants paired with hardness and softness: in this position the consonant is often pronounced softly. Compare: [With" n"]eg, co [ n"s"] ervy, bo[ m"beat. [d"v"]believe, ha(hard consonants<с>, <н>, <м>, <д>, <в>these words are pronounced softly).

In the same word, but in its different forms, consonants can alternate with each other - depending on what position they find themselves in: voiced consonants before vowels alternate with voiceless ones at the end of the word, voiceless consonants alternate with voiced ones in the position before voiced ones , hard ones alternate with soft ones in position before soft consonants. Such alternations of sounds are called positional. They do not violate the morphological integrity of the word and are not reflected in the writing. Compare: true b a-tru b (pronounced [true n]), mow T b–mow b A(pronounced [ka h"ba]), tra V a–tra V ka(pronounced [tra fкъ]), bo[ m b]a–o bo[ m"b]e, [ d"v"]e– [dv]umya.

Some alternations characterize not the modern phonetic system, but its state in the past; such alternations are called historical. They are assigned to certain morphological forms and are reflected in the letter in the form different letters. Compare: new T it - light h uh, boo d it - boo and y, stereo G and – stereo and yes and under. Such alternations are not determined by the position of the sound: and before<и>, and before<у>both [t"], [d"], [g"], and [h], [zh] are possible (compare: shine and sharpen, guard and awaken etc.). (For more on historical alternations, see below, §94–97.)

Loss of consonants.

In some positions, consonant sounds are dropped during pronunciation. Typically no sounds are made d And T in combinations zdn And stn , For example: great zdn ik, y stn y. In addition, in some words, a consonant sound is dropped when other consonants are combined, for example: Sun, se rdc e , NAV st Liv, hello rise wow(compare: sunshine, heart, happiness, congratulations, where are the sounds l, d, t, v are pronounced).

To check the spelling of words with unpronounceable consonants, you need to select related words or forms of words where given combinations of consonants would be separated by a vowel or would appear at the end of the word, for example: mustache T ny – mustache T a – mustache T (gender case).

Exercise 72. Answer these questions orally.

1) What additional work of the tongue creates the softness of consonant sounds: d – d", l - l", h-h", d-g", x-x", b-b", m-m"? 2) Which consonant sounds in the Russian language are only hard? 3) Which consonants are only soft? 4) After which consonants in Russian words there can be no sound s ? After what sound And ?

73 . Read; identify soft consonants and explain how their softness is indicated in writing.

The louder the noise about you,

The more arrogantly you shut up.

Don't complete someone else's lies

Shame on explanations. (B. P asternak.)

74 . Write by inserting the missing letters. Explain why in some cases the softness of a consonant is indicated by the letter ь, and in others it is not indicated.

1) The lilac trees closed the whole house. 2) Tufts of white flowers stood out against the dark greenery. 3) The boys were looking for che...veys for fishing. 4) An agronomist...made a report on bean with pests of gardens and vegetable gardens. 5) Take... out and put them in the sweat... drawer. 6) The tables were covered with white... rolls. 7) At the meeting they talked about the male...be and the young of the spring. 8) The hunters tracked down a big bear. 9) Was there a mustache here before? 10) There were nails in the box. 11) The s...d walked in shoals. 12) But...the air was fresh.

75 . Change these words so that the highlighted consonants are softened and write. Explain orally why it is written between soft consonants b .

Piss m o - in writing m e; fight b ah, grind b A, prison m A, mow b ah, please b ah, it hurts b oh, here you go m ah, surly m A , finger m A , finger b oh, sit me down b oh, take it m u, Kuz m oh, eight m Ouch.

76 . Write down and underline the soft consonants next to each other. Verbally explain why there is no b .

Worm, branchy, bears, bony, unless, if, death, forgive me, excuse me, areas, jaws, stories, canes, honors, in a dream, shipyards, nails, thoughts, executions, illnesses, greengrocer, lamplighter, mason, night, kidney , daughter, stove, finish, take into account, read, subtract.

77 . Read expressively; indicate what sounds the highlighted letters represent.

E sli boy

l yu bit labor,

in the book l chick,

about this one

write here:

good And th boy.

(V.V. Mayakovsky.)

78. Install according to the program and textbooks primary school, what cases of denoting the softness of consonants are familiar to students of grades I and II.

79. Indicate which words contain unpronounceable consonants; change, where possible, the words indicated so that these consonants are pronounced.

1) Sun bright light The entire neighborhood was flooded. 2) The guys felt joyful in the clean air. 3) The giant pines made a dull noise from their tops. 4) The nature of the area suddenly changed dramatically. 5) Late in the evening we were returning home. 6) There was a ladder at the window. 7) Someone hit me with a branch. 8) A breeze blew from the forest - the herald of a thunderstorm.

VOWEL SOUNDS

1. Strong and weak positions of consonants in terms of voiceness and voicelessness.

The strong and weak positions of consonant sounds are varied. Distinguish between strong and weak positions of consonants
by sonority/dullness and hardness/softness.
The strong position of consonants in terms of voicedness-voicelessness is that position that does not deafen or voice sounds.- before vowels and sonorants, and the sounds [в], [в`], as well as for voiced ones before voiced ones, and for voiceless ones before voiceless ones: pick up [p'dbirat`], elephant [elephant].
Weak position on voicedness-voicelessness- at the absolute end of the word: oak - [dup], tooth - [zup], lov - [lof], as well as in deaf people before voiced ones (except for sonorants and in) and in voiced ones before deaf ones: snow [sn'ek].
Absolutely strong position occurs in consonants when there is a coincidence of positions that are strong in voicedness-voicelessness and hardness-softness.
Absolutely weak position occurs in consonants when positions that are weak in voicedness-voicelessness and hardness-softness coincide.

Weak positions in deafness/voicedness:
1) at the end of a word: ko[s] from goat and braid;
2) in front of a noisy deaf person: lo[t]ka, but lo[d]ochka;
3) before a noisy voiced: [h]give, but [s]verify.

Strong positions in deafness/voice:
1) before a vowel: [g]od, [k]ot;
2) before sonorant consonants: [c]loy, [z]loy;
3) before [v], [v]: [t]voy, [d]voe.

2. Positional change and changes in voiced and voiceless consonants.

Positional change for consonants is reflected in the following sound laws:
1. Phonetic law of the end of a word: a noisy voiced sound at the end of a word is deafened. This pronunciation leads to the formation of homophones: threshold[p/\ro´k] – vice[p/\ro´k]; hammer[mo´lt] – young[mo´lt]. In words with two consonants at the end of the word, both consonants are deafened: milk mushroom[gru´s´t´] – sadness[gru´s´t´], entrance[p/\дje´st] – will come up[p/\дje´st].
2. The law of assimilation of consonants according to voicedness and deafness.Assimilation- this is the likening of one sound to another. In the modern Russian literary language, assimilation has a regressive character, that is, the previous sound is likened to the subsequent one: the voiceless pair before the voiced one becomes voiced: to the grandfather [gd´e´du], the voiced pair before the deaf one becomes voiceless: spoon[lo´shk]. Note that the voicing of a deaf person before a voiced one is less common than the voicing of a voiced person before a deaf person. As a result of assimilation, homophones are created: arc [dushk] - darling [d´shk], carry [v´ i e s´t´i´] – lead [v´ i e s´t´i´].
Assimilation occurs:
1. At the junction of morphemes: did[з´д´е´лъл],
2. At the junction of a preposition with a word: with business[з´д´е´лъм],
3. At the junction of a word with a particle (postfix): a year or so[go´tt],
4. At the junction of significant words spoken without pause: five times[ras´at´].

All paired ones soften in softness: before the front vowels: [b´e´lyy], [x´i´triy], [v´i e sleep´].

Assimilation by place of education

The assimilation of dental ones before sibilants [zh], [sh], [ch´, [sh´] lies in the complete assimilation of dental [z] and [s]:
1. At the junction of morphemes: sew[shy´t´], unclench[p/\ JA T], check[sho´t], with a ball[ SHA´ръм], no fever[b´ and e JA´ръ];
2. Inside the root: Later[By ZH ],I'm driving ,
3. Dental [d], [t], being before [ch], [ts], are likened to the latter: report .
4. Reduction of groups of identical consonants. When three identical consonants coincide at the junction of a preposition
or prefixes with the following word, at the junction of the root and the suffix are reduced to two: from the link[links´lk´i].

Assimilation of consonants according to softness and hardness. Before soft consonants, dental [z], [s], [n], [r], [d], [t] and labial [b], [p], [m], [v], [f] are usually softened : [v´i e z´d´e´], [s´n´e´ k], [gro´s´t´], [us´p´e´kh], [m´e´s´ T].
However, assimilation in terms of softness occurs inconsistently. So, dental [z], [s], [n], [d], [t] before soft dental ones and [h´], [sh´] are softened in the roots: [z´d´e´s´], [s´t´e´p´]; dental ones before soft labials can soften in the roots and at the junction of the prefix and the root: [s´v´e´t], [m´i e d´v´e´t´], [iz´m´a´t´] . However, sometimes in the same position a consonant can be pronounced both softly and firmly: [в/\з´н´и´к] - [в/\зн´и´к]. Back linguals and [l] do not soften before soft consonants.
Since assimilation by gentleness does not have the character of a law, we can speak not of positional exchange, but of positional changes of consonants according to softness.
Soft consonants paired in hardness can be assimilated in hardness. Positional changes in hardness are observed at the junction of a root and a suffix that begins with a hard consonant: [с´л´е´сър´], but [с´л´ и е са´рный]. Before the labial [b], assimilation does not occur: [pro´z´b].
It is not subject to assimilation in terms of hardness [l´]: [n/\po´l´ny].

3. Positional exchange of consonants with zero sound.

In other words, the neutralization of the phoneme represented by the consonant zero and the absence of the phoneme. There are several cases here.

1. The combination of phonemes (stn) and (zdn) is realized by the sound combination [sn], [zn]: honest - honest - che [sn] y, star - star [zn] y.

Let's compare: which [sn]y and those [sn]y; we hear [sn] in both cases, but in a strong position (not between [s...n]) there is a difference: honest, but cramped. This means that in the words honor(stn)y and those(sn)y the phonemic combinations (stn) and (sn) coincided in sound; the phoneme (t), realized in the position between [s...n] zero, coincided with the absence of a phoneme!
These alternations are well reflected by the rhymes (from the poems of N. A. Nekrasov; the poet’s rhyme is accurate): famous - wonderful, dispassionate - beautiful, honest - close, unhappy - voiceless, autocratic - beautiful, more charming - song, stormy - clear.
The word abyss requires remark. This is, in fact, not one, but two words. 1) Abyss - a lot. Word of everyday speech: I have an abyss of things to do. Pronounced: [b'ezn']. It can hardly be said that here the phoneme (d) is represented by a zero consonant, since this word abyss currently has no connection with the combination without a bottom.

Another similar alternation: the combination (ntk) is realized with the sound [nk]: student [nk]a, laboratory [nk]a. This alternation is positional (i.e., it is represented in all words with a phonemic combination (NTK)) only in some individuals who speak literary language, predominantly of the older generation.

Words such as construction, building, building, under construction or tram, tram, tram; or yours, yours, yours... clearly have roots ending in a phoneme (j); it is realized by the non-syllabic vowel [and]. But in the words build, builder, build; trams; I can't hear any of my own. This is because the phoneme (j) in the position after the vowel before [i] is represented by a zero: own - [svay] = (cBojft).

Words can contain combinations of two identical phonemes, for example (nn): bath - [van:ъ] = (bath);

Such combinations are realized by long, “double” consonants (they are not necessarily twice as long as short, ordinary [n]). But long consonants are possible only between vowels, one of which (preceding or following) is stressed. When such a combination of two identical phonemes, for example (nn), comes adjacent to a consonant, then instead of a long one it sounds short: Finnish (with [n:]) - Finnish (with [n]); semolina - semolina, ton - two-ton, etc. Here are examples where alternation
reflected in the spelling, but it also exists where the spelling does not mark this alternation: a wind of two ba[l:]a - two-point (with the usual short [l’]). ;
Consequently, in the position “next to the consonant” there is a combination of phonemes like (nn), (ll), etc. represented by a short consonant; one of the phonemes is realized by zero.
Often, when talking about positional alternations, they use emphatically procedural verbs: “the stressed vowel [o] without stress turns into [a]”, “the sound [z] at the end of a word turns into [s]”, etc. In fact, it is obvious synchronous relationships, not processes. The correct formulations are as follows: [o] stressed in unstressed positions changes to vowel [a]; The voiced consonant [z] alternates with the voiceless consonant [s].

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. U different words and the forms of the word have different sound design. 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].

Please 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 drums 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 feel.

So, when pronouncing consonants, noise is heard. Presence of noise - hallmark 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 pronounced 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 voiceless consonants (i.e. the position before them is strong in voicelessness-voicing, as 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 different 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 -[d'a´ d'a] ;
• 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 sh, f, 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 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 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, it in different parts. So, the sounds [p], [p'], [b], [b'], [m], [m'] are labial, [v], [v'], [f], [f' ] - labial-dental, 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're 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? According to 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].

Don't be confused:

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] - buildings[building n’ii’a], opinion[mn’e´ n’i’e] - opinion[mn’e´ n’ii’a], more[mo´ r’e] - sea[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 simplified system transcriptions, no big deal: 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’], [th’]: [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: [won] - out there,[won’] - stench,
• before labiolabials: [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

Dissimilarity is a process of positional change, the opposite of assimilation.

[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 nature. But these are comparable systems. Therefore, you need to know the types of ratios.

Types of relationships between letters and sounds:

1. The letter denotes a sound, for example, vowels after hard consonants and consonants before vowels: weather.
2. The letter does not have its own sound meaning, for example b And ъ: mouse
3. 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.
4. A letter can denote a sound and the quality of the preceding sound, such as iotated vowels and And after soft consonants.
5. The letter may indicate the quality of the preceding sound, for example b in words shadow, stump, gunfire.
6. Two letters can represent one sound, usually a long one: sew, compress, rush
7. Three letters correspond to one sound: smile - shh -[ts:]

Test of strength

Check your understanding of this chapter.

Final test

1. 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

2. What is reduction called?

   • pronouncing vowels under stress
   • pronouncing unstressed vowels
   • special pronunciation of consonants

3. For which sounds does the air stream encounter an obstacle on its path: a bow or a gap?

   • In vowels
   • In consonants

4. Can voiceless consonants be pronounced loudly?

5. Are the vocal cords involved in pronouncing voiceless consonants?

6. How many pairs of consonants are formed according to deafness and voicedness?

7. How many consonants do not have a voiced-voiced pair?

8. How many pairs do Russian consonants form according to hardness and softness?

9. How many consonants do not have a hard-soft pair?

10. How is the softness of consonants conveyed in writing?

    • Special icons
    • Letter combinations

11. 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

12. What sounds have strong and weak positions?

    • In vowels
    • In consonants
    • For everyone: both vowels and consonants

Correct answers:

1. From the shape of the oral cavity at the moment of pronouncing the sound
2. pronouncing unstressed vowels
3. In consonants
4. Letter combinations
5. Strong position
6. For everyone: both vowels and consonants

Consonants change in the flow of speech. Their change is caused by the position of the consonant in the word.

All consonants before vowels occupy a strong position. It is in these phonetic conditions that the greatest number consonant sounds: house - tom - scrap - com - catfish - year - cat - move, etc. In strong positions, consonants can change their quality under the influence of subsequent vowels. Thus, labial vowels rounden (labialize) the preceding consonant: in the words there and that, the consonant [t] is not pronounced the same way (in the second word it is rounded). The consonants before the vowel [a] differ most completely and change least of all: there - dam, small - crumpled, garden - glad - above, etc. The position before the vowel [a] is called an absolutely strong position.

In addition to the absolutely strong position, there are strong positions for individual consonant categories.

Strong positions for noisy consonants, paired in voicedness-voicelessness, are: 1) position in front of all vowels - itching - court, heat - ball, guest - bone, etc.; 2) position before sonorant consonants and before consonants [в], [в’] - rude - croup, evil - layer, bend (verb) - whip, beast - check (verb), etc.

Noisy consonants occupy a weak position in terms of voicedness-voicelessness: 1) at the end of a word - code [cat] -cat [cat], meadow [bow] - bow [bow]; 2) before voiced and voiceless consonants - wedding [svad'b] -pastba [paz'd'ba], buckle [pr'*ashk] - pawn [p'eshk], etc. In these positions, voiced and voiceless consonants are not opposed: at the end of the word and before voiceless consonants a noisy voiceless is pronounced, and before voiced consonants a noisy voiced is pronounced.

Strong positions for consonants paired in hardness and softness are: 1) position before front vowels: circle - hook, small - crumpled, nose - carried; 2) position at the end of the word: raft - flesh, throne - touch.

The weakest position in terms of hardness and softness is occupied by consonants:

1) before front vowels - hay, blue, hand (cf. hand);

2) before consonants - shepherd - graze [graze], tackle - remove [sѴ at’].

You can download ready-made answers for the exam, cheat sheets and other educational materials in Word format at

Use the search form

§ 4. Strong and weak positions of consonant sounds in the stream of speech

relevant scientific sources:

• Answers to the exam in modern Russian language

  | Answers for the test/exam| 2016 | Russia | docx | 0.25 MB