In order to speak Russian well, you must become fully acquainted with the phonetics of the language. The task is both a simple and a difficult one as you have already seen, now that you know the alphabet well. In this lesson we will work on the basics of Russian pronunciation; specifically on the distinctions between "soft" {palatalized) consonants and "hard" ones {non- palatalized); how these differences are indicated in the orthography (writing system) and how they are manifested in the actual pronunciation of words.

"Hard" and "soft" consonants. When we say that Russian has 20 consonants, we are referring only to the 20 consonant symbols in the alphabet. In reality, Russian has nearly twice that number of consonant sounds due to something called "palatalization", or "softening". All this means is that certain consonants can be slightly modified by arching your tongue and moving it forward, towards the hard palate area (that ridge on the roof of your mouth where your upper teeth fit in) while making the consonant sound. The effect is to make the sound "softer" and, in terms of pitch, slightly higher. The best mechanism for a good, palatalized consonant sound is to SMILE while pronouncing. Try it ~ it really works! Now you know how to make the sound. But how will you know when! Consonants which can be palatalized (all of them EXCEPT ж, ш and ц) will be pronounced palatalized when you see them followed by:

- the "soft sign" ь (usually at the end of a word)

OR:

-one of these vowel symbols: я, е, ё, ю, и (called "indicator" vowels)

The function of these vowel symbols is to indicate that the preceding consonant is pronounced in its "soft" variant. The consonant is then followed by the vowel sound: а, э, о, у or ы.

When any of the consonants listed above has no "soft sign" following it, or is followed by one of these vowel symbols: а, э, о, у, ы, that consonant will be pronounced in its "hard" variant (no smiling allowed!).

KEEP IN MIND: Ч and Щ are always SOFT, no matter which vowel symbol follows them. Ж, Ш and Ц are always HARD, even if they are followed by a "soft sign" or one of the "indicator" vowel symbols.