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  3.    <title xmlns:ng="http://docbook.org/docbook-ng">Russian phonetics</title><meta xmlns:ng="http://docbook.org/docbook-ng" name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.79.2"><link rel="home" href="index.html" title="The RUSSIAN Fast Course"><link rel="up" href="ch01.html" title="Chapter&nbsp;1.&nbsp;Lesson 1"><link rel="prev" href="ch01s02.html" title="The Russian alphabet"><link rel="next" href="ch01s04.html" title="Practice in Russian phonetics"></head><body bgcolor="white" text="black" link="#0000FF" vlink="#840084" alink="#0000FF"><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="3" align="center">Russian phonetics</th></tr><tr><td width="20%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="ch01s02.html">Prev</a>&nbsp;</td><th width="60%" align="center">Chapter&nbsp;1.&nbsp;Lesson 1</th><td width="20%" align="right">&nbsp;<a accesskey="n" href="ch01s04.html">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="d5e2231"></a>Russian phonetics</h2></div></div></div><p>In order to speak Russian well, you must become fully acquainted with the phonetics of the
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  4.       language. The task is both a simple and a difficult one as you have already seen, now that you
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  5.       know the alphabet well. In this lesson we will work on the basics of Russian pronunciation;
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  6.       specifically on the distinctions between "soft" {palatalized) consonants and "hard" ones {non-
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  7.       palatalized); how these differences are indicated in the orthography (writing system) and how
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  8.       they are manifested in the actual pronunciation of words.</p><p><b>"Hard" and "soft" consonants.&nbsp;</b>When we say that Russian has 20 consonants, we are referring only to the 20 consonant
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  9.         symbols in the alphabet. In reality, Russian has nearly twice that number of consonant
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  10.         sounds due to something called "palatalization", or "softening". All this means is that
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  11.         certain consonants can be slightly modified by arching your tongue and moving it forward,
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  12.         towards the hard palate area (that ridge on the roof of your mouth where your upper teeth
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  13.         fit in) while making the consonant sound. The effect is to make the sound "softer" and, in
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  14.         terms of pitch, slightly higher. The best mechanism for a good, palatalized consonant sound
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  15.         is to SMILE while pronouncing. Try it ~ it really works! Now you know how to make the sound.
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  16.         But how will you know when! Consonants which can be palatalized (all of them EXCEPT
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  17.           <span class="bold"><strong><span lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">&#1078;</em></span></strong></span>, <span class="bold"><strong><span lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">&#1096;</em></span></strong></span> and <span class="bold"><strong><span lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">&#1094;</em></span></strong></span>) will be pronounced
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  18.         palatalized when you see them followed by:</p><p>- the "soft sign"<span class="bold"><strong>
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  19.         <span lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">&#1100;</em></span></strong></span> (usually at the end of a
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  20.       word)</p><p>OR:</p><p>-one of these vowel symbols:<span class="bold"><strong>
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  21.         <span lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">&#1103;</em></span>, <span lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">&#1077;</em></span>, <span lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">&#1105;</em></span>, <span lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">&#1102;</em></span>, <span lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">&#1080;</em></span></strong></span>
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  22.       (called "indicator" vowels)</p><p>The function of these vowel symbols is to indicate that the preceding consonant is
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  23.       pronounced in its "soft" variant. The consonant is then followed by the vowel sound: <span class="bold"><strong><span lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">&#1072;</em></span>, <span lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">&#1101;</em></span>, <span lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">&#1086;</em></span>, <span lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">&#1091;</em></span></strong></span> or<span class="bold"><strong>
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  24.         <span lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">&#1099;</em></span></strong></span>.</p><p>When any of the consonants listed above has no "soft sign" following it, or is followed by
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  25.       one of these vowel symbols:<span class="bold"><strong>
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  26.         <span lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">&#1072;</em></span>, <span lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">&#1101;</em></span>, <span lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">&#1086;</em></span>, <span lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">&#1091;</em></span>, <span lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">&#1099;</em></span></strong></span>, that consonant will be pronounced in its "hard" variant (no
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  27.       smiling allowed!).</p><p><span class="bold"><strong>KEEP IN MIND</strong></span>: <span class="bold"><strong><span lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">&#1063;</em></span></strong></span> and <span class="bold"><strong><span lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">&#1065;</em></span></strong></span> are always SOFT, no matter which vowel symbol
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  28.       follows them.<span class="bold"><strong>
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  29.         <span lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">&#1046;</em></span></strong></span>, <span class="bold"><strong><span lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">&#1064;</em></span></strong></span> and <span class="bold"><strong><span lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">&#1062;</em></span></strong></span> are always HARD, even if they
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  30.       are followed by a "soft sign" or one of the "indicator" vowel symbols.</p></div><div class="navfooter"><hr><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="ch01s02.html">Prev</a>&nbsp;</td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href="ch01.html">Up</a></td><td width="40%" align="right">&nbsp;<a accesskey="n" href="ch01s04.html">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">The Russian alphabet&nbsp;</td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="index.html">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top">&nbsp;Practice in Russian phonetics</td></tr></table></div></body></html>
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