In this lesson, we will learn to distinguish between voiced and deaf consonants and designate them in writing with consonants. We will find out which consonants are called paired and unpaired in terms of voicing - deafness, sonorous and hissing.

Voiced and voiceless consonants

Recall how speech sounds are born. When a person begins to speak, he exhales air from the lungs. It runs along the windpipe into a narrow larynx, where there are special muscles - the vocal cords. If a person pronounces consonant sounds, then he closes (at least a little) his mouth, because of this, noise is obtained. But consonants make noise in different ways.

Let's conduct an experiment: we close our ears and pronounce the sound [p], and then the sound [b]. When we uttered the sound [b], the ligaments stretched and began to tremble. This trembling turned into a voice. There was a little ringing in my ears.

You can conduct a similar experiment by placing your hands on your neck on the right and left sides, and pronounce the sounds [d] and [t]. The sound [d] is pronounced much louder, more sonorous. Scientists call these sounds voiced, and sounds that consist only of noise - deaf.

Paired consonants in voicing-deafness

Let's try to divide the sounds into two groups according to the method of pronunciation. Let's populate phonetic houses in the city of sounds. Let's agree: deaf sounds will live on the first floor, and sonorous sounds will live on the second. Residents of the first house:

[b]	[e]	[h]	[G]	[in]	[and]
[P]	[t]	[With]	[to]	[f]	[w]

These consonants are called paired by sonority - deafness.

Rice. 1. Paired voiced and deaf consonants ()

They are very similar to each other - real "twins", they are pronounced almost the same: the lips fold the same way, the tongue moves the same way. But they have pairs and softness - hardness. Let's add them to the house.

[b]	[b ']	[e]	[d']	[h]	[h ']	[G]	[G']	[in]	[in']	[and]
[P]	[P']	[t]	[t']	[With]	[With']	[to]	[to']	[f]	[f']	[w]

The sounds [w] and [w] do not have paired soft sounds, they always hard. And they are also called hissing sounds.

All these sounds are denoted by letters:

[b]	[b ']
[P]	[P']
[e]	[d']
[t]	[t']
[h]	[h ']
[With]	[With']
[G]	[G']
[to]	[to']
[in]	[in']
[f]	[f']
[and]
[w]

Unpaired voiced consonants

But not all consonants and letters form pairs. Those consonants that do not have pairs are called unpaired. Let's settle unpaired consonant sounds in our houses.

In the second house - unpairedvoiced consonants sounds:

Recall that the sound [th '] always soft. Therefore, in our house he will live alone. These sounds are indicated in writing by letters:

[l]	[l']		(el)
[m]	[m']
[n]	[n']
[R]	[R']
	[th']		(and short)

The sounds of the second house are also called sonorous , because they are formed with the help of a voice and almost without noise, they are very sonorous. The word "sonor" in Latin "sonorus" means voiced.

Unpaired voiceless consonants

In the third house we will settle unpaired voiceless consonants sounds:

[X]

[X']

[c]

[h']

[sch']

Recall that the sound [ts] is always solid, and [h '] and [u '] - always soft. Unpaired deaf consonants are indicated in writing by letters:

[X]	[X']
[c]
	[h']
	[sch']

Sounds [h '], [u '] - hissing sounds.

So we populated our city of consonant sounds and letters. Now it’s immediately clear why there are 21 consonants and 36 sounds.

Rice. 2. Voiced and voiceless consonants ()

Consolidation of knowledge in practice

Let's complete the tasks.

1. Consider the pictures and turn one word into another, replacing only one sound. Hint: remember pairs of consonants.

d point - point

b ochka - kidney

w ar - heat

fishing rod - duck

2. There are riddles, the meaning of which lies in the knowledge of consonant sounds, they are called charades. Try to guess them:

1) With a deaf consonant I pour into the field,
With a voiced - I myself ring in expanse . (Spike - voice)

2) With the deaf - she cuts the grass,
With a voiced - eats leaves. (Spit - goat)

3) With "em" - pleasant, golden, very sweet and fragrant.
With the letter "el" it happens in winter, and disappears in spring . (Honey-ice)

In order to develop the ability to pronounce some sounds, especially hissing ones, tongue twisters are taught. The tongue twister is told slowly at first, and then accelerates the pace. Let's try to learn tongue twisters:

1. Six mice rustle in the reeds.
2. The hedgehog has a hedgehog, the snake has a narrowed one.
3. Two puppies chewed cheek to cheek on a brush in the corner.

So, today we learned that consonants can be voiced and deaf, and how these sounds are indicated in writing.

1. Andrianova T.M., Ilyukhina V.A. Russian language 1. M .: Astrel, 2011. ().
2. Buneev R.N., Buneeva E.V., Pronina O.V. Russian language 1. M .: Ballas. ().
3. Agarkova N.G., Agarkov Yu.A. Textbook on teaching literacy and reading: ABC. Academic book / Textbook.

1. Fictionbook.ru ().
2. Deafnet.ru ().
3. Samouchka.com.ua ().

1. Andrianova T.M., Ilyukhina V.A. Russian language 1. M .: Astrel, 2011. Pp. 38, ex. 2; Page 39, ex. 6; Page 43, ex. four.
2. Count how many voiced consonants and how many voiceless consonants in a word unsatisfactory ? (Voiced consonants - 9 - N, D, V, L, V, R, L, N, Y, various -6, deaf consonants - 2 - T, T, various - 1.).
3. Read the proverb: « Be able to speak in time, be silent in time. Name the letters that represent voiced consonants. (Voiced consonants denote the letters M, Y, V, R, Z, L in the proverb.)
4. 4* Using the knowledge gained in the lesson, write a fairy tale or draw a comic book on the topic “In the city of consonants”.

Usually, children do not have serious difficulties in understanding the difference between vowels and consonants. But on hard and soft consonants, you should dwell in more detail.

How to teach children to distinguish between hard and soft consonants

The very first thing to teach a child is that consonants can be hard and soft, but not letters.

Typical mistake:
Children confuse sound and letter. Remember that a sound is a sound, and a letter is an icon, it is written. A letter cannot be hard or soft, only a consonant sound can be hard or soft in pronunciation.

Sometimes children can easily learn to distinguish between soft and hard sounds by ear.
But it happens that this is difficult, and in this case, signs will come to the rescue by which one can distinguish hard sounds from soft ones.

Distinctive features of soft and hard sounds

What sound comes after the consonant:

• If after the consonant there is a vowel a, o, u, e, s, then the consonant is solid.
• If after the consonant there is a vowel and, e, u, i, then the consonant is soft.

Working with examples:
In the words "mother", "nora" - solid consonants, because after them come "a" and "o".
In the words "fly", "nanny" - consonants are soft, because after them come "e", "and", "I".

• If another consonant sounds after a consonant, then the first consonant will be hard.
• There are sounds that can only be hard and sounds that can only be soft, no matter what sound is heard and what letter is written after them.

Always solid sounds - w, w, c.
Always soft - th, h, u.
A common way to learn these sounds is a simple technique: we write the letters that convey these sounds in a line, and underline "th, h, u". The underline symbolizes the pillow on which they sit. soft sounds. The pad is soft, so the sounds are soft.

Soft sign and hard sign

• If the consonant is at the end of the word, and after it is the letter “b”, then the consonant is soft.

This rule is easy to apply if the child sees the written word, but it will not help if the child performs the task by ear.

Movement of the tongue when pronouncing soft and hard sounds

When pronouncing a soft sound, the tongue moves slightly forward, approaching the palate (or touching it) with its middle.
When pronouncing solid sounds, the tongue does not move forward.

Table of signs of hard and soft sounds

Solid:

1. Before a, o, u, uh, s.
2. At the end of a word before a consonant.
3. Zh, c, sh.

Soft:

1. Before vowels e, e, and, yu, i.
2. If after the consonant there is a soft sign (dust, measles).
3. Y, h, sh.

A picture or just a list of thematic words is shown, and the task is given to choose words with soft or hard consonants. For example:

Voiced and voiceless consonants

There are 11 pairs of voiced/voiced consonants in Russian.
The phonetic difference between voiced and voiceless consonants lies in the tension of the vocal cords. Deaf sounds are pronounced with the help of noise, without tension of the ligaments. voiced sounds pronounced with a voice, caused by the vibration of the vocal cords, tk. noisy air comes out of the larynx.

Mnemonic technique for memorizing deaf sounds:
Memorize the phrase: “Stepka, do you want a cabbage? - Fi! All consonants here are deaf.

Examples of tasks for children

Tasks for training the difference of paired consonants can be compiled for each pair according to the following principle (using the example of the D/T pair):

Tasks for the difference between a pair of consonants Г/К

In this chapter:

§one. Sound

Sound is the smallest unit of sounding speech. Each word has a sound shell, consisting of sounds. The sound is related to the meaning of the word. At different words and forms of the word, the sound design is different. The sounds themselves do not matter, but they play an important role: they help us to distinguish between:

• words: [house] - [volume], [volume] - [there], [m'el] - [m'el']
• word forms: [house] - [lady´] - [do´ ma].

Note:

words written in square brackets are given in transcription.

§2. Transcription

Transcription is a special recording system that displays the sound. Symbols accepted in transcription:

Square brackets, which are the designation of transcription.

[ ´ ] - stress. The stress 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 softness designation:, [th ']. On this site, the designation [th ’] is adopted, which is more familiar to most guys. The soft icon will be used to get you used to the fact that this sound is soft.

There are other symbols as well. 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 a different nature. They are pronounced and perceived differently, as well as behave differently in speech and play different roles in it.

Vowels- These are sounds in the pronunciation of which air freely passes through oral cavity without encountering obstacles along the 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. They can be screamed at. And if you put your hand to your throat, then the work of the vocal cords when pronouncing vowels can be felt, felt with your hand. Vowels are the basis of the syllable, they organize it. There are as many syllables in a word as there are vowels. For example: he- 1 syllable, she is- 2 syllables, guys- 3 syllables, etc. There are words that consist of one vowel sound. For example, unions: and, a and interjections: Oh!, Ah!, Woo! and others.

In a word, vowels can be in stressed and unstressed syllables.
stressed syllable one in which the vowel is pronounced clearly and appears in its basic form.
AT unstressed syllables vowels are modified, pronounced differently. Changing vowels in unstressed syllables is called reduction.

There are six stressed vowels in Russian: [a], [o], [y], [s], [i], [e].

Remember:

Words are possible that can only consist of vowels, but consonants are also necessary.
There are many more consonants in Russian than vowels.

§four. Way of forming consonants

Consonants- these are sounds, during the pronunciation of which the air meets an obstacle in its path. In Russian, there are two types of barriers: a gap and a bow - these are the two main ways of forming consonants. The type of barrier determines the nature of the consonant sound.

gap is formed, for example, when pronouncing sounds: [s], [s], [w], [g]. The tip of the tongue only approaches the lower or upper teeth. Slotted consonants can be pulled: [s-s-s-s], [sh-sh-sh-sh] . As a result, you will hear the noise well: when pronouncing [c] - whistling, and when pronouncing [w] - hissing.

bow, The second type of articulation of consonants is formed when the organs of speech are closed. The air flow abruptly overcomes this barrier, the sounds are short, energetic. That is 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, feel.

So, when pronouncing consonants, noise is heard. The presence of noise hallmark consonants.

§5. Voiced and voiceless consonants

According to the ratio of noise and voice, consonants are divided into voiced and deaf.
When pronouncing voiced consonants, both voice and noise are heard, and deaf- just noise.
Deaf people cannot be spoken loudly. They cannot be shouted.

Compare words: house and cat. Each word has 1 vowel and 2 consonants. The vowels are the same, but the consonants are different: [d] and [m] are voiced, and [k] and [t] are deaf. Voiced-deafness is the most important sign of consonants in Russian.

voiced-deafness pairs:[b] - [n], [h] - [c] and others. There are 11 such pairs.

Pairs for deafness-voicedness: [p] and [b], [p "] and [b"], [f] and [c], [f "] and [c"], [k] and [g], [k"] and [g"], [t] and [d], [t"] and [d"], [w] and [g], [s] and [h], [s"] and [ h"].

But there are sounds that do not have a pair on the basis of sonority - deafness. For example, the sounds [p], [l], [n], [m], [th '] do not have a voiceless pair, but [c] and [h '] do not have a voiced pair.

Unpaired in deafness-voicedness

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 pronunciation features: when they are pronounced, obstacles also arise in the oral cavity, but such that the air stream, passing through the barrier, forms only a slight noise; air passes freely through the opening in the nasal or oral cavity. Sonorants are pronounced with the help of a voice with the addition of a slight noise. Many teachers do not use this term, but everyone should know that these voiced unpaired sounds.

Sonorants have two important features:

1) they are not deafened, like paired voiced consonants, before deaf and at the end of a word;

2) there is no voicing of paired deaf consonants before them (i.e., the position in front of them is strong in deafness-voicedness, as well as before vowels). For more information about positional changes, see .

Deaf unpaired:[c], [h "], [w":], [x], [x "].

What is the easiest way to remember lists of voiced and voiceless consonants?

Phrases will help memorize the lists of voiced and deaf consonants:

Oh, we didn't forget each other!(Here only voiced consonants)

Foka, do you want to eat a soup?(Here only voiceless consonants)

True, these phrases do not include hardness-softness pairs. But usually people can easily figure out that not only hard [s] is voiced, but soft [s"] too, not only [b], but also [b"], etc.

§6. Hard and soft consonants

Consonants differ not only in deafness-voicedness, but also in hardness-softness.
Hardness-softness- the second most important sign of consonants in Russian.

Soft consonants differ from solid special position of the language. When pronouncing hard ones, the entire body of the tongue is pulled back, and when pronouncing soft ones, it is shifted forward, while the middle part of the tongue is raised. Compare: [m] - [m ’], [h] - [h ’]. Voiced soft ones sound higher than hard ones.

Many Russian consonants form pairs of hardness-softness: [b] - [b '], [ c] - [ c '] and others. There are 15 such pairs.

Pairs by hardness-softness: [b] and [b "], [m] and [m"], [p] and [p "], [c] and [c"], [f] and [f"] , [h] and [h "], [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-softness. For example, the sounds [zh], [w], [c] do not have a soft pair, but [y '] and [h '] do not have a hard pair.

Unpaired in hardness-softness

Solid unpaired: [w], [w], [c] .

Soft unpaired: [th"], [h"], [w":].

§7. The designation of the softness of consonants in writing

Let's digress from pure phonetics. Consider practically important question: how is the softness of consonants indicated in writing?

There are 36 consonants in Russian, including 15 pairs of hardness-softness, 3 unpaired hard and 3 unpaired soft consonants. There are only 21 consonants. How can 21 letters represent 36 sounds?

For this, different methods are used:

• iotized letters e, yo, yu, i after consonants except sh, w and c, unpaired in hardness-softness, indicate that these consonants are soft, for example: uncle- [t’o´ t’a], uncle -[Yes Yes] ;
• letter and after consonants except sh, w and c. Consonants denoted by letters sh, w and c, unpaired hard. Examples of words with a vowel and: no way- [n’i´ tk’i], sheet- [l'ist], cute- [cute'] ;
• letter b, after consonants except sh, w, after which the soft sign is an indicator grammatical form. Examples of soft words : request- [proz'ba], stranded- [m'el'], distance- [gave '].

Thus, the softness of consonants in writing is transmitted not by special letters, but by combinations of consonant letters with letters i, e, e, u, i and b. Therefore, when parsing, I advise you to turn Special attention to adjacent letters after consonants.

Discussing the problem of interpretation

School textbooks say that [w] and [w ’] - unpaired in hardness-softness. How so? After all, we hear that the sound [w ’] is a soft analogue of the sound [w].
When I studied at school myself, I could not understand why? Then my son went to school. He had the same question. It appears in all the guys who are thoughtful about learning.

Bewilderment arises because school textbooks do not take into account that the sound [w ’] is also long, but the hard [w] is not. Pairs are sounds that differ in only one feature. And [w] and [w ’] - 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 [sh ']. It seems that it is easier for children to use one more additional sign than to face an illogical, unclear and misleading statement. Everything is simple. So that generation after generation does not rack their brains, it is necessary, finally, to show that a soft hissing sound is long.

There are two icons for this in linguistic practice:

1) superscript above the sound;
2) colon.

The use of an accent mark is inconvenient because it is not provided by the character set that can be used in computer typing. This means that the following possibilities remain: the use of a colon [w':] or a grapheme denoting the letter [w'] . I think the first option is preferable. Firstly, at first, guys often mix sounds and letters. The use of a letter in transcription will create a basis for such confusion, provoke an error. Secondly, the guys now start learning early foreign languages. And the [:] sign, when used to indicate the length of a sound, is already familiar to them. Thirdly, a transcription with a colon [:] for longitude will perfectly convey the features of the sound. [w ':] - soft and long, both features that make up its difference from the sound [w] are presented clearly, simply and unambiguously.

What advice would you give to children who are now studying according to generally accepted textbooks? You need to understand, comprehend, and then remember that in fact the sounds [w] and [w ':] do not form a pair of hardness-softness. And I advise you to transcribe them as your teacher requires.

§eight. Place of formation of consonants

Consonants differ not only in the signs you already know:

• deafness-voicedness,
• 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, its different parts. So, the sounds [p], [p '], [b], [b '], [m], [m '] are labial, [c], [c '], [f], [f ' ] - labio-dental, all the rest - lingual: front-lingual [t], [t '], [d], [d '], [n], [n '], [s], [s '], [s ], [h '], [w], [g], [w ':], [h '], [c], [l], [l '], [p], [p '] , middle lingual [th '] and back lingual [k], [k '], [g], [g '], [x], [x '].

§9. Positional changes in sounds

1. Strong-weak positions for vowels. Positional vowel changes. 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, the stressed syllable, the unstressed syllable, the position before the vowel, the position before the 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 the sounds are not subject to positionally determined changes and appear in their main form. A strong position is distinguished 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 stressed, and the weak position is unstressed.
In unstressed syllables, vowels undergo changes: they are shorter and 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.

Sounds corresponding to stressed [o] and [a], after hard consonants in a weak, unstressed position, sound the same. Normative in the Russian language is recognized as "akanye", i.e. nondiscrimination O and BUT in an unstressed position after hard consonants.

• under stress: [house] - [lady] - [o] ≠ [a].
• without accent: [d a ma´] -at home´ - [d a la´] -dala´ - [a] = [a].

Sounds corresponding to stressed [a] and [e], after soft consonants in a weak, unstressed position, sound the same. The normative pronunciation is "hiccup", i.e. nondiscrimination E and BUT in unstressed position after soft consonants.

• under stress: [m'ech '] - [m'ach '] - [e] ≠ [a].
• without stress: [m'ich'o´ m] - sword´ m -[m'ich'o´ m] - ball´ m - [and] = [and].
• But what about the vowels [and], [s], [y]? Why was nothing said about them? The fact is that these vowels in a weak position undergo 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 represent a problem.

[ly´ zhy], [in _lu´ zhu], [n'i´ t'i] - both in strong and weak positions, the quality of vowels does not change. Both under stress and in an unstressed position, we clearly hear: [s], [y], [and] and write the letters with which these sounds are usually denoted.

Discussing the problem of interpretation

What vowel sounds are actually pronounced in unstressed syllables after hard consonants?

Performing phonetic analysis and transcribing words, many guys express bewilderment. In long polysyllabic words, after solid consonants, it is not the sound [a] that is pronounced, as school textbooks say, but something else.

They are right.

Compare the pronunciation of the words: Moscow - Muscovites. Repeat each word several times and listen for the vowel in the first syllable. With a word Moscow everything is simple. We pronounce: [maskva´] - the sound [a] is clearly audible. And the word Muscovites? In accordance with literary norm, in all syllables, except for the first syllable before the stress, as well as the positions of the beginning and end of the word, we do not pronounce [a], but a different sound: less distinct, less clear, more like [s] than [a]. In the scientific tradition, this sound is denoted by the icon [ъ]. So, we really say: [malako´] - milk ,[harasho´ ] - Good ,[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 hear clearly 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:

[in a Yes ] - water´ -[in b d’other’] - water ´ th:[a]≠[b]
[dr a wa´ ] - firewood´ -[dr b v’ino´ th’] - wood fired:[a]≠[b]

A special subsystem is the realization of vowels in unstressed syllables after sibilants. But in the 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 have the greatest sympathy for the guys who study from textbooks offered on the spot BUT,E, O after soft consonants, hear and translate the sound “and, prone to e” in transcription. I consider it fundamentally wrong to give schoolchildren as the only option the outdated pronunciation norm - “ekanye”, which is much less common today than “hiccups”, mainly among very elderly people. Guys, feel free to write in an unstressed position in the first syllable before the stress in place BUT and E- [and].

After soft consonants in other unstressed syllables, except for the position of the end of the word, we pronounce a short faint sound, resembling [and] and denoted as [b]. Say the words eight, nine and listen to yourself. We pronounce: [vo´ s'm '] - [b], [d'e´ v't '] - [b].

Do not confuse:

Transcription marks are one thing, but letters are quite another.
The transcription sign [ъ] denotes 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 [ь] denotes a vowel after soft consonants in unstressed syllables, except for the first syllable before stress.
The letter b is a soft sign.
Transcription signs, unlike letters, are given in square brackets.

end of word- special position. It shows clearing of vowels after soft consonants. The system of unstressed endings is a special phonetic subsystem. In her E and BUT differ:

Building[heel n’i’e] - building[building´ n’i’a], me´ nie[mn’e´ n’iy’e] - me´ nia[mn’e´ n’iy’a], mo´ re[mo´ r'e] - seas[mo´ r'a], vo´ la[vo´ l'a] - at will[na_vo´ l'e]. Keep this in mind when doing phonetic parsing of words.

Check:

How does your teacher require you to designate unstressed vowels. If he uses a simplified transcription system, that's okay: it's widely accepted. Just do not be surprised that you really hear different sounds in an unstressed position.

2. Strong-weak positions for consonants. Positional changes of consonants

For all consonants without exception, the strong position is position before a vowel. Before vowels, consonants appear in their basic form. Therefore, when making a phonetic analysis, do not be afraid to make a mistake characterizing a consonant standing in strong position: [country house] - country house,[t'l'iv'i´ zar] - television,[s’ino´ n’im] - synonyms,[b'ir'o´ zy] - birches,[karz "and´ us] - baskets. All consonants in these examples are before vowels, i.e. in a strong position.

Strong positions in voicelessness:

• before vowels: [there] - there,[ladies] - ladies,
• before unpaired voiced [p], [p '], [l], [l '], [n], [n '], [m], [m '], [d ']: [dl'a] - for,[tl'a] - aphid,
• Before [in], [in ']: [own'] - mine,[ringing] - ringing.

Remember:

In a strong position, voiced and deaf consonants do not change their quality.

Weak positions in deafness-voicedness:

• in front of pairs for deafness-voicedness: [weak tk’y] - sweet,[zu´ pk'i] - teeth.
• before deaf unpaired ones: [apkhva´ t] - girth, [fhot] - entrance.
• at the end of a word: [zoop] - tooth,[dup] - oak.
  

Positional changes of consonants according to deafness-voicedness

In weak positions, consonants are modified: positional changes occur with them. Voiced ones become deaf, i.e. deafened, and the deaf - voiced, i.e. voiced. Positional changes are observed only in paired consonants.

Stunning-voicing of consonants

Voiced stunning occurs in positions:

• in front of paired deaf people: [fsta´ v’it’] - in become,
• at the end of a word: [clat] - treasure.

Voicing of the deaf happens in position:

• before paired voiced: [kaz'ba´] - to With bba´

Strong positions in hardness-softness:

• before vowels: [mat'] - mother,[m'at'] - crush,
• at the end of a word: [out] - out,[out'] - stink,
• before labial-labial: [b], [b '], [n], [n '], [m], [m '] and back-lingual: [k], [k '], [g], [g' ], [x[, [x'] for sounds [s], [s'], [s], [s'], [t], [t'], [d], [d'], [n ], [n'], [r], [r']: [sa´ n'k'i] - Sa´ nks(born pad.), [s´ ank'i] - sled,[bu´ lka] - bu´ lka,[bu´ l'kat'] - boo' lkat,
• 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], [h], which are necessarily softened:, [z'd'es'],
• before [h '] and [w ':] for [n], which is necessarily softened: [by´ n'h'ik] - donut,[ka´ m'n'sh': ik] - bricklayer.

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], [h]: snow -[s'n'ek] and, piss off -[z’l’it’] and [zl’it’]
• before soft anterior lingual, [h ’] for anterior lingual [t], [d] - lift -[pad’n’a´ t ’] and [padn’a´ t’] , take away -[at’n’a´ t’] and [atn’a´ t’]
• before soft anterior lingual [t "], [d"], [s "], [s"] for anterior lingual [n]: vi´ ntik -[v'i´ n "t" ik] and [v'i´ nt'ik], pension -[p’e´ n’s’iy’a] and [p’e´ ns’iy’a]
• before soft labials [c '], [f '], [b '], [n '], [m '] for labials: write in -[f "p" isa´ t ’] and [fp" is´ at ’], ri´ fme(dat. pad.) - [r'i´ f "m" e] and [r'i´ fm "e]

Remember:

In all cases, in a weak position, positional softening of consonants is possible.
It is a mistake to write a soft sign with positional softening of consonants.

Positional changes of consonants according to the features of the method and place of formation

Naturally, in the school tradition it is not customary to state the characteristics of sounds and the positional changes that occur with them in all details. But general patterns phonetics must be mastered. Without this, it is difficult to do phonetic analyzes and complete test tasks. Therefore, below is a list of positionally determined changes in consonants according to the features of 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 the likeness of sounds if they are similar in some way and at the same time are close.

Learn the list:

[c] and [w] → [w:] - sew

[h] and [g] → [g:] - compress

[s] and [h ’] - at the root of words → [w':] - happiness, account
- at the junction of morphemes and words → [w':h'] - comb, dishonest, with what (a preposition followed by a word is pronounced together, like one word)

[s] and [w':] → [w':] - split

[t] and [c] - in verb forms → [ts:] - smiles
-at the junction prefixes and root → [cs] - sleep

[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

Distinguishing consonants

Dissimilarity is a process positional change opposite to likeness.

[g] and [k '] → [x'k '] - light

Simplifying consonant clusters

Learn the list:

vstv - [stv]: hello, feel
zdn - [zn]: late
zdc - [sc] : under the bridle
lnts - [nts]: sun
NDC - [nc]: Dutch
ndsh - [nsh:] landscape
ntg - [ng]: x-ray
RDC - [rc]: heart
rdch - [rh']: heart
stl - [sl ']: happy
stn - [sn]: local

Pronunciation of groups of sounds:

In the forms of adjectives, pronouns, participles, there are letter combinations: wow, him. AT place G they pronounce [in]: him, beautiful, blue.
Avoid spelling. say the words him, blue, beautiful right.

§ten. Letters and sounds

Letters and sounds are different purpose and different nature. But these are comparable systems. Therefore, the types of relationships need to be known.

Types of ratio of letters and sounds:

1. A letter denotes a sound, such as vowels after hard consonants and consonants before vowels: weather.
2. The letter has no sound value of its own, for example b and b: mouse
3. The letter stands for two sounds, for example, iotized vowels e, yo, yu, i in positions:
   • the beginning of a word
   • after vowels,
   • after the separation b and b.
4. The letter may indicate the sound and quality of the preceding sound, such as iotized vowels and and after soft consonants.
5. The letter may indicate the quality of the preceding sound, for example b in words shadow, stump, firing.
6. Two letters can represent one sound, often a long one: sew, squeeze, rush
7. Three letters correspond to one sound: smile - ts -[c:]

test of strength

Check your understanding of the contents 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 organs of speech at the moment of pronouncing the sound

2. What is called reduction?

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

3. At what sounds does the air stream encounter an obstacle in its path: a bow or a gap?

   • Vowels
   • Consonants

4. Can voiceless consonants be pronounced loudly?

5. Are the vocal cords involved in the pronunciation of voiceless consonants?

6. How many pairs form consonants according to deafness-voicedness?

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

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

9. How many consonants do not have a pair of hardness-softness?

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

    • Special icons
    • Letter combinations

11. What is the name of the position of the sound in the flow 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?

    • Vowels
    • Consonants
    • All: both vowels and consonants

Right answers:

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

In contact with

The most important part of speech is words, we pronounce them, write and read them, we add phrases and sentences from them. They consist of letters and sounds that have become so firmly established in our lives that we hardly notice them.

Letters and sounds are not the same thing, although they are closely related concepts. We write, see and read letters, and we pronounce and hear sounds. Letters are graphic written symbols, while sounds are the acoustic component of words and human speech in general. In different words, the same letter sometimes corresponds to different sounds.

“In the beginning was the word. Then words, words, words... (author Vladimir Kolechitsky).

“The word was given to a person not for self-satisfaction, but for the embodiment and transmission of that thought, that feeling, that share of truth and inspiration that he possesses to other people.” (author V. Korolenko).

The study of letters and sounds is carried out by various sections of linguistic science. Sounds studies phonetics, and alphabetic characters - graphic arts. Spelling letters prerogative spelling .

The set of letters of any language makes up its alphabet. The letters of the Russian language are divided into consonants, vowels and auxiliary. Auxiliary ones include those that do not carry sound information - a hard and soft sign.

Consonants and sounds of the Russian alphabet

Consonant sounds and letters are characterized by the fact that during their pronunciation, a certain obstacle arises in the path of air in the oral cavity. As a result, noise is necessarily present in the acoustic sound of consonants. They got the name "consonants" because they almost always stand next to vowels or in the same word with them.

In total, there are 21 consonants in Russian:

b	in	G	d	and	h	th
to	l	m	n	P	R	With
t	f	X	c	h	w	sch

Another characteristic feature of consonants is that they cannot be pronounced in a singsong voice. The pronunciation of hissing consonants can be stretched (for example: With , f , w , sch), but "singing" will not work.

As noted above, consonants in words almost always coexist with vowels. However, there is a limited number of words that consist only of consonants. Along with suggestions to , With or particle b, these are some foreign proper names ( Krc- district of Prague; Armenian name Mkrtch, which in Russian is sometimes written with a vowel - for euphony), as well as interjections like brr or shh .

The classification of consonant letters and sounds in Russian is based on acoustic criteria.

Voiced and voiceless consonants

Those consonants whose pronunciation consists only of noise are called voiceless. In contrast, consonants formed by sound and noise are called voiced.

The letter stands apart th(and short). According to the acoustic sound, it is classified as a voiced consonant, however, its isolated pronunciation is impossible. Letter th can only be pronounced together with a preceding or following vowel sound, for example [yy], [y], etc.

Paired and unpaired consonants

Most voiced consonants correspond to certain deaf ones. These consonant letters are called paired. There are also consonants that do not have a pair. Among them there are also deaf and voiced, and they are called unpaired .

Paired voiced and deaf	Unpaired voiced	Unpaired deaf
b - p	l	X
c - f	m	c
g - k	n	h
d - t	R	sch
w - w	th
h - s

Soft and hard consonants

The pronunciation of consonants in words can be hard or soft. If the sound is pronounced softly, then the tongue is slightly pushed forward, approaching or touching the upper palate. When pronouncing solid sounds, the tongue does not move forward (but the tongue can touch the upper palate due to upward movement).

Most consonants form both hard and soft sounds, but there are some exceptions. In particular, the letters and , c , w always have a solid sound, and letters th , h , sch- soft.

In other cases, the hardness or softness of the consonants is determined by which letter follows them.

If the consonant is followed by letters a , about , at , uh , s , b- then you get a solid sound. The same is true if the consonant is at the end of the word or is followed by another consonant.

If the consonant is accompanied by letters e , yo , and , Yu , I , b- then its sound will be soft.
Video lesson

Hissing and whistling consonants

Some of the consonants in Russian sound like a hiss. These are the sounds and , w , sch , h, which are called hissing consonants.

Another group of consonant sounds, when leaving the oral cavity, forms acoustic vibrations resembling a whistle. These are the sounds h , With , c- whistling.

The properties of hissing and whistling consonants are especially noticeable during their prolonged pronunciation.

One of important features of these sounds lies in the fact that most of the speech defects are associated with their pronunciation. For this reason, work with hissing and whistling consonants should be given special attention when teaching children. It is important to note that speech deficiencies associated with these sounds may be amenable to speech therapy correction.

Russian vowels and sounds

Unlike consonants and letters, characteristic feature vowels is that the air during their pronunciation passes through the oral cavity freely. As a result, vowel sounds can not only be easily stretched, but also sung in a singsong voice. Another one distinguishing feature- they can be pronounced as loudly as you like, with all the power of your voice.

By means of vowels and sounds, consonants are combined into syllables. Each syllable has only one vowel. The number of other letters - consonants, hard and soft signs - may be different. Words can consist of one or more syllables: ros-piss, breaking , yard , painting .

The number of vowels in Russian is 10:

a

e

yo

and

about

at

s

uh

Yu

I

And there are only 6 vowels: [a], [i], [o], [y], [s], [e]. The vowels corresponding to them are monosonic. The remaining 4 vowels are e , yo , Yu , I- two-voiced, and separately pronounced as [ye], [yo], [yu], [ya]. At the same time, in words, these letters mean one sound (examples: squirrel, ball, went, key).

As in the case of consonants, there are a number of Russian words that consist only of vowels. These are the pronouns I , her; unions - and , a; prepositions - at , about; interjections - uh , ay .

Stressed and unstressed vowels

In words, vowels can be stressed and unstressed.

• If a vowel in a word is under stress, it is read more distinctly, with more emphasis and a little more drawl.
• In the absence of stress, vowels in words are read less clearly. Accordingly, an unstressed position is a weak position for them, and a position in a stressed syllable is a strong position.

As a rule, in traditional writing, stress in words is not marked. If necessary, they are indicated by the sign "akut" - a small "/" stroke above the vowel.

Video lesson

Designations of sounds in phonetic parsing of a word

Phonetic or sound analysis of a word serves to display and parse its correct pronunciation. Both words and individual letters can be designated phonetically.

Sound designations, unlike letters, are square brackets. The graphic record of the pronunciation of a word is called transcription.

The basic rules according to which sounds are indicated in the phonetic analysis of a word are as follows:

• The hardness of the consonants does not have any designation, but the softness is indicated by the apostrophe. For example, if [b] is a hard sound, then [b ’] is soft.
• A long sound in transcription is indicated by a colon, for example: cash register- [cas: a].
• Not always, but often the transcription of words is stressed. For example: wave- [wave].
• soft sign and a solid sign do not have a sound pronunciation, therefore there is no display during phonetic analysis.

Video lesson

How to teach children to distinguish between hard and soft sounds

Sometimes children may have difficulty distinguishing between hard and soft consonants. In this case, there are some tricks that facilitate the assimilation of the topic.

First of all, it is necessary to explain to the child that the concepts of hardness and softness do not refer to consonants, but to their sounds. And that the same letter can sound both hard and soft. Let me give you an example: " b"- the words ram - white," R"- work - belt," l"- a horse is a swan.

Explaining the exception letters, for better memorization, it is recommended to write them like this:

• th , h , sch
• and , w , c

It is necessary to make it clear to the child that the underlined letters, as it were, “sit on the pads” - the pads are soft and the letters are also soft.

In order for the child to remember well before which vowels the letter becomes hard or soft, you can use the following technique: first, with a serious facial expression, read a syllable with a hard consonant - and then, with a smile on your face, read another syllable where this consonant is soft. Then, do the same with other letters and syllables. For example: la — la , mu — mi , zo — zya, bo — byu , ry — ryo etc. Soft pronunciation is well associated in a child with a smile, and hard pronunciation is well associated with seriousness and severity, which allows you to remember the material associatively.

Gradually, you need to improve your skills, and do the same exercises with simple words, such as: mother , dad a - uncle , uncle etc. As you remember, from simple words move on to more complex ones. Explanations and exercises should be gradually alternated with tasks: write words, and then ask which consonants are hard and which are soft.

Another exercise can be proposed: to make tablets with words in which soft consonants are written in one color, and hard ones in another. For example:

• N O S I K
• CARPET
• NUMBER
• WARM

There are many options, but it is advisable to choose among them those that the child likes best. It contributes better perception material, its memorization and practical assimilation.

Video lesson

Some interesting and useful information

• Sounds and words can be formed without human intervention. A well-known example is the pronunciation of words by birds of the parrot family. As for individual sounds, they can also appear in inanimate nature- with the rustle of leaves, gusts of wind, splashing waves. This cannot be said about letters - after all, only their meaningful spelling can be recognized as a letter designation, and this is characteristic only of people.
• Despite the small number of words consisting only of vowels, they can be used to make a sentence: “Hey, what about me?”
• Almost all Russian words containing the letter " f", are of foreign origin. Only in relation to rare words (for example: owl) is it assumed Russian origin, but this has not been proven for sure.
• All words beginning with " th”, also foreign-language. For example: iodine, yogurt, iota, Yemen, Yokohama, Yorkshire, etc.
• Letter " yo» in words almost always carries an accent. There are very few exceptions to this rule - these are words of foreign origin ( Königsberg surfers ), as well as Difficult words, in which there are numerals of three or four - ( twenty-three digit , four-door , three thousandth ). It should also be noted those rare situations when in one word there are two letters " yo", one of which becomes stressed, and the other - unstressed ( three-star , four-wheeled , aircraft lift , three-rouble note ).
• There are many words in Russian with unusual letter combinations. For example, words in which the same vowel is repeated three times in a row: snake-eater , animal association , long-necked. Word with 7 consonants in a row: counter-meeting (Maybe, occasionalism ). Words with three soft signs: seductiveness , diminutiveness , multifunctionality , seductiveness etc. A word with two soft and one hard signs: courier . One-syllable word of 8 letters: in passing. You can add many others interesting examples.
• Any letter has a certain frequency of repetition, the most used letters in Russian are about , e , a , and , t , n , With , R. This phenomenon is used to recognize ciphertexts.

Knowledge of letters and sounds, their spelling and pronunciation is the basis of language literacy. In turn, a good command of spoken and written language is one of the indicators of a person's erudition, and the skills of reading and understanding the text are the basis for learning other sciences. After all, the lion's share of information in modern world comprehended by reading or listening, and only a small part of it - through personal experience.

Today, almost all children know the letters and the alphabet already in early childhood. However, it is recommended to learn letters without naming the letters as they sound in the alphabet. Letters must be learned with sounds. Speaking of the letter "B", it is necessary to call it [b], and not "be". This is necessary in order to make it easier for the child to combine letters into syllables and words.

However, the world of sounds is not limited to this. And when the baby grows up, he will have to master such concepts as vowels, hard, soft, paired, deaf and voiced consonants. I invite you to talk today about such different sounds. We will talk about this in a fairy-tale form, in the form closest to children's perception. I invite you to phonetic tale . This is an expanded version of the fairy tale about sounds, presented in.

So, friendly letters live in a hospitable. And the sounds created a great Kingdom called Phonetics.

Kingdom of Sounds - Phonetics

In the kingdom of the sounds of the Russian language Phonetics lived together - fared vowels and consonants sounds. Each sound had its own home. The houses of vowels were painted red, while those of consonants were painted blue. But the roofs of all the houses were white and changed by themselves when the sounds went to visit each other.

Total in the kingdom 42 inhabitants: 6 vowels [a], [e], [o], [y], [i], [s] and 36 consonants. They lived together and often visited each other. And every time they visited each other, magic happened: as soon as they held hands, new sounds for new words were obtained.

Vowel sounds loved to sing. Therefore, music always sounded in their houses. But the consonant sounds did not work at all. But they were very malleable and always and in everything "agreed" with vowels. However, they could become hard or soft . For example, the sound [p]. In the word "saw" sounds soft, but in a word "dust"- firmly. And all because the sound [and] softened [p], and the sound [s], on the contrary, gave it hardness.

This is how consonants, holding hands with vowels, become soft or hard at their request.

However, there were also “naughty” sounds in the kingdom. And although they lived in blue houses and were called consonants, they did not want to change in any way. And it happened on the day when, sitting idly on the benches, they argued who is more important: vowels or consonants. And the sounds [and],[w] and [c] decided to become independent and not obey anyone, especially vowel sounds. They proclaimed themselves to be hard sounds that would never, under any circumstances, become soft! And as proof of their firm decision, they painted the white roofs of their houses in dark blue.

But compliant and non-conflict sounds [sch],[th] and [h] they were very upset and afraid that the balance of the ratio of sounds would be disturbed in the kingdom and decided to remain soft forever. And so that all the inhabitants of Phonetics knew about this, they painted the roofs of their houses green.

However, soon 2 more inhabitants appeared in the kingdom of Phonetics - soft and solid marks. But they did not violate the unity of the sound world. The soft sign helped the consonants to become soft, and the hard sign helped them to become hard. They built themselves white houses and all lived peacefully and amicably.

But the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Phonetics were famous not only for their hard and soft characters. Many of them had and still have their own special preferences. Some sounds loved the sound of falling leaves, while others loved the sound of rain. They even built separate quarters for themselves in such a way that in one the bell always rings loudly, and in the other, as under a dome, it is muffled and noisy... voiced and voiceless consonants . A river flows between the quarters.

So the sounds [r], [l], [m], [n], [d], [b], [g], [c], [d], [g], [s] settled in the quarter with the bell . And in a quiet quarter - [p], [f], [t], [w], [s], [k], [x], [c], [h], [u]. And some letters became so friendly that they connected their houses with bridges. So there is a bridge between sounds p-b, f-v, t-d, w-w, s-z and k-g. it paired consonants .

This is how the amazing Kingdom of Phonetics lives. Sounds visit each other, change, adjust, make noise, shout, sing... They have fun. And in this fun words are born, from them sentences that make up our speech. By the way, it happens ... But by the way, we'll talk about this another time.

How to learn soft and hard consonants

These are the complex relationships between sounds. To make it easier for my son to draw phonetic word patterns, we made very convenient clouds with him. It is very easy to determine the hardness or softness of consonant sounds from them.

Read about how we learned hard and soft consonants with the help of clouds.

How to distinguish between voiced and voiceless consonants

And a very simple technique helped us to make it easier for the child to distinguish between voiced and deaf consonants. Naming the sound, press your palm to your neck. If the sound is sonorous, then vibration (trembling) of the vocal cords is felt. If the sound is muffled, there will be no vibration.

For the same purposes, we used the picture with houses and bridges across the river, which you saw above.

Enjoy your acquaintance with the world of Phonetics!

All the best!