Consonant sounds. What is it and how do sounds differ from letters? Are there vowels?

What is the difference between vowels and consonants and letters and sounds? What rules do they obey? How are the hardness and softness of sounds and letters indicated? You will receive answers to all these questions in this article.

General information about vowels and consonants

Vowels and consonants represent the basis of the entire Russian language. After all, with the help of their combinations, syllables are formed that form words, expressions, sentences, texts, etc. That is why quite a lot of hours are devoted to this topic in high school.

and sounds in Russian

A person learns what vowels and consonants are in the Russian alphabet already from the first grade. And despite the apparent simplicity of this topic, it is considered one of the most difficult for students.

So, in the Russian language there are ten vowel letters, namely: o, i, a, y, yu, i, e, e, u, e. During their immediate pronunciation, you can feel how air passes freely through the oral cavity. At the same time, we hear our own voice quite clearly. It should also be noted that vowel sounds can be drawn out (a-a-a-a, uh-uh-uh, i-i-i-i-i, u-u-u-u-u and so on ).

Features and letters

Vowels are the basis of a syllable, that is, they are the ones who organize it. As a rule, Russian words have as many syllables as vowels themselves. Let's give a clear example: u-che-ni-ki - 5 syllables, re-bya-ta - 3 syllables, he - 1 syllable, o-no - 2 syllables, and so on. There are even words that consist of only one vowel sound. Usually these are interjections (A!, Oh!, Oooh!) and conjunctions (and, a, etc.).

Endings, suffixes and prefixes are very important topics in the Russian Language discipline. After all, without knowing how such letters are written in a particular word, it is quite problematic to compose a literate letter.

Consonants and sounds in Russian

Vowels and consonants letters and sounds vary significantly. And if the first ones can be easily pulled out, then the latter ones are pronounced as briefly as possible (except for hissing ones, since they can be pulled out).

It should be noted that in the Russian alphabet the number of consonant letters is 21, namely: b, v, g, d, zh, z, j, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, f, x, ts, h, w, shch. The sounds they denote are usually divided into dull and voiced. What is the difference? The fact is that during the pronunciation of voiced consonants, a person can hear not only the characteristic noise, but also his own voice (b!, z!, r!, etc.). As for the deaf, there is no way to pronounce them loudly or, for example, shout. They only create a kind of noise (sh-sh-sh-sh-sh, s-s-s-s-s, etc.).

Thus, almost everything is divided into two different categories:

• voiced - b, c, d, d, g, z, j, l, m, n, r;
• deaf - k, p, s, t, f, x, c, ch, sh.

Softness and hardness of consonants

Not everyone knows, but vowels and consonants can be hard and soft. This is the second most important feature in the Russian language (after voicedness and voicelessness).

A distinctive feature of soft consonants is that during their pronunciation the human tongue takes a special position. As a rule, it moves slightly forward, and its entire middle part rises slightly. As for when pronouncing them, the tongue is pulled back. You can compare the position of your speech organ yourself: [n] - [n’], [t] - [t’]. It should also be noted that voiced and soft sounds sound slightly higher than hard sounds.

In the Russian language, almost all consonants have pairs based on softness and hardness. However, there are also those who simply do not have them. These include hard ones - [zh], [sh] and [ts] and soft ones - [th"], [h"] and [sh"].

Softness and hardness of vowel sounds

Surely few people have heard that the Russian language has soft vowels. Soft consonants are sounds quite familiar to us, which cannot be said about the above-mentioned ones. This is partly due to the fact that in secondary school practically no time is devoted to this topic. After all, it is already clear with the help of which vowels the consonants become soft. However, we still decided to dedicate you to this topic.

So, those letters that are capable of softening the consonants preceding them are called soft. These include the following: i, e, i, e, yu. As for letters such as a, u, y, e, o, they are considered hard, since they do not soften the consonants in front. To see this, here are a few examples:

Indication of the softness of consonant letters during phonetic analysis of a word

Phonetics studies the sounds and letters of the Russian language. Surely, in high school you were asked more than once to make a word. During such an analysis, it should be necessary to indicate whether it is separately considered or not. If yes, then it must be designated as follows: [n’], [t’], [d’], [v’], [m’], [p’]. That is, at the top right next to the consonant letter facing the soft vowel, you need to put a kind of dash. The following soft sounds are marked with a similar icon - [th"], [h"] and [w"].

In the Russian language there are 10 vowel letters, 6 vowel sounds. Vowel letters: a, i, e, ё, o, u, ы, e, yu, ya. Vowel sounds: [a], [o], [u], [e], [i], [s]. In the school curriculum, vowel sounds are indicated in red on the diagrams. In the elementary grades they explain: vowel letters are called that because they “voice”, are pronounced “vocally,” while consonant letters received this name because they “agree” with the vowels.

Scheme 1. Vowels and vowel sounds of the Russian language.

Stressed and unstressed vowel sounds

Vowel sounds are:

• percussive: juice [o] - ice ['o], forest ['e] - mayor [e], drill [u] - hatch ['u],
• unstressed: in O yes [a], s at dak [u], l e juice [and].

Note. It is correct to say “stressed syllable” and “unstressed syllable”. Instead of “the stress falls on the vowel,” say “the stress falls on the syllable with the vowel.” However, in the literature there are formulations “stressed vowel” and “unstressed vowel”.

Stressed vowels are in a strong position and are pronounced with greater force and intonation. Unstressed vowels are in a weak position, they are pronounced with less force and can be subject to change.

Note. The designation of the letter e in weak position differs in different school programs. Above we showed the sound [and], in other school programs the designation [e] is found, in the institute program - [e and ] (e with the overtone and).

In the Russian language there are compound words with primary and secondary stress. In them, we highlight the main stress with strong intonation, and the secondary stress with weak intonation. For example, in the word foam blocks, the main stress falls on the syllable with the letter o, the secondary stress on the syllable with the letter e. In phonetic analysis, the vowel with the main stress is stressed, the vowel with the secondary stress is unstressed. For example: tricuspid, three-year-old.

Yotated vowel sounds

The letters i, yu, e, e are called iotized and mean two sounds in the following positions of the word:

1. at the beginning of the word: fir tree [y "olka], Yana [y "ana], raccoon [y "inot];
2. after a vowel: hare [zai"its], bayan [bai"an];
3. after ь or ъ: streams [ruch "y", rise [fall "om].

For ё and stressed vowels I, yu, e, a replacement is made: I → [y’a], yu → [y’u], e → [y’e], ё → [y’o]. For unstressed vowels, a replacement is used: i → [th"i], e → [th"i]. In some school programs, when compiling a transcription of a word and during phonetic analysis, the Latin j is written instead of th.

In the Russian language there are more consonant sounds than letters: if there are 21 consonant letters, then there are 37 consonant sounds. They are classified according to a variety of parameters: deafness and sonority, hardness and softness, as well as into categories according to the method of pronunciation. Unlike vowels, consonant sounds, except sibilants, are pronounced very briefly.

Classification of consonant sounds of the Russian language

Consonant sounds can be hard and soft, dull and voiced. If sounds that according to these characteristics are divided into pairs, there are also unpaired ones. The table will help you understand the overall picture:

It is worth understanding in more detail the characteristics that it describes.

So what are voiced and voiceless consonants? This is a tonality characteristic that indicates are they involved? when pronouncing a sound, the vocal cords or not. If not, the sound is dull. If yes - sonorous.

Hardness and softness are also pronunciation characteristics. Soft sounds are produced when the middle back of the tongue rises towards the soft palate.

Accordingly, consonants can be paired in terms of hardness/softness and dullness/voice, and then they will be called paired. Those who do not have such a pair are unpaired.

Other characteristics of consonants

All consonant sounds are divided into three categories - sonorant (they are also called nasal - it’s clearer how they are pronounced), noisy (formed by the convergence of the pronunciation organs) and hissing (pronounced through the interdental gap). Consonant sounds are divided as follows.

What is sound? This is the minimum component of human speech. Depicted in letters. In written form, sounds are distinguished from letters by the presence of square brackets at the first, which are used in phonetic transcription. The letter is o, the sound is [o]. The transcription shows differences in spelling and pronunciation. Apostrophe [ ‘ ] indicates soft pronunciation.

In contact with

The sounds are divided into:

• Vowels. They can be pulled easily. During their creation, the tongue does not take an active part, being fixed in one position. The sound is created due to changes in the position of the tongue, lips, various vibrations of the vocal cords and the force of air supply. Length of vowels – basis of vocal art(chanting, “singing smoothly”).
• Consonant sounds a are pronounced with the participation of the tongue, which, occupying a certain position and shape, creates an obstacle to the movement of air from the lungs. This leads to noise in the oral cavity. At the output they are converted into sound. Also, the free passage of air is hampered by the lips, which close and open during speech.

Consonants are divided into:

• voiceless and voiced. Deafness and sonority of sound depend on the functioning of the speech apparatus;
• hard and soft. The sound is determined by the position of the letter in the word.

Letters representing consonants

Deaf

Voiceless in Russian: [k], [p], [s], [t], [f], [x], [ts], [sh]. The easiest way to remember is a phrase, and not a set of letters, “Styopka, do you want a cheek? Fi!” containing them all.

An example in which all consonant sounds are unvoiced: rooster, honeycomb, pin.

Voiced

When they are formed, the shape of the tongue is close to the form that produces voiceless sounds, but vibrations are added. Voiced consonant sounds create active vibrations of the ligaments. Vibrations deform the sound wave, and not a pure stream of air enters the oral cavity, but sound. Subsequently, it is further transformed by the tongue and lips.

Voiced consonants include: b, c, g, d, g, z, j, l, m, n, r.

When they are pronounced, tension is clearly felt in the larynx area. In addition, it is almost impossible to speak them clearly in a whisper.

A word in which all consonants are voiced: Rome, pride, ash, estuary.

Summary table of consonants (voiceless and voiced).

It is due to the change in sound that Russian speech is enriched with various words that are similar in spelling and pronunciation, but completely different in meaning. For example: house - volume, court - itch, code - year.

Paired consonants

What does pairing mean? Two letters that are similar in sound and, when pronounced, take similar positions with the tongue, are called paired consonants. The pronunciation of consonants can be divided into one-stage (lips and tongues are involved in their creation) and two-stage - the ligaments are used first, then the mouth. Those cases when, during pronunciation, mouth movements coincide and create pairs.

Summary table of paired consonants taking into account hardness and softness

In speech, it is common not to pronounce each letter, but to “eat” it. This is not an exception only for Russian speech. This is found in almost all languages ​​of the world and is especially noticeable in English. In Russian, this effect is subject to the rule: paired consonant sounds replace (auditory) each other during speech. For example: love – [l’ u b o f’].

But not everyone has their own pair. There are some that are not similar in pronunciation to any others - these are unpaired consonants. The reproduction technique differs from the pronunciation of other sounds and combines them into groups.

Paired consonants

Unpaired consonants

The first group can be pronounced softly. The second has no analogues in pronunciation.

Unpaired consonants are divided into:

• sonors – [y’], [l], [l’], [m], [m’], [n], [n’], [r], [r’]. When they are pronounced, a stream of air hits the upper sky, like a dome;
• hissing – [x], [x’], [ts], [h’], [sch’].

The Russian language contains letters that are difficult to understand in context. Are the sounds [ch], [th], [ts], [n] voiced or unvoiced? Learn these 4 letters!

Important![h] - deaf! [th] - sonorous! [ts] is deaf! [n] – sonorous!

Unpaired consonants

Hard and soft

They are the same in spelling, but different in sound. Voiceless and voiced consonants, with the exception of hissing ones, can be pronounced hard or soft. For example: [b] was – [b`] beat; [t] current – ​​[t`] flowed.

When pronouncing hard words, the tip of the tongue is pressed against the palate. Soft ones are formed by pressing to the upper palate of the middle part of the tongue.

In speech, the sound is determined by the letter following the consonant.

Vowels form pairs: a-ya, u-yu, e-e, y-i, o-yo.

Double vowels (I, ё, yu, e) are pronounced in one of two combinations: the sound [th] and a paired vowel from E, O, U, A, or a soft sign and a paired vowel. For example, the word cabin boy. It is pronounced [y] [y] [n] [g] [a]. Or the word mint. It is pronounced as: [m’] [a] [t] [a]. The vowels A, O, U, E, Y do not have a double sound, therefore do not affect the pronunciation of the preceding consonant.

Example difference:

A spoon is a hatch, honey is a sea, a house is a woodpecker.

Phonetic transcription:

[Spoon] – [L’ u k], [m’ o d] – [m o r’ e], [house] – [d’ a t e l].

Pronunciation rules:

• solid ones are pronounced before A, O, U, E, Y. Abscess, side, beech, Bentley, former;
• soft ones are pronounced before Ya, Yo, Yu, E, I. Revenge, honey, whale, mashed potatoes, mint;
• hard ones are pronounced if they are followed by another consonant: death. After the consonant [s] there is a consonant [m]. Regardless of whether the M is soft, voiced or hard, the S is pronounced firmly;
• hard ones are pronounced if the letter comes last in the word: class, house;
• Consonants before the vowel [e] in borrowed words are pronounced firmly, as before [e]. For example: muffler – [k] [a] [w] [n] [e];
• always soft before b: elk, pulp.
• exceptions to the rules:
  • always solid F, W, C: life, thorns, cyanide;
  • always soft Y, H, Sh: white, black, pike.

Attention! A voiceless letter does not always represent the same sound. It depends on the position in the word.

Hard and soft sounds

Stun

The Russian language has a concept of stunning - some voiced ones sound like deaf ones consonant sounds from a pair.

This is not a speech defect, but, on the contrary, is considered a criterion for its purity and correctness. But this rule only works with paired consonants. For example, [g] in speech is often replaced by [x]. This refers to a defect, since [g], which is close to [x], is considered a distinctive feature of the Ukrainian language. Its use in Russian speech is incorrect. The exception is the word God.

Rules and examples:

• the letter is the last in the word: tooth - [zup], ice hole - [p r o r u p’];
• after the letter there is a voiceless consonant: russula - [raw cheese].

There is a reverse process - voicing. Means that in speech voiceless ones are pronounced as their counterparts to voiced ones. Voicing is justified when they come before voiced consonants: transaction - [z d' e l k a].

Consonants, voiced and voiceless, hard and soft

Consonant sounds are voiced and unvoiced. Russian language lesson in 5th grade

Introducing a child to the Russian alphabet is always an encounter with an unknown but mysterious world, in which there are so many interesting things.

The letters of the Russian alphabet make up a whole family, with 33 inhabitants!

And everyone needs to be remembered in their places. But the study of letters does not end there. We also have to divide them into vowels and consonants, stressed and unstressed, soft and hard, voiceless and voiced.. And this is still far from a complete classification. Let's figure out how to correctly divide the letters of the alphabet into groups.

Vowels and consonants sounds and letters

First, let's figure out how many letters the Russian alphabet contains. There are 33 of them in total. They are all divided into two large groups: vowels and consonants.

We cannot attribute only the soft and hard signs to any of the groups: they do not denote sound, but serve to indicate the hardness or softness of the previous sound.

Vowel sounds

Vowel sounds are pronounced easily, in a singsong manner. This is possible due to the fact that during articulation in the mouth there is no obstruction to the air flow.

How many vowels are there in Russian? – 10 letters. Vowel sounds are much smaller: only 6: A, O, U, Y, I, E. This difference is explained by the fact that 4 vowel letters are formed by merging two sounds: E=Y+O; E=Y+E; Yu=Y+U; I=Y+A.

Shocked and unstressed

Vowel sounds can be stressed or unstressed. Stressed vowel sounds in a word are emphasized by the voice. Thanks to stress, we understand the meaning of a word. There are words in which the meaning depends only on the placement of the stress, for example: castle- castle. Unstressed sounds are not pronounced so clearly, so in writing we check unstressed sounds with stress.

How many consonants and sounds are there in the Russian language?

There are only 21 consonants, but there are 37 sounds.

Consonant sounds are formed due to an obstruction that occurs in the mouth during the passage of air flow. The role of an obstruction can be played by teeth, tongue, lips; depending on the nature of the obstruction, consonants are divided into many groups, for example, labial, dental, etc.

Consonants are also divided into hard and soft, voiceless and voiced.

Hard and soft

Hard consonants are pronounced more roughly, while soft ones sound more graceful and are softened by a nearby vowel or in writing using a soft sign. In transcription, soft sounds are indicated by an adjacent apostrophe. For example, in the word HOUSE the letter “d” sounds hard, but in the word GO it sounds soft. Soft and hard consonants are presented in the table.

Voiceless and voiced

Voiceless consonant sounds are pronounced without the participation of the voice, while in the formation of hard sounds the participation of the voice is necessary. Voiced and unvoiced sounds, as a rule, form a pair, for example: B-P, V-F, etc. There are only a few sounds that do not have a voiced-voiced pair: Shch, Ts, Y, R, L, M, N.

The table presented on our website will help you fully consider deaf and voiced, hard and soft consonants, as well as stressed and unstressed vowels. It can be hung in the classroom, where children have begun to study the Russian alphabet in more detail. It would also be a good idea to hang the chart in a visible place at home if your child is starting to learn letters.

Tables

Cartoons on the topic

To help your child quickly learn the division of letters into vowels and consonants, you can offer him cartoons on this topic. On our website you will find educational cartoons dedicated to this topic.

Speech therapist. Russian alphabet

This video presents sounds in the Russian language using examples of onomatopoeia. This technique will allow children to practice the clarity of pronunciation of vowels and consonants, and to more clearly feel the difference in their sound. Sounds accompany bright pictures with animals and natural phenomena. You can watch the cartoon here

Learn and sing the Russian alphabet

This video contains a performance of the alphabet to music. The melody is pleasant, easy to remember, and the song itself is accompanied by a display of the letter and form of its writing. This cartoon can be useful for children of any age, as it is aimed not only at remembering the order of letters, but also at practicing diction. You can watch the cartoon here

Voiceless consonants

There is a generally accepted opinion that it is impossible to sing consonants. However, the authors of this cartoon break the usual stereotypes of perception. Of course, this video cannot be called a song in its entirety: rather, we will be dealing with a drawn-out pronunciation of voiceless consonants. This is extremely useful for children's diction, in which defects in the pronunciation of hissing sounds are constantly visible. Play this cartoon for your child more often so that he corrects his diction. You can watch the cartoon here

Voiced consonants

It is much easier to sing voiced consonant sounds, although again we will not be dealing with singing, but with prolonged pronunciation of the sound. The voice is involved in the formation of voiced consonants, so they can be easily chanted. This cartoon invites children to practice this simple task and become more familiar with ringing sounds. You can watch the cartoon here

Learn vowel and consonant sounds, because they form the basis of our alphabet!