consonant sounds. Meaning of noisy consonants in the dictionary of linguistic terms Where does the sound come from

Consonants

Consonant sounds: classification features

When classifying consonants, it is customary to take into account a number of features:

1) the ratio of noise and tone (noisiness / sonority),

3) hardness / softness,

4) place of formation,

5) the way of education.

Particularly stipulated are the properties of pairing in deafness / sonority and pairing in hardness / softness.

Noisy and sonorous, deaf and voiced consonants

Noisy and sonorous consonants differ in the ratio of noise and tone.

Sonorants in Russian include nine sounds: [m], [m’], [n], [n’], [l], [l’], [p], [p’], [j]. As with all consonants, a barrier is created during the articulation of sonorants in the oral cavity. However, the force of friction of the air jet against the contiguous / closed organs of speech is minimal: the air jet finds a relatively free exit to the outside and no noise is generated. Air rushes either through the nose ([m], [m '], [n], [n ']), or into the passage between the lateral edges of the tongue and cheeks ([l], [l ']). The absence of noise can be associated with the instantaneous nature of the barrier ([p], [p']) or with the rather wide nature of the gap itself ([j]). In any case, no noise is created and the main source of sound is the tone (voice) created by the vibration of the vocal cords.

In the formation of noisy consonants ([b], [c], [g], [e], [g], [h], etc.), on the contrary, noise plays the main role. It occurs as a result of overcoming an obstacle with an air stream. The tonal component of the sound is non-basic and may either be completely absent (for deaf consonants) or supplement the main one (for voiced consonants).

Voiced and voiceless consonants differ in the participation / non-participation of tone (voice) in the formation of a consonant sound.

Tone (voice) is characteristic of voiced pronunciation, their articulation implies the obligatory work of the vocal cords. Voiced, therefore, are all sonorants: [m], [m '], [n], [n '], [l], [l '], [p], [p '], [j]. Among the noisy consonants, the voiced sounds include the following sounds: [b], [b '], [c], [c '], [g], [g '], [d], [d '], [g], [ f:'], [h], [h'].

Voiceless consonants are pronounced without a voice when the vocal cords remain relaxed. The sounds of this type include only noisy ones: [n], [n '], [f], [f '], [t], [t '], [s], [s '], [w], [w :'], [k], [k'], [c], [h'], [x], [x'].

[b] - [n] [b '] - [n ']

[c] - [f] [c '] - [f ']

[d] - [t] [d '] - [t ']

[s] - [s] [s '] - [s ']

[w] - [w] [w: '] - [w: ']

[g] - [k] [g '] - [k ']

The listed sounds are respectively either voiced doubles, or deaf pairs. The remaining consonants are characterized as unpaired. TO voiced unpaired include all sonorants, to deaf unpaired sounds [c], [h '], [x], [x '].

Phonetic alternations of consonants according to deafness / sonority. Designation of deafness / voiced consonants in writing

The deafness / voicedness of consonants remains an independent, independent sign in the following provisions:

1) before vowels: [su] d court - [zu] d itching, [ta] m there - [yes] m ladies;

2) before the sonorants: [sl] th layer - [evil] oh evil, [tl '] I aphid - [dl '] I for;

3) before [in], [in ’]: [ver ’] check check - [zv ’] beast beast.

In these positions, both voiceless and voiced consonants are found, and these sounds are used to distinguish between words (morphemes). The listed positions are called strong in deafness / sonority.

In other cases, the appearance of a dull / voiced sound is predetermined by its position in the word or the proximity of a particular sound. Such deafness / sonority turns out to be dependent, “forced”. Positions in which this happens are considered weak on the basis of the specified attribute.

In Russian, there is a law according to which voiced noisy stunned at the end of a word, compare: dý [b] a oak - du [n] oak, má [z '] and ointments - ma [s '] ointment. In the given examples, the phonetic alternation of consonants according to deafness / voicedness is fixed: [b] // [p] and [h '] // [s '].

In addition, positional changes relate to situations where the voiceless and voiced consonants are close. In this case, the subsequent sound affects the previous one. Voiced consonants in front of the deaf are necessarily likened to them in deafness, as a result, a sequence of deaf sounds arises, cf. ready [in ']it is preparing - ready [f't'] do not cook (i.e. [in '] // [f '] in front of the deaf).

Deaf consonants facing voiced noisy ones (except [in], [in ']) change to voiced ones, occurs assimilation by voice, cf .: milk [t '] and´t to thresh - milk [d'b]á threshing ([t '] // [d '] before the voiced), ask [s '] and´t to ask - pro [s 'b]a request (i.e. [c'] // [h'] before voiced).

Articulatory assimilation of sounds of the same nature, that is, two consonants (or two vowels), is called assimilation (from Latin assimilatio ‘similarity’). Thus, it has been described above deafness assimilation And voice assimilation.

The designation of deafness / voiced consonants in writing is associated with the use of the corresponding letters: t or d, p or b, etc. However, only independent, independent deafness / sonority is indicated on the letter. Sound signs that turn out to be “forced”, positionally conditioned, are not indicated in the letter. Thus, phonetically alternating sounds are written with one letter, the morphematic principle of spelling operates: in the word du [n] du b the letter b is written, as in the test du [b] a du b a.

The exception will be the spelling of some borrowed words (transcription [p]tion transcription in the presence of transcription [b '] to transcribe) and prefixes on s / s (and [s] use use if available and [s] learn to study ). The graphic appearance of such examples falls under the phonetic principle of orthography. True, in the case of prefixes, it does not work to the end, combined with the traditional one: ra[w:] move = ra[w] stir stir up.

The traditional principle of spelling is subject to the choice of a letter in dictionary words like in [g] hall station, and [h] best asbestos. Their spelling does not depend on verification (it is impossible), nor on pronunciation.

Hard and soft consonants

Hard and soft consonants differ in the position of the tongue.

When pronouncing soft consonants ([b '], [c '], [d '], [h '], etc.), the entire body of the tongue moves forward, and the middle part of the back of the tongue rises to the hard palate. This movement of the tongue is called palatalization. Palatalization is considered an additional articulation: it is superimposed on the main one associated with the formation of an obstruction.

When pronouncing solid consonants ([b], [c], [d], [h], etc.), the tongue does not move forward and its middle part does not rise.

Consonants form 15 pairs of sounds opposed in hardness / softness. All of them are or hard doubles, or soft doubles:

TO solid unpaired consonants [c], [w], [g] are referred to, and consonants [h ’], [w: ’], [g: ’] and [j] are classified as soft unpaired.

The consonants [w] and [w: ’], [g] and [g: ’] do not form pairs, as they differ in two features at once: hardness / softness and brevity / longitude.

It should be noted that the sound [zh: '] is rare. It is possible only in a limited range of words: I drive, reins, yeast, splashes, later and some others. At the same time, [zh: '] is increasingly being replaced by [zh:].

A very special position among soft consonants is occupied by the sound [j]. In the rest of the soft consonants, the raising of the middle part of the back of the tongue to the hard palate is, as noted above, an additional articulation. The consonant [j] has the indicated articulation as the main one, because there are no other barriers when pronouncing [j]. Therefore, the sound [j] is in principle not capable of having a solid pair.

Phonetic alternations of consonants for hardness/softness. Designation of hardness / softness of consonants in writing. Letters b and b

The hardness / softness of consonants as an independent feature, and not arising due to positional changes, is fixed in the following strong positions:

1) before vowels, including [e]: [lu] to bow - [l'u] to hatch, [but] with a nose - [n'o] s carried, pass [t e´] pastel - post [t ' e´] l bed;

Paired soft consonants before [e] are pronounced in native Russian words, paired hard ones - in borrowed ones. However, many of these borrowings have ceased to be perceived as rare: antenna, cafe, sausage, stress, mashed potatoes, prosthesis, etc. As a result, both hard and soft pronunciation of the consonant before [e] became possible in commonly used words.

2) at the end of the word: ko [n] kon - ko [n '] horse, zha [r] heat - zha [r '] fry;

3) for sounds [l], [l ’], regardless of their position: in [l] ná wave - in [l ’] ná free;

4) for consonants [c], [s '], [s], [s '], [t], [t '], [d], [d '], [n], [n '], [ p], [p'] (for front-lingual)

- in a position before [k], [k '], [g], [g '], [x], [x '] (before back-lingual): gó [r] ka hill - gó [r '] ko bitterly, bá [n] ka bank - bá [n '] ka banka;

- in a position before [b], [b '], [p], [p '], [m], [m '] (before the lips): and [z] bá hut - re [z '] bá carving;

In other cases, the hardness or softness of the consonant will not be independent, but caused by the influence of sounds on each other.

Assimilation by hardness observed, for example, in the case of a combination of soft [n '] with hard [s], cf. .e [n'] // [n] before solid). A pair of June [n’] June - June’s [n’s] cue June does not follow this pattern. But this exception is the only one.

Assimilation in softness carried out inconsistently with respect to different groups of consonants and is not observed by all speakers. Only the replacement [n] with [n '] before [h '] and [w: '] knows no deviations, cf: drum [n] drum - drum [n'h ']ik drum, gó [n] ok racing - gó[n' w:']ik racer (i.e. [n] // [n'] before soft).

In accordance with the old norms, it was necessary to say: l ´ [m’k ’] and straps, [v’b ’] to drive in; [d’v ’] er the door; [with'j] eat eat; [s’t’] ená wall. In modern pronunciation, there is no mandatory softening of the first sound in these cases. So, the word la´ [mk ’] and straps (similarly trya´ [pk ’] and rags, lá [fk ’] and benches) is pronounced only with a solid, other sound combinations allow pronunciation variability.

The designation in writing applies only to cases of independent, and not positionally determined, hardness / softness of paired consonants. At the literal level, the soft sound quality [n '] in the words drum and racer is not graphically fixed.

Unlike deafness / voicedness, the independent softness of paired consonants is conveyed not by the letter corresponding to the consonant sound, but by the letter following it:

letters i, e, u, i: l and k, l e d, l yu k, l i zg;
In modern language, the letter e has ceased to denote the softness of the preceding consonant. The combination of letters ... those ... cannot be read if you do not see which word it belongs to - those hundred or those st.

2) at the end of the word with a letter a soft sign: horse, heat, dust;

3) in the middle of a word, before a consonant letter, a soft sign: t ma, ve s ma, ba n ka.

The independent hardness of paired consonants is transmitted by such means:

letters s, o, y, a, e: ly ko, boat, bow, la ska, kara te;

at the end of the word by the absence of a soft sign: ko n_, hot r_, py_ l;

in the middle of a word before a consonant without a soft sign:
t_ min, s_ looks, ba n_ ka.

The hardness / softness of unpaired consonants does not require a separate designation. Writing i / s, ё / o, u / u, i / a after the letters w, f, h, u, ccorresponding to unpaired ones, is dictated by tradition: life, qi fra, tsy films, burn, o zho g, shu fabric , bro shyu ra , cup . The same applies to the use / disuse of the letter soft sign in a number of grammatical forms: rye, married _, quiet, small sh _, thing, tovarishch_, can, brick_.

Please note that the name of the letters b and b turns out to be insidious. The letter "hard sign" never denotes hardness, its use is associated with a separating function, i.e. indicating the presence of [j] before the next vowel sound: st will eat, a [d'ju] tant adjutant.

The functions of the letter "soft sign" are wider. Firstly, it can also be used in a separating function, but not after prefixes: [vjý]ga blizzard, bu[l'jó]n broth. In this case, the letter b does not indicate the softness of the consonant. Secondly, a soft sign can traditionally be written in a number of grammatical forms after letters corresponding to unpaired consonants (see above). Again, the letter ь does not convey the softness of sounds in this use. And finally, in a number of situations, the letter b denotes the softness of consonants in writing. This function extends to examples with independent softness of paired consonants at the end of a word and in the middle of a word before a consonant (see above).

Place and method of formation of consonants

Place of education consonant sound - a sign showing where in the oral cavity the air stream meets an obstacle.

This characteristic is given with the obligatory indication of the active (moving) and passive (fixed) organs. So, consonants, the articulation of which is associated with the movement of the lower lip, are labial-labial ([p], [p '], [b], [b '], [m], [m ']) and labial-dental ([ f], [f'], [v], [v']). Consonants formed with the active participation of the language are divided into front-lingual dental ([s], [s'], [s], [s'], [t], [t'], [d], [d'], [ c], [l], [l'], [n], [n']), anterior lingual anterior palatine([w], [w ’], [g], [g ’], [h ’], [p], [p ’]), midlingual palatal([j]), posterior lingual midpalatal([k'], [g'], [x']) and posterior lingual posterior palatine([k], [g], [x]). All listed groups of sounds are reflected in the table of consonants (see below).

Considering the table (Appendix to the publication), be sure to pronounce the sounds given in it. The work of your own organs of speech will help you understand why each sound is placed in a particular cell.

Method of consonant formation- this is a characteristic that simultaneously indicates the type of obstruction in the oral cavity and the way to overcome it.

There are two main ways to form an obstruction - either the complete closure of the speech organs, or their convergence to the distance of the gap. Thus, stop and fricative consonants are distinguished.

When articulating slotted air, a stream of exhaled air exits in the middle of the oral cavity, producing friction on the contiguous organs of speech: h'], [w], [w¯'], [g], [g¯'], [j], [x], [x'].

The pronunciation of stop consonants includes the moment of complete closure of the organs of speech, when the exit of the air stream to the outside is blocked. The method of overcoming the bond may be different, depending on what further division into classes is carried out.

Stopping plosives suggest the elimination of the barrier with a strong and short push of air, which quickly comes out: [n], [n '], [b], [b'], [t], [t '], [d], [d '], [k], [k'], [g], [g'].

At stop affricates the organs of speech that are tightly adjacent to each other do not sharply open, but only slightly open, forming a gap for air to escape: [ts], [h '].

Closing nasals do not require breaking the bow at all. Thanks to the lowered palatine curtain, the air does not rush to the place of the shutter, but freely exits through the nasal cavity: [m], [m '], [n], [n '].

When the occlusive lateral [l] and [l ’] are formed, the air also does not come into contact with the barrier, bypassing it along its trajectory - between the lowered side of the tongue and the cheeks.

In some teaching aids, nasal and lateral sounds are described as closure-through.

Stopping trembling characterized by periodic closing and opening of the organs of speech, that is, their vibration: [p], [p '].

Sometimes trembling is considered not as a variety of stops, but as a separate, third type of consonants along with stops and fricatives.

Phonetic alternations of consonants in place and method of formation. Phonetic alternations of consonants with zero sound

The place and method of formation of consonants can only change as a result of the influence of sounds on each other.

Before anterior palatine noisy teeth are replaced by anterior palatals. going on positional assimilation by place of formation: [with] a game with a game - [w w] slaughter with a fur coat (i.e. [s] // [w] in front of the anterior), [with] a game with a game - [w: 'h'] championship with the championship ( i.e. [s] // [w: '] before the anterior palate).

Explosive consonants before fricatives and affricates alternate with affricates, i.e. with closer articulatory sounds. Assimilation is carried out according to the method of formation: o [t] play to win back - o [cs] to fall asleep (i.e. [t] // [c] in front of the slot).

In many cases, several signs of consonants undergo a positional change at once. So, in the above example with the championship, the assimilation touched not only the sign of the place of formation, but also the sign of softness. And in the case of [d] playing under the game - according to [h' w: '] some under the cheek ([d] // [h '] in front of the deaf, soft, prepalatine, fricative [w: ']) there was an assimilation according to all four signs - deafness, softness, place and method of education.

In the examples le [g] ok easy - le [x'k'] th light, soft'[g] ok soft - me''[h'k'] th soft, where [g] alternates with [x'], and not with [k '] before [k '], there is a dissimilarity ( dissimilation) of sounds according to the method of formation. At the same time, dissimilation (dissimilation) on this basis is combined with likeness (assimilation) in deafness and softness.

In addition to the phenomena described above, phonetic alternation of consonants with zero sound.

Usually [t] / [t '] and [d] / [d '] are not pronounced between dental, between [p] and [h '], between [p] and [c], it also does not sound [l] before [ nc]. So, the loss of a consonant is presented in the following combinations:

stl: happy [t '] happiness - happy happy, i.e. [T'] // ;

stn: place [t] about places - local local, i.e. [T] // ;

zdn: uez [d] and the county - uezny county, i.e. [d] //;

zdts: knot [d]á bridle - under the knots´ under the bridles, i.e. [d] //; gollan [d '] Dutch Dutchman - Dutch Dutch, i.e. [d'] // ;

rdts: ser[d’]echko heart - heart heart, i.e. [d'] // ;

rdch: ser [d ’] échko heart - serchishko heart, i.e. [d'] // ;

sun: so [l] little sun sun - sun sun, i.e. [l] // .

Akin to the specified phenomenon and the loss of [j]. It occurs when an iota is preceded by a vowel, and then followed by [and] or [b]: mo mine - [mai´] mine, i.e. [j] // .

Please note that not a single phonetic phenomenon associated with the assimilation of consonants in place / method of formation or with the fact of their replacement by zero sound is indicated in the letter. According to the morphematic (phonological) principle of Russian orthography, positionally alternating sounds are written with one letter in accordance with the check. An example [w] with a fur coat is written as with a fur coat, because have [with] game with game . The unpronounceable consonant in happy happy is graphically restored on the basis of the test happy [th’]e happiness, etc.

Where does sound come from?

The formation of any sound that a person can utter begins in the breathing apparatus: air enters the lungs and then exits them towards the larynx - this process is called initiation. From the lungs, air enters the larynx, where the vocal cords are located. Depending on whether the ligaments vibrate or not, the process of phonation occurs or does not occur there. The ligaments vibrate - the sound turns out to be voiced (any vowel or voiced consonant), they do not hesitate - the sound turns out to be deaf (deaf consonant).

From the larynx, air enters the oral cavity, in which a process takes place that determines all other characteristics of sound, except for deafness / sonority - articulation, i.e. the adoption of the speech organs (tongue, lips, palate, teeth, small tongue - uvula) of that position needed to produce a particular sound. So, for example, to pronounce the sound [p], we must close our lips tightly, and for the sound [k] we need to touch the back palate with the back of the tongue.

Vowels and consonants

Like all other languages of the world, Russian has vowels and consonants. Their total number is slightly over forty and is average (neither large nor small) compared to other languages of the world. We have six times more consonants than vowels - the Russian language is consonant (languages in which the set of vowels is larger and more diverse are called vocal).

All of us, back in elementary school, learned to distinguish vowels from consonants: vowels - those that can be sung, consonants - those that cannot be sung. In fact, we can hiss for a long time [w], whistle [c], and if we try very hard, then mumble [m], pull [n], etc. How can this be explained? Are there other ways to distinguish between vowels and consonants?

The main difference between a vowel and a consonant is their method of formation, namely, the presence or absence of an obstruction in the vocal tract. A vowel sound is one that we form by removing air from the lungs through the larynx and oral cavity, without building any barriers in the speech apparatus, but simply by changing the volume of the oral cavity. A consonant is a sound that, in order to go out, must overcome some kind of barrier (closed lips, tongue touching the teeth or palate). But the quality of this barrier (or, in other words, narrowing) and the way to overcome it can be different, so some consonant sounds can really be “stretched”, for example, like [w], [c], [m] or [n].

Classification of consonants

Place of education

Since a barrier is necessary for the formation of a consonant sound, in the region of the vocal tract where this narrowing occurs, there is a place for the formation of a consonant. Usually it is called by the two organs that form it: active and passive. Active organs include:

The tongue, or rather its front part, i.e. the tip (then consonant front-lingual), the middle part (mid-lingual), and the back, i.e. the root (consonant back-lingual);

lower lip (consonant labial).

For passive:

The palate, namely: the anterior palate - the alveoli (consonant anteropalatal or alveolar), the middle - the hard palate (middle palate) and the back - the soft palate (posterior palate);

upper teeth (consonant dental), since the lower ones simply do not participate in articulation;

upper lip (consonant labial). Of course, it also moves during articulation, but only together with the lower one and much less. The lower lip can participate in the formation of sounds without the participation of the upper one, for example, [v] or [f].

When combining some active and some passive articulating organs, we get a classification of consonant sounds according to the place of formation:

labial-labial (bilabial), for example, [m], [p], [b];

labio-dental (labiodental), for example, [c], [f];

Anterior lingual dental (dental), for example, [t], [d], [c], [n], [l];

Anterior lingual anterior palatine (alveolar), for example, [w], [g], [p];

midlingual midpalatal (palatal), for example, [j];

Back-lingual mid-palatal, for example, [k '], [g '], [x '];

posterior lingual posterior palatine (velar), for example, [k], [g], [x].

Way of education

We have already talked a little about the difference between the ways in which vowels and consonants are formed. Vowels are formed without obstruction in the vocal tract, and therefore in the complete absence of noise. For consonants, on the contrary, a barrier is necessary. The types of this barrier (or narrowing) can be different, as well as the ways to overcome it.

The closest to vowels in terms of the method of formation are approximant consonants: the degree of narrowing they have is insignificant, and therefore the noise is formed only in the absence of a voice (that is, when the vocal cords do not fluctuate). Approximants in Russian include such consonants as [l], [l ‘] and [i̯] (“and non-syllabic”).

A significant, but not yet complete narrowing, i.e. a gap, is necessary for the formation slotted, or fricatives, consonants. According to the shape of the slot, they are divided into flat slotted (for example, [w], [g], [x], [j]) and round slotted (for example, [c] and [h]). We call the anterior lingual flat-slit ones hissing: [w], [w '], [g], [g '], [h], [h '], and the anterior lingual round-slit ones - whistling: [s], [s '], [h ], [s'], [ts], [ts'].

The next level of constriction is a full bow, i.e. a tight touch of the active articulating organ to the passive one, which leads to blocking of the air flow. Consonants formed in this way are called stops. Depending on how the sound overcomes the resulting stop, several types of stop consonants are distinguished:

explosive - air rests against the bow, excess pressure is created, which leads to a sharp opening of the organs, i.e. to the so-called explosion (for example, [t], [b], [k], etc.);

Life hack! Explosive sounds are easy to distinguish from other consonants: this is the only type of consonants that cannot be stretched out, whistled, hummed, etc. Try to pull, for example, the sound [b] for a long time: you will not succeed, even despite its sonority. You can only gradually build up pressure on the bow, delaying the moment of explosion.

affricates - the air rests against the bow, which, under pressure, does not open abruptly, but simply passes into the gap. Thus, affricates, roughly speaking, consist of two sounds: stop plosive and fricative (for example, [ц] = [t͡s] and [h'] = [t͡sh‘]);

nasal - the bow is in the oral cavity, but the air does not close, but passes through the nasal cavity by raising a small tongue - uvula (for example, [m], [n]);

Life hack! If it is very difficult to remember which sound is nasal, you can put your hand to your nose when pronouncing it. Vibration is felt - nasal, not felt - not nasal.

trembling - consist of several bows with vocal elements between them ([p]).

Sonorant and noisy consonants

Another classification applicable to consonants is their division into sonorous And noisy consonants. Sonorants include the following consonants of the Russian language: [m], [m'], [n], [n'], [r], [r'], [l], [l'], [j], [i̯ ]. All other consonants are noisy. You can see that the list of sonorants contains those consonants that, as we used to think, are always voiced, that is, they do not have a deaf pair. Let's try to figure out how it happened.

The fact is that sonorous consonants are the middle link between vowels and noisy consonants: despite the fact that an obstacle is also formed during their pronunciation, it does not prevent the passage of air. So, with nasal consonants [m], [m ‘], [n] and [n ‘], air exits through the nasal cavity. When the approximants [l] and [l ‘] are formed, the lateral edges of the tongue descend and the air passes along the sides of the oral cavity (therefore, these sounds are called lateral approximants, and the approximant [th] opposed to them - middle). With trembling [p], the obstruction is formed for too short a time, so that the noise does not have time to arise.

By the way, it would be more correct to classify the sounds [v] and [v‘] as sonorants, because when they come into contact with other consonants, they behave exactly like sonorants, and not like noisy ones. For example, when a voiceless noisy consonant in a word is followed by a voiced noisy consonant, the second influences the first and the voiceless is voiced (for example, selection[adbor]). If the subsequent consonant is sonorous, then this does not occur (for example, separation[atryf]). Note that before voiced [v] and [v ‘], deaf noisy ones also do not sound: girth[ahhwat], answer[atv’etʹ]. It turns out that [in] and [in ‘] are also sonorous.

Russian has 21 consonants and 36 consonants. Consonants and their corresponding consonant sounds:
b - [b], c - [c], d - [g], d - [d], f - [g], d - [d], h - [h], k - [k], l - [l], m - [m], n - [n], n - [n], r - [p], s - [s], t - [t], f - [f], x - [x ], c - [c], h - [h], w - [w], u - [u].

Consonants are divided into voiced and deaf, hard and soft. They are paired and unpaired. There are 36 different combinations of consonants in terms of pairing-unpairing of hard and soft, deaf and voiced: deaf - 16 (8 soft and 8 hard), voiced - 20 (10 soft and 10 hard).

Scheme 1. Consonant letters and consonant sounds of the Russian language.

Hard and soft consonants

Consonants are hard and soft. They are divided into paired and unpaired. Paired hard and paired soft consonants help us distinguish between words. Compare: horse [kon '] - con [kon], bow [bow] - hatch [l'uk].

For understanding, let's explain "on the fingers". If a consonant letter in different words means either a soft or a hard sound, then the sound is paired. For example, in the word cat, the letter k denotes a hard sound [k], in the word whale, the letter k denotes a soft sound [k ']. We get: [k] - [k '] form a pair of hardness-softness. Sounds for different consonants cannot be attributed to a pair, for example [v] and [k '] do not make a pair in hardness-softness, but make a pair [v] - [v ']. If a consonant is always hard or always soft, then it belongs to unpaired consonants. For example, the sound [g] is always solid. There are no words in Russian where it would be soft [zh']. Since there is no pair [w] - [w ’], then it belongs to unpaired ones.

Voiced and voiceless consonants

Consonants are voiced and voiceless. Thanks to voiced and deaf consonants, we distinguish words. Compare: ball - heat, count - goal, house - volume. Deaf consonants are pronounced with the mouth almost covered; when they are pronounced, the vocal cords do not work. For voiced consonants, more air is needed, the vocal cords work.

Some consonant sounds have a similar sound in terms of pronunciation, but are pronounced with different tonality - deaf or sonorous. Such sounds are combined in pairs and form a group of paired consonants. Accordingly, paired consonants are a pair of voiceless and voiced consonants.

paired consonants: b-p, v-f, g-k, d-t, s-s, f-sh.
unpaired consonants: l, m, n, p, d, c, x, h, u.

Sonorant, noisy and hissing consonants

Sonorant - voiced unpaired consonants. There are 9 sonorous sounds: [th '], [l], [l '], [m], [m '], [n], [n '], [p], [p '].
Noisy consonants are voiced and deaf:

Noisy voiceless consonants (16): [k], [k "], [p], [p"], [s], [s"], [t], [t"], [f], [f "], [x], [x'], [q], [h'], [w], [w'];
Noisy voiced consonants (11): [b], [b '], [c], [c '], [g], [g '], [d], [d '], [g], [s ], [h'].

Hissing consonants (4): [g], [h '], [w], [u '].

Paired and unpaired consonants

Consonants (soft and hard, deaf and voiced) are divided into paired and unpaired. The tables above show the division. Let's summarize everything with a diagram:

Scheme 2. Paired and unpaired consonants.

To be able to do phonetic analysis, in addition to consonants, you need to know

Sound is the smallest indivisible unit of voiced speech flow that does not matter. The study of the sound system of a language, all its manifestations and functions, is devoted to the section of linguistics called phonetics.

The phonetic system of the Russian language contains 42 sounds, 6 of which are vowels, and the remaining 36 are consonants. Sonorant sounds in Russian deserve special attention. As a rule, the pronunciation of some of them causes the greatest difficulties in children who are just learning to speak. To understand what sonorous sounds are, it is necessary to consider the system of sounds of the Russian language as a whole.

Each sound has the following characteristics:

acoustic;
articulatory;
functional (semantic).

Acoustic characteristic

To characterize a sound acoustically is to characterize how it sounds. This can be done by its sonority, strength and height.

Sonority allows you to separate vocal and non-vocal sounds. All noisy consonants are non-vocal. Vocals include all vowels and sonorous consonants.

In terms of strength, sounds can be consonant or non-consonant. Consonant, i.e. weak, are all consonants, and non-consonant, i.e. strong - all vowels.

From a position of height, the sound can be, respectively, high or low. Front vowels, front lingual and middle lingual consonants are high. All other vowels and consonants are low sounds.

The concept of articulation

Articulation is the process of producing sounds. The speech apparatus of a person, with the help of which sounds are formed, is represented by a fairly large set of organs. This includes the lungs, larynx, vocal cords, nasal cavity, hard and soft palate, mandible, lips and tongue. Exhaled air exits the lungs and passes through the gap formed by the vocal cords in the larynx. With tense and oscillating vocal cords, a voice (tone) is formed. It serves as the basis for vowels, voiced and sonorous consonants. If the vocal cords are relaxed, the voice does not form, noise occurs, which underlies the noisy consonants.

Further differentiation of sounds occurs in the oral cavity, depending on what obstacle the air stream encounters on its way.

Vowel characteristic

The main feature of vowels is that when they are formed, the air stream, having formed a tone in the vocal cords, no longer encounters any obstacles in the oral cavity. That is, they consist only of tone (voice) without the addition of noise.

The vowels are a, o, u, i, s, e. The articulation of each vowel depends only on the position of the active organs of speech (lips, tongue, soft palate and lower jaw).

The functional feature of vowels is that they form a syllable, i.e. play a syllabic role.

Characteristics of consonants

When a consonant sound is formed, the air stream encounters various obstacles on its way. Noise occurs while crossing the obstacle. Therefore, the main difference between a consonant and a vowel is the presence of noise in addition to tone (voice). The occurrence of a specific consonant sound depends on the place where the barrier is formed and how it is overcome. Thus, they are all divided depending on the ratio of tone and noise, place and method of formation.

According to the ratio of tone and noise, consonants are divided into sonorous sounds, voiced and deaf consonants. Voiced and voiceless consonants are noisy, because noise participates in their formation either on a par with the voice (voiced), or prevails over the voice (deaf).

When pronouncing a consonant sound, the barrier can be formed by the tongue or lips, so all consonants are divided according to the place of formation into labial and lingual.

According to the method of formation, or according to the method of overcoming an obstacle, they are occlusive, slit, occlusive-slit (affricates), occlusive-passing and trembling.

Another characteristic of consonants is palatalization (hardness/softness). Pairs of hardness / softness do not have only a few consonants: zh, ts (always hard) and h, j (always soft).

Characteristics of sonorous sounds

What is a sonorous sound, it becomes clear already from the translation of this definition. The word sonorous comes from the Latin sonorus. It means "resonant". Indeed, in the formation of such a sound, the voice predominates, and the noise is so minimal that sonorous sounds become close to vowels. Sonorant sounds in Russian are m, m", n, n", l, l", p, p", j.

Note. The main feature of sonorous sounds is that when passing through an obstacle in the oral cavity, the air that forms the sound finds ways to bypass it. So, for example, when the sound l and its soft pair are formed, the air bypasses the bow formed by the tongue and upper teeth on the sides. Accordingly, at the place of formation, this sound is lingual-dental. And according to the method of formation, it is occlusive-through. When the sound p and its soft pair are formed, the air flow causes the bow formed by the tongue and the hard palate to vibrate. Thus, it is lingual-alveolar at the place of formation, and trembling (vibrant) by the method of formation. Interestingly, such a sonorous sound as j (th) is very similar in its formation to the vowel and. However, during its pronunciation, there is a significant narrowing during the passage of the air flow. Because of this, a slight noise arises, which allows us to attribute this sound to consonants. According to the place of formation, j is lingual-mid-palatal, according to the method of formation - slit, and is only palatalized (soft).

All sonorous sounds in Russian do not have a deafness / voiced pair and are only voiced. At the end of a word, sonorant sounds are not deafened, as is the case with other voiced consonants.

Mouth and nasal sounds

Depending on the position of the palatal curtain, different consonant sounds are formed. If the palatine curtain rises and presses against the back wall of the pharynx, the passage to the nasal cavity for the air stream is closed. The sounds formed in this way are called mouth sounds. Or clean. If the palatine curtain is lowered, the passage to the nasal cavity for the air stream opens, and the nasal cavity serves as an additional resonator in the formation of sound. In this way, sounds are formed, called nasal, or nasal.

There are only four nasal sounds in Russian: m, m", n, n". According to the place of formation, m and its soft pair are labial-labial, and according to the method of formation, they are occlusive-anadromous. The sound n and its soft pair at the place of formation is lingual-dental, and according to the method of formation, it is occlusive-passing.

So, understanding what a sonorous sound is is possible only with a full understanding of the mechanism for the formation of sounds. That is, their articulations. Knowledge of the features of sonorant consonants helps to determine their place in the phonetic system of the Russian language.

1. Phonetic law of the end of a word. A noisy voiced consonant at the end of a word is deafened, i.e. pronounced as the corresponding double deaf. This pronunciation leads to the formation of homophones: threshold[To] — vice[To], young[T] — hammer[T], goats[With], — braid[With] and so on. In words with two consonants at the end of the word, both consonants are stunned: gruzd - sadness[gr with "t"], entrance - driveway[pΛdј uh st] and so on.

Stunning of the final voiced occurs under the following conditions:

1) before a pause: [pr "ish O l p O est] ( the train came);

2) before the next word (without a pause) with the initial not only deaf, but also a vowel, sonorant, as well as [ј] and [v]: [prime he], [sat ours], [weak јa], [your mouth] ( he is right, our garden, weakening, your kind). Sonorant consonants are not stunned: rubbish, they say, com, he.

2. Assimilation of consonants by voicedness and deafness. Combinations of consonants, of which one is deaf and the other is voiced, are not characteristic of the Russian language. Therefore, if two consonants of different voicing appear side by side in a word, the first consonant is likened to the second. This change in consonants is called regressive assimilation.

By virtue of this law, voiced consonants in front of the deaf turn into paired deaf, and deaf in the same position into voiced. voicing voiceless consonants are less common than voiced stunning; the transition of voiced to voiceless creates homophones: [ dushk - dushk] (douche - douche), [in"and with"t" And - in "and with" t " And ] (carry - lead), [fp"bp"and m"eshku - fp"bp"and m"eshku] ( mixed - mixed).

Before sonorants, as well as before [j] and [v], the deaf ones remain unchanged: tinder, rogue, [Λt est] (departure), yours, yours.

Voiced and voiceless consonants are assimilated under the following conditions:

1) at the junction of morphemes: [pΛhotk] (gait), [collection] (collection);

2) at the junction of prepositions with the word: [where "elu] (to business), [zd" elm] (with business);

3) at the junction of a word with a particle: [get] (g O d something), [d O d "w" would] (d O whose);

4) at the junction of significant words pronounced without a pause: [rock-kΛzy] (goat horn), [ras-p "at"] (five times).

3. Assimilation of consonants by softness.

Softness assimilation has a regressive character: the consonant softens, becoming like the subsequent soft consonant. In this position, not all consonants, paired in hardness-softness, soften and not all soft consonants cause a softening of the previous sound.

All consonants, paired in hardness-softness, soften in the following weak positions:

1) before a vowel [e]; [b "el], [v" es], [m "el], [s "el] ( white, weight, chalk, sat down) and so on.;

2) before [And]: [m "silt], [p" silt "and] ( sweet, drinking).

Before unpaired [g], [w], [c], soft consonants are impossible, with the exception of [l], [l "](cf. end - ring).

The teeth most susceptible to softening [h], [s], [n], [r], [d], [t] and lip [b], [p], [m], [c], [f]. Do not soften before soft consonants [g], [k], [x], and [l]: glucose, key, bread, fill, keep quiet and so on. Softening occurs within the word, but is absent before the soft consonant of the next word ([here - l"es]; compare [lt"br]) and before the particle ([rbs - l"and]; compare [rlsl"and]) ( here is the forest, otter, grew w, grew).

Consonants [h] and [s] soften before soft [t "], [d"], [s"], [n"], [l"]: [m "ёs" t "], [v" iez " d "e], [f-ka "s" b], [kaz "n"] (revenge, everywhere, at the box office, execution) ^ Softening [s], [s] also occurs at the end of prefixes and prepositions consonant with them before soft labials: [rz "d" iel "it"], [r's "t" yenut "], [b" bz "-n" ievb), [b "yes" -s "il] (divide, stretch, without him, without strength). Before soft labial softening [h], [s], [d], [t] is possible inside the root and at the end of prefixes on -z, as well as in the prefix s-and in a preposition consonant with it: [s "m" ex], [z "in" er "], [d" in "er"], [t" in "er"], [s "n" et "], [s" -n "im], [is "-p" ёch "], [rlz" d "ёt"] (laughter, beast, door, Tver, sing, with him, bake, undress).

Labials do not soften before soft teeth: [pt "yon" h "bk], [n" eft "], [vz" at "] (chick, oil, take).

These cases of assimilative softness of consonants show that the action of assimilation in the modern Russian literary language is not always distinguished by a strict sequence.

4. Assimilation of consonants by hardness. Assimilation of consonants by hardness is carried out at the junction of the root and the suffix, which begins with a hard consonant: locksmith - locksmith, secretary - secretarial, etc. Assimilation in hardness does not occur before the labial [b]: [prls "it"] - [proz "b", [mllt "it"] - [mlld" ba] (ask - request, threshing - threshing), etc. [l "] is not subjected to assimilation: [floor" b] - [zlpbl "nts] (field, outdoor).

5. Assimilation of teeth before hissing. This type of assimilation extends to the dental [h], [s] in the position before the hissing (anteropalatal) [w], [g], [h], [w "] and consists in the complete assimilation of the dental [h], [s] to the following hissing.

Complete assimilation [h], [s] occurs:

1) at the junction of morphemes: [press"], [rlzhat"] (compress, unclench); [tyt "], [rltyt"] (sew, embroider); [t "from], [rlt" bt] (account, calculation); [r \ zn6t "ik], [izvbt" ik] (peddler, cab driver);

2) at the junction of a preposition and a word: [zharm], [tarm] (with heat, with a ball); [b "yezhar], [bippar] (without heat, bvz ball).

The combination of zzh inside the root, as well as the combination of zhzh (always inside the root) turn into a long soft [zh"]: [pl"b] (later), Tzhozh"u] (I drive); [vbzh"and], [drbzh"and ] (reins, yeast) Optionally, in these cases, a long hard [zh] can be pronounced.

A variation of this assimilation is the assimilation of dental [d], [t] following them [h], [c], resulting in long [h "], [c]: [lch "bt] (report), [fkra" q] (briefly),

6. Simplification of consonant combinations. Consonants [d], [t] in combinations of several consonants between vowels are not pronounced. Such a simplification of consonant groups is consistently observed in combinations: stn, zdn, stl, ntsk, stsk, vstv, rdts, lnts: [u "snyd], [pbzn], [t" esl "yvyd], [g" igansk "id" ], [h "stub], [s" yordts], [sbnts] (oral, late, happy, giant, feeling, heart, sun).

7. Reduction of groups of identical consonants. When three identical consonants come together at the junction of a preposition or prefix with the next word, as well as at the junction of a root and a suffix, the consonants are reduced to two: [rasor "it"] (time + quarrel), [sylkd] (link), [ kllbnyd] (column + n + th); [ld "ёsksh] (Odessa + sk + yy).