Phonetic structure of the Russian language and its characteristics. Phonetic structure of the English language

Old English scribes used two types of letters: runes and the Latin alphabet.

The runic alphabet introduced (named according to the first 6 letters of it futhark) several characters into Old English writing. The rune yu (thorn) and the sign p were introduced to designate interdental [i] and [p]. At the same time, the letters yu and r were used without any distinction to designate interdental ones - both voiceless [i] and voiced [r]. Was a rune also introduced? (wyn) to indicate bilabial [w]. [Arakin, 2003: 35]

The runic alphabet is peculiar specifically to the Germanic languages; it is not found in any other group of languages. The letters of this alphabet are angular, which is caused by the fact that runic inscriptions were carved into hard materials such as stone, bone or wood. The shape of some letters is similar to Greek or Latin, the origin of the remaining letters has not been found with any other alphabet.

The bulk of Old English manuscripts were written in Latin characters.

Like any other alphabetic spelling, Old English was based on the phonetic principle - each letter represents a specific sound. Although, this principle was not always observed, even in the early stages of phonetic spelling. Old English letters represented two or more sounds, such as the letter? denoted several different phonemes. And some letters denoting certain sounds meant positional variants of phonemes, such as a And and. Below is the Old English alphabet and transcription of all symbols.

Old English is so different from New English that they can easily be mistaken for absolutely different languages. All this is due to the peculiarities of their pronunciation.

The length of a vowel in Old English is indicated by a special longitude sign - a line on the letter: bodan , rвs etc. Long consonants are indicated by writing the letter twice.

When reading Old English texts, the following rules should be observed regarding letters that represent more than one sound.

Letters f, s And Yu, R denote voiced fricative sounds in the position between vowels, as well as between a vowel and a voiced consonant. In other positions there is a voiceless fricative sound.

Letter? denoted the sound [g] at the beginning of a word before back vowels, the sound [j] before and after front vowels, the sound [?] between back vowels and the sound mainly if it follows c.

Letter h denotes the phoneme [x] between a back vowel and a consonant, as well as at the beginning of a word before a consonant and a sound next to front vowels.

Letter n denotes the sound [n] in all positions, except when it comes before [k] or [g], then it denotes [?].

Before moving on to phonetic analysis with examples, we draw your attention to the fact that letters and sounds in words are not always the same thing.

Letters- these are letters, graphic symbols, with the help of which the content of a text is conveyed or a conversation is outlined. Letters are used to visually convey meaning; we perceive them with our eyes. The letters can be read. When you read letters out loud, you form sounds - syllables - words.

A list of all letters is just an alphabet

Almost every schoolchild knows how many letters are in the Russian alphabet. That's right, there are 33 of them in total. The Russian alphabet is called the Cyrillic alphabet. The letters of the alphabet are arranged in a certain sequence:

Russian alphabet:

In total, the Russian alphabet uses:

• 21 letters for consonants;
• 10 letters - vowels;
• and two: ь (soft sign) and ъ (hard sign), which indicate properties, but do not themselves define any sound units.

You often pronounce sounds in phrases differently from how you write them in writing. In addition, a word may use more letters than sounds. For example, “children’s” - the letters “T” and “S” merge into one phoneme [ts]. And vice versa, the number of sounds in the word “blacken” is greater, since the letter “Yu” in this case is pronounced as [yu].

What is phonetic analysis?

We perceive spoken speech by ear. By phonetic analysis of a word we mean the characteristics of the sound composition. In the school curriculum, such analysis is more often called “sound-letter” analysis. So, with phonetic analysis, you simply describe the properties of sounds, their characteristics depending on the environment and the syllabic structure of a phrase united by a common word stress.

Phonetic transcription

For sound-letter parsing, a special transcription in square brackets is used. For example, it is correctly written:

• black -> [h"orny"]
• apple -> [yablaka]
• anchor -> [yakar"]
• Christmas tree -> [yolka]
• sun -> [sontse]

The phonetic parsing scheme uses special symbols. Thanks to this, it is possible to correctly designate and distinguish the letter notation (spelling) and the sound definition of letters (phonemes).

• The phonetically parsed word is enclosed in square brackets – ;
• a soft consonant is indicated by a transcription sign [’] - an apostrophe;
• percussive [´] - accent;
• in complex word forms from several roots, the secondary stress sign [`] - gravis is used (not practiced in the school curriculum);
• the letters of the alphabet Yu, Ya, E, Ё, ь and Ъ are NEVER used in transcription (in the curriculum);
• for doubled consonants, [:] is used - a sign of the longitude of the sound.

Below are detailed rules for orthoepic, alphabetic, phonetic and word analysis with online examples, in accordance with general school standards of the modern Russian language. Professional linguists' transcriptions of phonetic characteristics differ in accents and other symbols with additional acoustic features of vowel and consonant phonemes.

How to make a phonetic analysis of a word?

The following diagram will help you carry out letter analysis:

• Write down the necessary word and say it out loud several times.
• Count how many vowels and consonants there are in it.
• Indicate the stressed syllable. (Stress, using intensity (energy), distinguishes a certain phoneme in speech from a number of homogeneous sound units.)
• Divide the phonetic word into syllables and indicate their total number. Remember that syllable division in is different from the rules of transfer. The total number of syllables always matches the number of vowels.
• In the transcription, sort the word by sounds.
• Write the letters from the phrase in a column.
• Opposite each letter in square brackets, indicate its sound definition (how it is heard). Remember that sounds in words are not always identical to letters. The letters "ь" and "ъ" do not represent any sounds. The letters “e”, “e”, “yu”, “ya”, “i” can represent 2 sounds at once.
• Analyze each phoneme separately and indicate its properties separated by commas:
  • for a vowel we indicate in the characteristic: vowel sound; stressed or unstressed;
  • in the characteristics of consonants we indicate: consonant sound; hard or soft, voiced or deaf, sonorant, paired/unpaired in hardness-softness and sonority-dullness.
• At the end of the phonetic analysis of the word, draw a line and count the total number of letters and sounds.

This scheme is practiced in the school curriculum.

An example of phonetic analysis of a word

Here is a sample phonetic analysis of the composition for the word “phenomenon” → [yivl’e′n’ie]. In this example there are 4 vowels and 3 consonants. There are only 4 syllables: I-vle′-n-e. The emphasis falls on the second.

Sound characteristics of letters:

i [th] - acc., unpaired soft, unpaired voiced, sonorant [i] - vowel, unstressedv [v] - acc., paired hard, paired sound l [l'] - acc., paired soft., unpaired . sound, sonorant [e′] - vowel, stressed [n’] - consonant, paired soft, unpaired sound, sonorant and [i] - vowel, unstressed [th] - consonant, unpaired. soft, unpaired sound, sonorant [e] - vowel, unstressed________________________In total, the word phenomenon has 7 letters, 9 sounds. The first letter “I” and the last “E” each represent two sounds.

Now you know how to do sound-letter analysis yourself. The following is a classification of sound units of the Russian language, their relationships and transcription rules for sound-letter parsing.

Phonetics and sounds in Russian

What sounds are there?

All sound units are divided into vowels and consonants. Vowel sounds, in turn, can be stressed or unstressed. The consonant sound in Russian words can be: hard - soft, voiced - deaf, hissing, sonorous.

How many sounds are there in Russian living speech?

The correct answer is 42.

Doing phonetic analysis online, you will find that 36 consonants and 6 vowels are involved in word formation. Many people have a reasonable question: why is there such a strange inconsistency? Why does it vary? total number sounds and letters, both vowels and consonants?

All this is easily explained. A number of letters, when participating in word formation, can denote 2 sounds at once. For example, softness-hardness pairs:

• [b] - cheerful and [b’] - squirrel;
• or [d]-[d’]: home - to do.

And some do not have a pair, for example [h’] will always be soft. If you doubt it, try to say it firmly and make sure it is impossible: stream, pack, spoon, black, Chegevara, boy, little rabbit, bird cherry, bees. Thanks to this practical solution, our alphabet has not reached dimensionless proportions, and the sound units are optimally complemented, merging with each other.

Vowel sounds in Russian words

Vowel sounds Unlike consonants, they are melodic; they flow freely, as if in a chant, from the larynx, without barriers or tension of the ligaments. The louder you try to pronounce the vowel, the wider you will have to open your mouth. And vice versa, the louder you try to pronounce a consonant, the more energetically you will close your mouth. This is the most striking articulatory difference between these phoneme classes.

The stress in any word form can only fall on the vowel sound, but there are also unstressed vowels.

How many vowel sounds are there in Russian phonetics?

Russian speech uses fewer vowel phonemes than letters. There are only six shock sounds: [a], [i], [o], [e], [u], [s]. And let us remind you that there are ten letters: a, e, e, i, o, u, y, e, i, yu. The vowels E, E, Yu, I are not “pure” sounds in transcription are not used. Often, when parsing words by letter, the emphasis falls on the listed letters.

Phonetics: characteristics of stressed vowels

The main phonemic feature of Russian speech is the clear pronunciation of vowel phonemes in stressed syllables. Stressed syllables in Russian phonetics are distinguished by the force of exhalation, increased duration of sound and are pronounced undistorted. Since they are pronounced clearly and expressively, sound analysis of syllables with stressed vowel phonemes is much easier to carry out. The position in which the sound does not undergo changes and retains its basic form is called strong position. This position can only be occupied by a stressed sound and a syllable. Unstressed phonemes and syllables remain in a weak position.

• The vowel in a stressed syllable is always in a strong position, that is, it is pronounced more clearly, with the greatest strength and duration.
• A vowel in an unstressed position is in a weak position, that is, it is pronounced with less force and not so clearly.

In the Russian language, only one phoneme “U” retains unchangeable phonetic properties: kuruza, tablet, u chus, u lov - in all positions it is pronounced clearly as [u]. This means that the vowel “U” is not subject to qualitative reduction. Attention: in writing, the phoneme [y] can also be indicated by another letter “U”: muesli [m’u ´sl’i], key [kl’u ´ch’], etc.

Analysis of the sounds of stressed vowels

The vowel phoneme [o] occurs only in a strong position (under stress). In such cases, “O” is not subject to reduction: cat [ko´ t'ik], bell [kalako´ l'ch'yk], milk [malako´], eight [vo´ s'im'], search [paisko´ vaya], dialect [go´ var], autumn [o´ s'in'].

An exception to the rule of a strong position for “O”, when the unstressed [o] is also pronounced clearly, are only some foreign words: cocoa [kaka "o], patio [pa"tio], radio [ra"dio], boa [bo a "] and a number of service units, for example, the conjunction but. The sound [o] in writing can be reflected by another letter “ё” - [o]: thorn [t’o´ rn], fire [kas’t’o´ r]. It will also not be difficult to analyze the sounds of the remaining four vowels in the stressed position.

Unstressed vowels and sounds in Russian words

It is possible to make a correct sound analysis and accurately determine the characteristics of a vowel only after placing stress in the word. Do not forget also about the existence of homonymy in our language: zamok - zamok and about the change in phonetic qualities depending on the context (case, number):

• I'm home [ya do "ma].
• New houses [no "vye da ma"].

IN unstressed position the vowel is modified, that is, pronounced differently than written:

• mountains - mountain = [go "ry] - [ga ra"];
• he - online = [o "n] - [a nla"yn]
• witness line = [sv’id’e “t’i l’n’itsa].

Such changes in vowels in unstressed syllables are called reduction. Quantitative, when the duration of the sound changes. And high-quality reduction, when the characteristics of the original sound change.

The same unstressed vowel letter can change its phonetic characteristics depending on its position:

• primarily relative to the stressed syllable;
• at the absolute beginning or end of a word;
• in open syllables (consisting of only one vowel);
• on the influence of neighboring signs (ь, ъ) and consonant.

Yes, it varies 1st degree of reduction. It is subject to:

• vowels in the first pre-stressed syllable;
• naked syllable at the very beginning;
• repeated vowels.

Note: To make a sound-letter analysis, the first pre-stressed syllable is determined not from the “head” of the phonetic word, but in relation to the stressed syllable: the first to the left of it. In principle, it can be the only pre-shock: not-here [n’iz’d’e’shn’ii].

(uncovered syllable)+(2-3 pre-stressed syllable)+ 1st pre-stressed syllable ← Stressed syllable → over-stressed syllable (+2/3 over-stressed syllable)

• vper-re -di [fp’ir’i d’i´];
• e -ste-ste-st-no [yi s’t’e´s’t’v’in:a];

Any other pre-stressed syllables and all post-stressed syllables during sound analysis are classified as reduction of the 2nd degree. It is also called a “weak position of the second degree.”

• kiss [pa-tsy-la-va´t’];
• model [ma-dy-l’i´-ra-vat’];
• swallow [la´-sta -ch’ka];
• kerosene [k'i-ra-s'i´-na-vy].

The reduction of vowels in a weak position also differs in stages: second, third (after hard and soft consonants - this is outside the curriculum): learn [uch'i´ts:a], become numb [atsyp'in'e´t '], hope [nad'e´zhda]. During letter analysis, the reduction of the vowel in the weak position in the final open syllable (= at the absolute end of the word) will appear very slightly:

• cup;
• goddess;
• with songs;
• turn.

Sound-letter analysis: iotized sounds

Phonetically, the letters E - [ye], Yo - [yo], Yu - [yu], Ya - [ya] often mean two sounds at once. Have you noticed that in all the indicated cases the additional phoneme is “Y”? That is why these vowels are called iotized. The meaning of the letters E, E, Yu, I is determined by their positional position.

When analyzed phonetically, the vowels e, e, yu, i form 2 sounds:

◊ Yo - [yo], Yu - [yu], E - [ye], I - [ya] in cases where there are:

• At the beginning of the words “Yo” and “Yu” are always:
  • - shudder [yo´ zhyts:a], Christmas tree [yo´ lach’nyy], hedgehog [yo´ zhyk], container [yo´ mcast’];
  • - jeweler [yuv ’il’i´r], top [yu la´], skirt [yu´ pka], Jupiter [yu p’i´t’ir], nimbleness [yu ´rkas’t’];
• at the beginning of the words “E” and “I” only under stress*:
  • - spruce [ye´ l’], travel [ye´ w:u], huntsman [ye´ g’ir’], eunuch [ye´ vnukh];
  • - yacht [ya´ hta], anchor [ya´ kar’], yaki [ya´ ki], apple [ya´ blaka];
  • (*to perform sound-letter analysis of the unstressed vowels “E” and “I”, a different phonetic transcription is used, see below);
• in the position immediately after the vowel “Yo” and “Yu” always. But “E” and “I” are in stressed and unstressed syllables, except in cases where these letters are located after a vowel in the 1st pre-stressed syllable or in the 1st, 2nd unstressed syllable in the middle of words. Phonetic analysis online and examples in specified cases:
  • - receiver [pr’iyo´mn’ik], sings t [payo´t], klyyo t [kl’uyo ´t];
  • -ayu rveda [ayu r’v’e´da], I sing t [payu ´t], melt [ta´yu t], cabin [kayu ´ta],
• after the dividing solid “Ъ” the sign “Ё” and “Yu” - always, and “E” and “I” only under stress or at the absolute end of the word: - volume [ab yo´m], shooting [syo´mka], adjutant [adyu "ta´nt]
• after the dividing soft “b” the sign “Ё” and “Yu” is always, and “E” and “I” are under stress or at the absolute end of the word: - interview [intyrv'yu´], trees [d'ir'e´ v'ya], friends [druz'ya´], brothers [bra´t'ya], monkey [ab'iz'ya´ na], blizzard [v'yu´ ga], family [s'em'ya´ ]

As you can see, in the phonemic system of the Russian language, stress is of decisive importance. Vowels in unstressed syllables undergo the greatest reduction. Let's continue the sound-letter analysis of the remaining iotized ones and see how they can still change characteristics depending on the environment in the words.

◊ Unstressed vowels“E” and “I” designate two sounds and in phonetic transcription and are written as [YI]:

• at the very beginning of the word:
  • - unity [yi d'in'e´n'i'ye], spruce [yil´vyy], blackberry [yizhiv'i´ka], him [yivo´], fidget [yigaza´], Yenisei [yin'is 'e´y], Egypt [yig'i´p'it];
  • - January [yi nvarskiy], core [yidro´], sting [yiz'v'i´t'], label [yirly´k], Japan [yipo´n'iya], lamb [yign'o´nak ];
  • (The only exceptions are rare foreign word forms and names: Caucasoid [ye vrap'io´idnaya], Evgeniy [ye] vgeny, European [ye vrap'e´yits], diocese [ye] pa´rkhiya, etc.).
• immediately after a vowel in the 1st pre-stressed syllable or in the 1st, 2nd post-stressed syllable, except for the location at the absolute end of the word.
  • in a timely manner [svai vr'e´m'ina], trains [payi zda´], let's eat [payi d'i´m], run into [nayi w:a´t'], Belgian [b'il'g'i´ yi c], students [uch'a´sh'iyi s'a], with sentences [pr'idlazhe´n'iyi m'i], vanity [suyi ta´],
  • bark [la´yi t'], pendulum [ma´yi tn'ik], hare [za´yi c], belt [po´yi s], declare [zayi v'i´t'], show [prayi in 'l'u´]
• after the dividing hard “Ъ” or soft “b” sign: - intoxicating [p'yi n'i´t], express [izyi v'i´t'], announcement [abyi vl'e´n'iye], edible [syi dobny].

Note: The St. Petersburg phonological school is characterized by “ecane”, and the Moscow school is characterized by “hiccup”. Previously, the iotrated “Yo” was pronounced with a more accented “Ye”. When changing capitals, performing sound-letter analysis, they adhere to Moscow norms in orthoepy.

Some people in fluent speech pronounce the vowel “I” the same way in syllables with a strong and weak position. This pronunciation is considered a dialect and is not literary. Remember, the vowel “I” under stress and without stress is voiced differently: fair [ya ´marka], but egg [yi ytso´].

Important:

The letter “I” after the soft sign “b” also represents 2 sounds - [YI] in sound-letter analysis. (This rule is relevant for syllables in both strong and weak positions). Let's conduct a sample of online sound-letter analysis: - nightingales [salav'yi´], on chicken legs [na ku´r'yi' x" no´shkah], rabbit [kro´l'ich'yi], no family [s'im 'yi´], judges [su´d'yi], draws [n'ich'yi´], streams [ruch'yi´], foxes [li´s'yi]. But: Vowel “O” after a soft sign “b” is transcribed as an apostrophe of softness ['] of the preceding consonant and [O], although when pronouncing the phoneme, iotization can be heard: broth [bul'o´n], pavilion n [pav'il'o´n], similarly: postman n , champignon n, chignon n, companion n, medallion n, battalion n, guillot tina, carmagno la, mignon n and others.

Phonetic analysis of words, when the vowels “Yu” “E” “E” “I” form 1 sound

According to the rules of phonetics of the Russian language, at a certain position in words, the designated letters give one sound when:

• sound units “Yo” “Yu” “E” are under stress after an unpaired consonant in hardness: zh, sh, ts. Then they represent phonemes:
  • ё - [o],
  • e - [e],
  • yu - [y].
  Examples of online analysis by sounds: yellow [zho´ lty], silk [sho´ lk], whole [tse´ ly], recipe [r'itse´ pt], pearls [zhe´ mch'uk], six [she´ st '], hornet [she'rshen'], parachute [parashu't];
• The letters “I” “Yu” “E” “E” and “I” indicate the softness of the preceding consonant [’]. Exception only for: [f], [w], [c]. In such cases in a striking position they form one vowel sound:
  • ё – [o]: ticket [put'o´ fka], easy [l'o´ hk'iy], honey fungus [ap'o´ nak], actor [akt'o´ r], child [r'ib' o´nak];
  • e – [e]: seal [t’ul’e´ n’], mirror [z’e’ rkala], smarter [umn’e´ ye], conveyor [kanv’e´ yir];
  • I – [a]: kittens [kat'a´ ta], softly [m'a´ hka], oath [kl'a´ tva], took [vz'a´ l], mattress [t'u f'a ´ k], swan [l'ib'a´ zhy];
  • yu – [y]: beak [kl'u´ f], people [l'u´ d'am], gateway [shl'u´ s], tulle [t'u´ l'], suit [kas't 'mind].
  • Note: in words borrowed from other languages, the stressed vowel “E” does not always signal the softness of the previous consonant. This positional softening ceased to be a mandatory norm in Russian phonetics only in the 20th century. In such cases, when you do a phonetic analysis of the composition, such a vowel sound is transcribed as [e] without a preceding apostrophe of softness: hotel [ate´ l'], strap [br'ite´ l'ka], test [te´ st] , tennis [te´ n:is], cafe [cafe´], puree [p'ure´], amber [ambre´], delta [de´ l'ta], tender [te´ nder], masterpiece [shede´ vr], tablet [table´ t].
• Attention! After soft consonants in prestressed syllables the vowels “E” and “I” undergo qualitative reduction and are transformed into the sound [i] (except for [ts], [zh], [sh]). Examples of phonetic analysis of words with similar phonemes: - grain [z'i rno´], earth [z'i ml'a´], cheerful [v'i s'o´ly], ringing [z'v 'i n'i´t], forest [l'i sno´y], blizzard [m'i t'e´l'itsa], feather [p'i ro´], brought [pr' in'i sla´], knit [v'i za´t'], lie [l'i ga´t'], five grater [p'i t'o´rka]

Phonetic analysis: consonants of the Russian language

There is an absolute majority of consonants in the Russian language. When pronouncing a consonant sound, the air flow encounters obstacles. They are formed by organs of articulation: teeth, tongue, palate, vibrations of the vocal cords, lips. Due to this, noise, hissing, whistling or ringing appears in the voice.

How many consonants are there in Russian speech?

In the alphabet they are designated by 21 letters. However, when performing sound-letter analysis, you will find that in Russian phonetics consonant sounds more, namely 36.

Sound-letter analysis: what are the consonant sounds?

In our language there are consonants:

• hard - soft and form the corresponding pairs:
  • [b] - [b’]: b anan - b tree,
  • [in] - [in’]: in height - in yun,
  • [g] - [g’]: city - duke,
  • [d] - [d’]: dacha - dolphin,
  • [z] - [z’]: z von - z ether,
  • [k] - [k’]: k onfeta - to enguru,
  • [l] - [l’]: boat - l lux,
  • [m] - [m’]: magic - dreams,
  • [n] - [n’]: new - nectar,
  • [p] - [p’]: p alma- p yosik,
  • [r] - [r’]: daisy - row of poison,
  • [s] - [s’]: with uvenir - with urpriz,
  • [t] - [t’]: tuchka - t ulpan,
  • [f] - [f’]: f lag - f February,
  • [x] - [x’]: x orek - x seeker.
• Certain consonants do not have a hard-soft pair. Unpaired ones include:
  • sounds [zh], [ts], [sh] - always hard (zhzn, tsikl, mouse);
  • [ch’], [sch’] and [th’] are always soft (daughter, more often than not, yours).
• The sounds [zh], [ch’], [sh], [sh’] in our language are called hissing.

A consonant can be voiced - voiceless, as well as sonorous and noisy.

You can determine the voicedness-voicelessness or sonority of a consonant by the degree of noise-voice. These characteristics will vary depending on the method of formation and the participation of the organs of articulation.

• Sonorant (l, m, n, r, y) are the most sonorous phonemes, in them a maximum of voices and a few noises are heard: l ev, rai, n o l.
• If, when pronouncing a word during sound parsing, both a voice and noise are formed, it means that you have a voiced consonant (g, b, z, etc.): plant, b people, life.
• When pronouncing voiceless consonants (p, s, t and others), the vocal cords do not tense, only noise is made: st opka, fishka, k ost yum, tsirk, sew up.

Note: In phonetics, consonant sound units also have a division according to the nature of formation: stop (b, p, d, t) - gap (zh, w, z, s) and method of articulation: labiolabial (b, p, m) , labiodental (f, v), anterior lingual (t, d, z, s, c, g, w, sch, h, n, l, r), midlingual (th), posterior lingual (k, g, x) . The names are given based on the organs of articulation that are involved in sound production.

Tip: If you're just starting to practice spelling words phonetically, try placing your hands on your ears and saying the phoneme. If you were able to hear a voice, then the sound being studied is a voiced consonant, but if noise is heard, then it is voiceless.

Hint: For associative communication, remember the phrases: “Oh, we didn’t forget our friend.” - this sentence contains absolutely the entire set of voiced consonants (excluding softness-hardness pairs). “Styopka, do you want to eat some soup? - Fi! - similarly, the indicated replicas contain a set of all voiceless consonants.

Positional changes of consonants in Russian

The consonant sound, just like the vowel, undergoes changes. The same letter phonetically can represent a different sound, depending on the position it occupies. In the flow of speech, the sound of one consonant is compared to the articulation of a consonant located next to it. This effect makes pronunciation easier and is called assimilation in phonetics.

Positional stun/voicing

In a certain position for consonants, the phonetic law of assimilation according to deafness and voicedness applies. The voiced paired consonant is replaced by a voiceless one:

• at the absolute end of a phonetic word: but [no´sh], snow [s’n’e´k], garden [agaro´t], club [klu´p];
• before voiceless consonants: forget-me-not a [n’izabu´t ka], obkh vatit [apkh vat’i´t’], Tuesday [ft o´rn’ik], tube a [corpse a].
• doing a sound-letter analysis online, you will notice that the voiceless paired consonant standing before the voiced one (except for [th'], [v] - [v'], [l] - [l'], [m] - [m'] , [n] - [n'], [r] - [r']) is also voiced, that is, replaced by its voiced pair: surrender [zda´ch'a], mowing [kaz'ba´], threshing [malad 'ba´], request [pro´z'ba], guess [adgada´t'].

In Russian phonetics, a voiceless noisy consonant does not combine with a subsequent voiced noisy consonant, except for the sounds [v] - [v’]: whipped cream. In this case, the transcription of both the phoneme [z] and [s] is equally acceptable.

When parsing the sounds of words: total, today, today, etc., the letter “G” is replaced by the phoneme [v].

According to the rules of sound-letter analysis, in the endings “-ого”, “-го” of adjectives, participles and pronouns, the consonant “G” is transcribed as the sound [в]: red [kra´snava], blue [s'i´n'iva] , white [b'e´lava], sharp, full, former, that, that, whom. If, after assimilation, two consonants of the same type are formed, they merge. In the school curriculum on phonetics, this process is called consonant contraction: separate [ad:'il'i´t'] → the letters “T” and “D” are reduced into sounds [d'd'], besh smart [b'ish: u ´much]. When analyzing the composition of a number of words in sound-letter analysis, dissimilation is observed - the opposite process to assimilation. In this case, the common feature of two adjacent consonants changes: the combination “GK” sounds like [xk] (instead of the standard [kk]): light [l'o′kh'k'ii], soft [m'a′kh' k'ii].

Soft consonants in Russian

In the phonetic parsing scheme, an apostrophe [’] is used to indicate the softness of consonants.

• Softening of paired hard consonants occurs before “b”;
• the softness of the consonant sound in a syllable in writing will help determine the vowel letter that follows it (e, ё, i, yu, i);
• [ш'], [ч'] and [й] are only soft by default;
• The sound [n] is always softened before soft consonants “Z”, “S”, “D”, “T”: claim [pr'iten'z 'iya], review [r'itseen'z 'iya], pension [pen 's' iya], ve[n'z'] el, licé[n'z'] iya, ka[n'd'] idat, ba[n'd'] it, i[n'd'] ivid , blo[n'd']in, stipe[n'd']iya, ba[n't']ik, vi[n't']ik, zo[n't']ik, ve[n' t'] il, a[n't'] ical, co[n't'] text, remo[n't'] edit;
• the letters “N”, “K”, “P” during phonetic analysis of their composition can be softened before the soft sounds [ch'], [sch']: glass ik [staka'n'ch'ik], smenschik ik [sm'e ′n'sch'ik], donch ik [po'n'ch'ik], masonry ik [kam'e'n'sch'ik], boulevard [bul'va'r'sh'ina], borscht [ borsch'];
• often the sounds [з], [с], [р], [н] before a soft consonant undergo assimilation in terms of hardness-softness: wall [s't'e′nka], life [zhyz'n'], here [ z'd'es'];
• in order to correctly perform sound-letter analysis, take into account the exception words when the consonant [p] before soft teeth and labials, as well as before [ch’], [sch’] is pronounced firmly: artel, feed, cornet, samovar;

Note: the letter “b” after a consonant unpaired in hardness/softness in some word forms performs only a grammatical function and does not impose a phonetic load: study, night, mouse, rye, etc. In such words, during letter analysis, a [-] dash is placed in square brackets opposite the letter “b”.

Positional changes in paired voiced-voiceless consonants before hissing consonants and their transcription during sound-letter parsing

To determine the number of sounds in a word, it is necessary to take into account their positional changes. Paired voiced-voiceless: [d-t] or [z-s] before sibilants (zh, sh, shch, h) are phonetically replaced by a sibilant consonant.

• Literal analysis and examples of words with hissing sounds: arrival [pr'ie'zhzh ii], ascend [vashsh e´st'iye], izzh elta [i´zh elta], take pity [zh a´l'its: A].

The phenomenon when two different letters are pronounced as one is called complete assimilation in all respects. When performing sound-letter analysis of a word, you must denote one of the repeated sounds in the transcription with the longitude symbol [:].

• Letter combinations with a hissing “szh” - “zzh” are pronounced like a double hard consonant [zh:], and “ssh” - “zsh” - like [sh:]: squeezed, sewed, without a splint, climbed in.
• The combinations “zzh”, “zhzh” inside the root, when parsed by letters and sounds, are written in transcription as a long consonant [zh:]: I ride, I squeal, later, reins, yeast, zhzhenka.
• The combinations “sch”, “zch” at the junction of a root and a suffix/prefix are pronounced as a long soft [sch’:]: account [sch’: o´t], scribe, customer.
• At the junction of the preposition with the following word in place of “sch”, “zch” is transcribed as [sch'ch']: without number [b'esh' ch' isla´], with something [sch'ch' e'mta] .
• During sound-letter analysis, the combinations “tch”, “dch” at the junction of morphemes are defined as double soft [ch':]: pilot [l'o´ch': ik], good fellow [little-ch': ik], report [ach': o´t].

Cheat sheet for comparing consonant sounds by place of formation

• сч → [ш':] : happiness [ш': а´с'т'е], sandstone [п'ish': а´н'ik], peddler [vari´sch': ik], paving stones, calculations, exhaust, clear;
• zch → [sch’:]: carver [r’e’sch’: ik], loader [gru’sch’: ik], storyteller [raska’sch’: ik];
• zhch → [sch’:]: defector [p’ir’ibe´ sch’: ik], man [musch’: i´na];
• shch → [sch’:]: freckled [in’isnu’sch’: ity];
• stch → [sch’:]: tougher [zho’sch’: e], biting, rigger;
• zdch → [sch’:]: roundabout [abye’sch’: ik], furrowed [baro’sch’: ity];
• ssch → [sch’:]: split [rasch’: ip’i′t’], became generous [rasch’: e’dr’ils’a];
• thsch → [ch'sch']: to split off [ach'sch' ip'i′t'], to snap off [ach'sch' o´lk'ivat'], in vain [ch'sch' etna], carefully [ch' sch' at'el'na];
• tch → [ch’:]: report [ach’: o′t], fatherland [ach’: i′zna], ciliated [r’is’n’i′ch’: i′ty];
• dch → [ch’:]: emphasize [pach’: o’rk’ivat’], stepdaughter [pach’: ir’itsa];
• szh → [zh:]: compress [zh: a´t’];
• zzh → [zh:]: get rid of [izh: y´t’], kindle [ro´zh: yk], leave [uyizh: a´t’];
• ssh → [sh:]: brought [pr’in’o′sh: y], embroidered [rash: y’ty];
• zsh → [sh:]: lower [n’ish: s′y]
• th → [pcs], in word forms with “what” and its derivatives, doing a sound-letter analysis, we write [pcs]: so that [pcs] , for nothing [n'e′ zasht a], something [ sht o n'ibut'], something;
• th → [h't] in other cases of letter parsing: dreamer [m'ich't a´t'il'], mail [po´ch't a], preference [pr'itpach't 'e´n' ie] etc;
• chn → [shn] in exception words: of course [kan'e´shn a′], boring [sku´shn a′], bakery, laundry, scrambled eggs, trifling, birdhouse, bachelorette party, mustard plaster, rag, as well as in female patronymics ending in “-ichna”: Ilyinichna, Nikitichna, Kuzminichna, etc.;
• chn → [ch'n] - letter analysis for all other options: fabulous [ska´zach'n y], dacha [da´ch'n y], strawberry [z'im'l'in'i´ch'n y], wake up, cloudy, sunny, etc.;
• !zhd → in place of the letter combination “zhd”, double pronunciation and transcription [sch’] or [sht’] is allowed in the word rain and in the word forms derived from it: rainy, rainy.

Unpronounceable consonants in Russian words

During the pronunciation of an entire phonetic word with a chain of many different consonant letters, one or another sound may be lost. As a result, in the spelling of words there are letters devoid of sound meaning, the so-called unpronounceable consonants. To correctly perform phonetic analysis online, the unpronounceable consonant is not displayed in the transcription. The number of sounds in such phonetic words will be less than letters.

In Russian phonetics, unpronounceable consonants include:

• "T" - in combinations:
  • stn → [sn]: local [m’e´sn y], reed [tras’n ’i´k]. By analogy, one can perform a phonetic analysis of the words staircase, honest, famous, joyful, sad, participant, messenger, rainy, furious and others;
  • stl → [sl]: happy [sh':asl 'i´vyy"], happy, conscientious, boastful (exception words: bony and postlat, in them the letter “T” is pronounced);
  • ntsk → [nsk]: gigantic [g'iga´nsk 'ii], agency, presidential;
  • sts → [s:]: sixs from [shes: o´t], to eat up [take´s: a], to swear I [kl’a´s: a];
  • sts → [s:]: tourist [tur'i´s: k'iy], maximalist cue [max'imal'i´s: k'iy], racist cue [ras'i´s: k'iy] , bestseller, propaganda, expressionist, Hindu, careerist;
  • ntg → [ng]: x-ray en [r’eng ’e´n];
  • “–tsya”, “–tsya” → [ts:] in verb endings: smile [smile´ts: a], wash [my´ts: a], looks, will do, bow, shave, fit;
  • ts → [ts] for adjectives in combinations at the junction of a root and a suffix: childish [d’e´ts k’ii], bratskiy [bratskyi];
  • ts → [ts:] / [tss]: athlete [sparts: m’e´n], send [atss yla´t’];
  • tts → [ts:] at the junction of morphemes during phonetic analysis online is written as a long “ts”: bratz a [bra´ts: a], father epit [ats: yp'i´t'], to father u [k atz: y´];
• “D” - when parsing by sounds in the following letter combinations:
  • zdn → [zn]: late [z'n'y], star [z'v'ozn'y], holiday [pra'z'n'ik], free [b'izvazm' e′know];
  • ndsh → [nsh]: mundsh tuk [munsh tu´k], landsh aft [lansh a´ft];
  • NDsk → [NSK]: Dutch [Galansk ’ii], Thai [Thailansk ’ii], Norman [Narmansk ’ii];
  • zdts → [ss]: under the bridles [fall uss s´];
  • ndc → [nts]: Dutch [galans];
  • rdc → [rts]: heart [s’e´rts e], serdts evin [s’irts yv’i´na];
  • rdch → [rch"]: heart ishko [s’erch ’i´shka];
  • dts → [ts:] at the junction of morphemes, less often in roots, are pronounced and when parsed soundly, the word is written as double [ts]: pick up [pats: yp'i´t'], twenty [dva´ts: yt'] ;
  • ds → [ts]: factory [zavac ko´y], rods tvo [rac tvo´], means [sr’e´ts tva], Kislovods k [k’islavo´ts k];
• “L” - in combinations:
  • sun → [nz]: sun [so´nts e], solar state;
• “B” - in combinations:
  • vstv → [stv] literal analysis of words: hello [hello, go away], feelings about [ch's'tva], sensuality [ch'us'tv 'inas't'], pampering about [pampering o´], virgin [d'e´stv 'in:y].

Note: In some words of the Russian language, when there is a cluster of consonant sounds “stk”, “ntk”, “zdk”, “ndk” the loss of the phoneme [t] is not allowed: trip [payestka], daughter-in-law, typist, summons, laboratory assistant, student , patient, bulky, Irish, Scottish.

• When parsing letters, two identical letters immediately after the stressed vowel are transcribed as a single sound and a longitude symbol [:]: class, bath, mass, group, program.
• Doubled consonants in pre-stressed syllables are indicated in transcription and pronounced as one sound: tunnel [tane´l’], terrace, apparatus.

If you find it difficult to perform phonetic analysis of a word online according to the indicated rules, or you have an ambiguous analysis of the word being studied, use the help of a reference dictionary. Literary norms of orthoepy are regulated by the publication: “Russian literary pronunciation and stress. Dictionary - reference book." M. 1959

References:

• Litnevskaya E.I. Russian language: short theoretical course for schoolchildren. – MSU, M.: 2000
• Panov M.V. Russian phonetics. – Enlightenment, M.: 1967
• Beshenkova E.V., Ivanova O.E. Rules of Russian spelling with comments.
• Tutorial. – “Institute for Advanced Training of Education Workers”, Tambov: 2012
• Rosenthal D.E., Dzhandzhakova E.V., Kabanova N.P. Handbook of spelling, pronunciation, literary editing. Russian literary pronunciation. – M.: CheRo, 1999

Now you know how to parse a word into sounds, make a sound-letter analysis of each syllable and determine their number. The described rules explain the laws of phonetics in the format school curriculum. They will help you phonetically characterize any letter.

Each language has a limited set of sounds, from which all the words of that language are composed. We pronounce sounds in speech, and we need letters in order to represent these same sounds in writing.

• The sound composition of the language is subject to constant change, in contrast to the letter representation of words, which changes extremely slowly, especially in the English language. Therefore, in the English language the discrepancy between sound and letter composition is enormous.
• In addition, a significant discrepancy between what we say and write is due to the fact that the English language has 44 sounds, and there are only 26 letters borrowed from the Latin alphabet. As a result, the same letter in different positions can be pronounced differently .
• In order to correctly read a particular word, there is a phonetic transcription ( international system conditional graphic symbols, in which each sound has one specific icon).
• There are 20 vowel and 24 consonant phonemes in English. 20 vowel sounds are represented by 6 vowel letters. 24 consonant sounds are conveyed by 20 consonant letters.

Table of vowel sounds (Vowels)

short
long
diphthongs (diphthongs)

• Unlike the Russian language, in which there is no division of vowels into short and long, in English there are both short and long vowel sounds. Because of this, difficulties may arise in understanding words, for example: lip lip and leap jump. The longitude of a sound in transcription is indicated by two vertical dots [:].
• In addition to the fact that English vowels are divided into long and short, there is another division into monophthongs, diphthongs and triphthongs.

Monophthongs are sounds that are not divided into two elements and sound the same throughout their duration. For example:

/ æ / bat, flag, rat, mat, etc.

/a:/large, car, mark,

/e/ pen, ten, pencil, bed, etc.

/ ə / again, attend, better, paper, etc.

/ ʊ / good, book, took, look, etc.

/ u: / too, spoon, school, cool, etc.

/ɔ/ log, dog, nod, etc.

/ ɔ: / fork, more, wall, corn, etc.

/i/ big, pig, stick, pink, etc.

/ i: / see, tea, green, seal, etc.

/ʌ/ rug, cup, puppy, must, etc.

/ ɜ: / girl, skirt, shirt, term, fur, etc.

Diphthongs are two-vowel sounds consisting of two elements pronounced without a pause. For example:

/eɪ/ name, frame, game, table, etc.

/ɛə/ | /eə/ chair, air, care, vary, stare, etc.

/ɪə/ ear, clear, beer, beard, etc.

/aɪ/ fine, like, bike, ride, etc.

/ɔɪ/ boy, point,

/aʊ/ out, cow, town, found, etc.

/əʊ/ boat, bowl, coat, toast, etc.

/ʊə/ poor, sure, pure, tourist, etc.

English also has very specific vowel sequences, triphthongs, which are formed by combining certain diphthongs (, , [ɔɪ], , [əʊ]) and the neutral vowel ə. For example:

Hour, plower, our, etc.

Fire, buyer, tire, etc.

Layer, player, betrayal, etc.

[ɔɪə] loyal, employer, royal, etc.

[əʊə] followers, grower, borrower, etc.

Table of consonants (Consonants)

In English, consonants are contrasted according to the following criteria:

• according to the participation of the vocal cords, consonants are divided into voiceless, voiced and a special class of sonorants;
• according to the method of formation, consonants are divided into stop and fricative; stop-friction consonants are also distinguished, the beginning of which represents a stop and the end of a fricative sound;
• by the strength of articulation (it is the strength of articulation that is the main feature for distinguishing between voiceless and voiced consonants. English voiceless consonants are characterized by strong articulation, and voiced consonants are characterized by weak articulation, therefore voiceless consonants are well heard in all positions in a word, and voiced consonants are not so well distinguishable at the beginning of a word and especially at the end).
• According to the place of formation, consonants are divided depending on the organs of speech: lips, teeth, hard palate, alveoli, back of the tongue, larynx.

According to the method of formation, consonants are divided as follows:

Stop plosive voiceless: p, t, k.

Fricative fricatives are voiceless: f, s, θ, ʃ, h.

Occlusive-frictional voiceless: ʧ.

Stop plosive voiced consonants: b, d, g.

Voiced fricative fricatives: v, z, ð, ʒ.

Stop-friction voiced: ʤ.

Stop sonorant nasals: m, n, ŋ.

Flit sonorant medians: w, r, j.

Closing sonorant laterals: l.

According to the place of formation, consonants are divided as follows:

Labiolabials: p, b, m, w.

Labiodental: f, v.

Anterior lingual teeth: s, z.

Anterior lingual apical interdental: θ, ð.

Forelingual apical alveolar: t, d, n, l.

Forelingual apical palatal-alveolar: ʃ, ʒ, ʧ, ʤ.

Forelingual postalveolar: r.

Middle lingual palatals: j.

Versal velars: k, g, ŋ.

Pharyngeal: h.

Voiced consonants are not deafened at the end of words and before voiceless consonants, since they perform a meaningful function in the language, for example:

bad (bad) - bat (bat); red (red) - rat (rat).

When transmitting speech, two types of signs are used: signs for transmitting sounds, that is, phonetic, and, relatively speaking, communicative ones, with the help of which words and sentences are separated. In this regard, the term “alphabet” (alphabet) is used in two meanings: narrowly, to designate only the phonetic composition of the language, and broadly, to designate all signs, including communicative side letters when recording information.

Phonetic signs. An alphabet is determined, first of all, by the sound (phonetic) structure of its language, primarily by a set of vowels and consonants. Therefore, first we will briefly touch on the phonetic structure of the Russian language.

The Russian language has 5 vowel phonemes (a, o, e, u, ы), from which four iotated phonemes are formed:

th + a -gt;i, th + o-gt;e, th + e-»e, th + y-»yu.

The phoneme ы, derived from ъ and і (ъ + і), occupies an intermediate position between vowels and consonants. In some cases it behaves like a vowel, in others - like a consonant, as can be seen from Table 5.3.1.

Table 5.3.1. Vowel sounds and their combinations with the sound "and"

Accordingly, the Russian alphabet has the letter “Y”, 5 letters denoting the vowel sounds I, E, A, O, U, 4 letters denoting the iotized sounds derived from them: I, E, E, Yu, as well as the letter Y (Ъ + i) (see Table 5.3.1). The Ukrainian language also has the letter Ї. It serves to designate the iotated sound, lost in the Russian language, derived from I. The Belarusian language also has a special letter u (оу).

To denote combinations of vowels with the letter “th” (bottom line of table 5.3.1), special letters are not introduced, since these combinations do not merge into one common sound, but sound like syllables.

The composition of consonant phonemes, according to A.A.

Reformatsky, looks like this:

The phonemes "zh", "ts", "sh" are pronounced only firmly, V - only softly. Phonemes 7с", "г", У can be pronounced both hard and soft; the difference in their pronunciation does not serve to distinguish words. The phoneme ь comes from a combination of two phonemes - w + h. The phoneme 'm" is a non-syllabic consonant phoneme.

Hard and soft phonemes are indicated by the same letters. Doubling of reflected phonemes is achieved due to the soft sign.

Table 5.3.2. Communication signs

		Name of the sign	Main purpose of the sign
			End of sentence
			Gradation of offer
		Colon	Gradation of offer
		Semicolon	Gradation of offer
		long dash	Gradation of offer
		Dash middle
		Question mark	Question mark
		Exclamation mark	Exclamation mark
			Selecting part of text
			Selecting part of text
		Star	Footnote sign

In this regard, in addition to letters, the alphabet also includes two auxiliary signs (but not letters): the hard sign ъ and the soft sign ь. Hard and soft signs currently serve in the Russian language to double the number of consonants, since they reflect the specifics of their pronunciation.

The third group of phonemes has corresponding letter designations. The phoneme zhzh does not have a separate letter; it is indicated by doubling the letter zh (for example, burning).

The communicative part of the alphabet includes a system of signs that serve for communicative purposes, for example, a period, a comma, emphasizing some semantic emphasis - a question, an exclamation, etc. The main ones are presented in Table 5.3.2.

These well-known data on the phonetic structure of the language are presented in order to see in what direction the Venetian alphabet should have developed on its way to the modern Russian alphabet.

You can download ready-made answers for the exam, cheat sheets and other educational materials in Word format at

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§ 5.4. Phonetic structure of the Russian language and requirements for the alphabet

relevant scientific sources:

• Essays on the historical morphology of the Russian language. Names

  Khaburgaev G.A. | M.: Moscow State University Publishing House, 1990. - 296 p. | Monograph | 1990 | docx/pdf | 14.16 MB

  The monograph examines the historical development of categories and forms of nouns, adjectives, numerals and pronouns in the Russian dialect language. Summarizing the material accumulated

• Essays on the historical morphology of the Russian language

  Kuznetsov P.S. | Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences Moscow 1959 | Scientific book | 1959 | docx/pdf | 14.59 MB

  The purpose of these essays is to present some basic issues historical development morphological structure of the Russian language. The morphological structure of the modern Russian language is

• Answers to the state exam on the history of the Russian language

  | Answers to the state exam| 2016 | Russia | docx | 0.11 MB

  1. Articulatory characteristics of the sounds of the Russian language and features of its articulatory base. 2. Supersegmental units of the Russian language and their characteristics (syllable structure and syllable division, stress,

• Answers to the state exam in Modern Russian Language

  | Answers for the test/exam| 2016 | Russia | docx | 0.21 MB

Russian writing is sound, or more precisely, phonemic (phonemic). This means that each basic sound of speech, or each phoneme, in the graphic system of the language has its own sign - its own grapheme.

The methodology for teaching literacy, focusing students and teachers on sounds, takes into account the features of the Russian phonetic system.

It is very important for teaching literacy which sound units in the Russian language perform a meaningful function (i.e. they are phonemes, “basic sounds”), and which do not perform such a function (variants of “basic sounds” - phonemes in weak positions).

There are 6 vowel phonemes in the Russian language: a, o, u, s, i, e - and 37 consonant phonemes: hard p, b, m, f, v, t, d, s, z, l, n, sh, zh , r, g, k, x, c, soft p", b", m", f", e", ig", d", s", z", l", n", r", long w ", long w", h, i. The phonemes g, k, x appear in their soft versions only before the vowels e, i. Strong positions for vowel phonemes are under stress, strong positions for consonant phonemes (except and) are located before the vowels a, o, y, and (for paired voiced-voiceless and hard-soft, there are additional cases that are outlined in the textbook "Modern Russian language"). The phoneme also stands before stressed vowels “In a strong position; in other cases it appears in a weak position (the so-called non-syllabic and: my - mine).

In weak positions, phonemes appear as variants that do not sound distinct enough (water - o? a?) or turn into the opposite pair (frost - at the end with). It is not difficult to see that there are a lot of phonemes appearing in weak positions, that is, sounding unclear, indistinct, in speech, and this cannot but be taken into account in teaching literacy.

In modern schools, the sound method of teaching literacy has been adopted. Schoolchildren identify sounds, analyze them, synthesize them, and on this basis learn letters and the entire reading process. In this work, it is necessary to take into account the features of the Russian graphic system, the features of designating sounds in writing. The following features of the graphic system of the Russian language are most important for the methodology of teaching literacy:

1. The basis of Russian graphics is the syllabic principle. It consists in the fact that a single letter (grapheme), as a rule, cannot be read, since it is read taking into account subsequent letters. For example, we cannot read the letter l, because, without seeing the next letter, we do not know whether it is hard or soft; but we read two letters, whether or lu, unmistakably: in the first case, l is soft, in the second, l is hard.

If we see the letter s, then it seems to us that it should be read either as s hard or as s soft. But there are times when s should be read as w - sewed; as sh - to count; how to wash.

We read the letter I, taken separately, as ya (two sounds); but in combination with the preceding soft consonant we read it as a: ball, row.

Since in the Russian language the sound content of a letter is revealed only in combination with other letters, then, therefore, letter-by-letter reading is impossible; it would constantly lead to errors in reading and the need for corrections. Therefore, in teaching literacy, the principle of syllabic (positional) reading has been adopted. From the very beginning of reading, schoolchildren focus on the syllable as a reading unit. Those children who have acquired the skill of letter-by-letter reading as a result of home schooling are relearned at school.

Of course, it is not always possible to immediately read words in accordance with the norms of Russian orthoepy. So, his words that, blue, children do not immediately learn to read as [evo], [shto], [s"inv]. In such relatively difficult cases, a double reading is recommended: “spelling”, and then - orthoepic.

In especially difficult cases, even letter-by-letter reading is allowed, for example, if a completely unfamiliar word is encountered. However, it should be followed by syllabic reading and whole word reading.

2. Most Russian consonants b, v, g, d, z, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, f, x are both hard and soft and denote two sounds: frame, river.

The letters ch, sch are unambiguous: they always denote soft sounds, and the letters c, sh, zh always denote hard sounds.

These features are taken into account in the methodology: children first become familiar with only hard consonants, and later with soft ones. The sounds ch, shch, ts, zh are studied at relatively late stages of literacy learning1.

3. The sound b (middle language, always a soft consonant) is indicated not only by the letter i, but also by the letters ё, ya, e, yu, when they are at the absolute beginning of the word (elka - [yol]ka, Yasha - [ya]-sha ), after vowels in the middle of a word (mine - mo[ya], let's go - po[e]khali) and after ъ or ъ (loach - [v "dun", entrance-podezd).

The iotated vowels e, ya, ё, yu are read at relatively late stages of learning to read and write,2 and children learn to read them more by guesswork than on the basis of theory. They recognize these letters as e], [|a], [p], y], and as e, a, o, u after soft consonants (without transcription, of course).

4. The softness of consonants is indicated in Russian graphics in several ways: firstly, ь (angle - coal), secondly, by subsequent vowels i, e, ya, ё, yu (linden, Lena, soft, len, Lyuba - [l "i]pa, [L"e]na, [m"a]gkiy, [l"on], [L"u]ba); thirdly, subsequent soft consonants: [p"es"n"b] . First-graders are introduced to the first two ways of indicating the softness of consonants without theory, practically; the third is not affected at all.

When reading syllabics, distinguishing soft and hard consonants does not cause difficulties for students. The most difficult case is with a soft consonant at the end of a word: kon - horse, corner - coal, as well as inside the word: val - sluggish, small - crumpled, bed - lying, etc. To master soft consonants, as opposed to hard ones, comparative reading and clarification of the meaning of words are used that differ only in the softness or hardness of one consonant (cases when hardness-softness acts in a semantic distinguishing function).

5. The sounds of the Russian language in words are in strong and weak positions. So, for vowels, the strong position is stressed, the weak position is unstressed. Regardless of the strong or weak position, the sound (more precisely, the phoneme) is indicated by the same letter. The discrepancy between sounds and letters in weak positions must be taken into account in the methodology: at first, they try to avoid words with unstressed vowels, with voiced and voiceless consonants at the end and in the middle of the word - these spelling difficulties are introduced gradually, comparing weak positions with strong ones (frost - frosts, home - house).

A serious difficulty for children is the variety of sounds. When isolating sounds from a word, we never get exactly the same sound as was in the word. It is only approximately similar to the sound in a word, where it is influenced by subsequent and previous sounds (sha, sho, shu).

The child must catch the commonality in the sound of all variants of the same sound. To do this, words with the sound being studied are selected so that it stands in different positions and combinations with other sounds (hut, good, noise).

When teaching literacy, one should, if possible, avoid sound-letter analysis of such words, where the law of the absolute end of the word applies (nail - guest, milk mushroom - sadness, etc.), the law of assimilation according to the voicedness-voicelessness of consonants (compress - [zha]t, count - [sho]t, later - po[zhe], etc.), where combinations of consonants are simplified, or there are unpronounceable consonants (sad - “sad”, heart - “heart”, sun - “sonce”, etc. .). Children will become acquainted with such phenomena of Russian phonetics later; for example, with unpronounceable consonants - in grade II.

6. We should not forget that all letters of the Russian alphabet are used in four versions: printed and written, uppercase and lowercase.

First-graders learn capital letters as a “signal” of the beginning of a sentence and as a sign of proper names (the simplest cases). Capital letters differ from lowercase letters not only in size, but often also in style.

For normal reading, it is necessary to learn some punctograms - period, question and exclamation marks, comma, colon, dash.

Syllable division is of no small importance for solving methodological issues. A syllable, from the point of view of formation, is several sounds (or one sound) pronounced with one expiratory impulse. In a syllable, the vowel sound stands out as its base with its greatest sonority (in the process of pronouncing a syllable, the vowel plays the role of a “mouth opener”, and the consonants play the role of “mouth closers”). There are open syllables such as sg (consonant + vowel) - ma, closed syllables such as gs - am, and type sgs - poppy, as well as the same types with a combination of consonants: ssg - three, sssg - stro and some others. The difficulty of syllables depends on their structure: the easiest syllables for students are considered to be syllables like sg and gs.

Both reading and writing are complex processes. An adult, experienced reader does not notice the elementary actions that make up the process and letters of reading or writing, since these actions are automated; but a child learning to read or write does not yet merge all the elementary actions into one complex one; for him, each element seems to be an independent action, often very difficult, requiring great efforts not only volitional, intellectual, but even physical.

It is impossible to teach students literacy without introducing reading and writing into the elements that make up these activities. Let's look at these elements.

Reading. An experienced reader does not stop his gaze on every letter and even on every word: 2-3 words fall into his “reading field” at once, recorded by a brief stop of the eyes. It has been established that the reader’s gaze moves along the line in jerks, stopping on the line 3-4 times. Comprehension of the text occurs during stops. The number of stops depends not only on the experience of the reader, but also on the difficulty of the text.

An experienced reader grasps words by their general appearance. Using a tachistoscope, it was found that an experienced reader reads long and short familiar words at almost the same speed. But if he comes across an unfamiliar word, he is forced to read syllable by syllable or even letter by letter, and sometimes, returning his gaze to the beginning of the word, re-read it again. Although an experienced reader does not need an auditory analyzer and prefers to read silently, he often reads a difficult word out loud (or at least “pronounces” it without sound), since he lacks only a visual analyzer for perception.

An experienced reader has no need to read aloud: quiet reading proceeds 1.5-2 times faster than loud reading, understanding of the text is even higher, since during quiet reading the reader has the opportunity to “skim” the text much forward with his eyes, return to individual parts of what was read, and re-read them ( work on the text being read).

Context plays an important role for technique and for reading comprehension.

How does the reading process differ for a beginner learning to read and write?

a) The “reading field” of a beginning reader covers only one letter, in order to “recognize” it, he often compares it with others; reading a letter arouses in him a natural desire to immediately pronounce a sound, but the teacher requires him to pronounce a whole syllable - therefore, he has to read at least one more letter, holding the previous one in memory, he must merge two or three sounds. And here lies considerable difficulties for many children.

After all, to read a word it is not enough to reproduce the sounds that make it up. The reading process is slow, since to read a word you need to perform as many acts of perception and recognition as there are letters in the word, and you also need to merge sounds into syllables, and syllables into words.

b) The eyes of a beginning reader often lose a line, since he has to go back and re-read the letters and syllables. His gaze is not yet accustomed to moving strictly parallel to the lines. This difficulty gradually disappears as the student’s attention span expands and he perceives a whole syllable or a whole word at once.

c) A person who begins to read does not always easily understand the meaning of what he read. Great attention is paid to the technical side of reading, to every elementary action, and by the time the word is read and pronounced, the student does not have time to comprehend it. Understanding of the meaning is detached from reading; “recognition” of a word occurs not simultaneously with its reading, but after. The school places great emphasis on reading consciousness. She is enhanced by the pictures, questions and explanations of the teacher, visual aids; promotes awareness of reading aloud: the auditory stimulus supports the visual perception of the word and helps to understand its meaning. And yet, weak reading consciousness is one of the main difficulties in learning to read and write.

d) It is typical for an inexperienced reader to guess a word either by the first syllable, or by a picture, or by context. However, attempts to guess words, although they lead to errors in reading, indicate that the student strives to read consciously. (Guessing is also typical for an experienced reader, but his guesses rarely lead to errors.) Errors caused by guessing are corrected by immediate reading syllable by syllable, sound-letter analysis and synthesis.

The greatest difficulty in learning to read is considered to be the difficulty of combining sounds: children pronounce individual sounds, but cannot form a syllable. It is necessary to consider the physiological basis of this difficulty.

The speech organs (tongue, lips, palate, lower jaw, lungs, vocal cords) when pronouncing each sound separately, are in an excursion position (coming out of immobility); excerpts and recursions.

When two sounds are pronounced together, in a syllable, the recursion of the first sound merges with the excursion of the second. Consequently, to overcome the difficulties of sound merging, it is necessary that the child pronounce the second sound without allowing recursion on the first sound; Schematically it looks like this:

The main and essentially the only effective method overcoming the difficulty of sound merging is syllabic reading. Focusing on a syllable as a reading unit can minimize the difficulty of sound fusion.

As we see, the reading process for a first-grader is a complex, very difficult process, the elements of which are not only very loosely connected with each other, but also carry their own independent difficulties. Overcoming them and merging all elements into a complex action requires great volitional efforts and a significant amount of attention and its stability.

The key to success in learning is the child's development of such important cognitive processes as perception, memory, thinking and speech.

Such an organization of learning, in which each student is involved in active, largely independent cognitive activity, will develop speed and accuracy of perception, stability, duration and breadth of attention, volume and readiness of memory, flexibility, logic and abstractness of thinking, complexity, richness, variety and correctness of speech.

The development of a student is possible only through activity. Thus, to be attentive to a subject means to be active in relation to it: “What we call the organization of a student’s attention is, first of all, the organization of specific processes of his learning activity”1.

In modern Soviet schools, the sound analytical-synthetic method of teaching literacy has been adopted. Special research and experience show that children entering grade 1, especially from kindergarten, in terms of their mental development, they are ready for the perception of individual sounds, and for analysis and synthesis as mental actions.

During the period of learning to read and write, great attention is paid to the development of phonemic hearing, i.e. the ability to distinguish individual sounds in a speech stream, to isolate sounds from words, from syllables. Students must “recognize” phonemes (basic sounds) not only in strong but also in weak positions, and distinguish between phoneme sound variations.

A child has basic phonemic awareness by the age of two: he is able to distinguish words that are similar in sound composition, except for one sound (mother and Masha). But at school, the requirements for phonemic awareness are very high: schoolchildren train in decomposing words into sounds, in isolating sounds from combinations with various other sounds, etc.

Phonemic awareness is necessary not only for successful learning, but also for developing spelling skills: in the Russian language, a huge number of spellings are associated with the need to correlate a letter with a phoneme in a weak position (Russian spelling is sometimes called phonemic).

The development of phonemic hearing also requires a very developed hearing system. Therefore, during the period of learning to read and write, it is necessary to carry out various auditory exercises (development of auditory perceptions).

The basis for learning both reading and writing is the speech of the children themselves, the level of its development by the time they enter school.

Letter. Long-term experience has formed the skill and automaticity of writing in a literate adult. An adult rarely pays attention to the design and connection of letters, to spelling; he even sticks to lines automatically and transfers words, almost without thinking about following the rules. His focus is on content and partly on style and punctuation. Moreover, he does not think about how to hold a pen, how to put paper, etc. The position of his hands and his posture have long been established. In other words, he does not have to spend conscious effort on the graphic, technical side of writing.

The writing process for a first grader proceeds completely differently. For him, this process breaks down into many independent actions. He must take care of himself to hold the pen and put down the notebook correctly. When learning to write a letter, a student must remember its shape, elements, place it on a line in a notebook, taking into account the line, and remember how the pen will move along the line. If he writes a whole word, he must additionally remember how one letter is connected to another and calculate whether the word will fit on the line. He must remember how to sit without looking at the notebook's eye. The child is not yet accustomed to performing these tasks, so all these actions require conscious effort from him. This not only slows down the pace of writing, but also tires the child mentally and physically. When a first grader writes, his whole body tenses, especially the muscles of the hand and forearm. This determines the need for special physical exercises during the lesson.

Let's watch how a schoolboy writes. Feather (more precisely, ball pen) moves across the paper slowly, hesitantly, trembles; Having written a letter, the student breaks away and examines it, compares it with the model, and sometimes corrects it. Hand movements are often accompanied by movements of the head or tongue.

By checking the student's notebooks, we will make sure that the same letter is written differently in different cases. This is a consequence of insufficient skill and fatigue. Rewriting letters and words for students is not a mechanical process, but a conscious activity. The student writes a letter, putting a lot of volitional effort into his work.