Vowels and consonants sounds. How many pairs form consonants according to deafness-voicedness? Simplifying consonant clusters

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

How to teach children to distinguish between hard and soft consonants

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

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

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

Distinctive features of soft and hard sounds

What sound comes after the consonant:

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

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

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

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

Soft sign and hard sign

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

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

Movement of the tongue when pronouncing soft and hard sounds

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

Table of signs of hard and soft sounds

Solid:

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

Soft:

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

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

Voiced and voiceless consonants

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

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

Examples of tasks for children

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

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

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

General information about vowels and consonants

Vowels and consonants are the basis of the entire Russian language. Indeed, with the help of their combinations, syllables are formed that add up to words, expressions, sentences, texts, and so on. That is why quite a lot of hours are devoted to this topic in high school.

and sounds in Russian

A person will learn about what vowels and consonants are in the Russian alphabet from the first grade. And despite all the seeming simplicity of this topic, it is considered one of the most difficult for students.

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

Features and letters

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

Endings, suffixes and prefixes are very important topics in the Russian language discipline. Indeed, without knowing how such letters are written in a particular word, it is rather problematic to compose a competent letter.

Consonants and sounds in Russian

Vowel and consonant letters and sounds differ significantly. And if the former can be easily pulled, then the latter are pronounced as short as possible (except for hissing ones, since they can be pulled).

It should be noted that in the Russian alphabet the number of consonant letters is 21, namely: b, c, d, e, g, h, d, k, l, m, n, p, p, s, t, f, x, c, h, sh, sh. The sounds denoted by them are usually divided into deaf and voiced. What is the difference? The fact is that during the pronunciation of voiced consonants, a person can hear not only the characteristic noise, but also his own voice (b!, z!, p!, etc.). As for the deaf, they cannot be pronounced loudly or, for example, shouted. They create only a kind of noise (sh-sh-sh-sh-sh, s-s-s-s-s, etc.).

Thus, almost everything falls into two different categories:

• voiced - b, c, d, d, f, z, d, l, m, n, r;
• deaf - k, p, s, t, f, x, c, h, w.

Softness and hardness of consonants

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

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

In Russian, almost all consonants have pairs on the basis of softness and hardness. However, there are those who simply do not have them. These include hard ones - [g], [w] and [c] and soft ones - [th "], [h"] and [w"].

Softness and hardness of vowels

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

So, soft letters are those letters that are able to soften the consonants that come before them. These include the following: i, e, i, e, u. As for such letters as a, y, s, e, o, they are considered hard, since they do not soften the consonants going in front. To see this, here are a few examples:

The designation of the softness of consonants in the phonetic analysis of the word

The sounds and letters of the Russian language are studied by phonetics. Surely, in high school you were asked more than once to make a certain word. During such an analysis, it is imperative to indicate whether it is separately considered or not. If yes, then it must be denoted as follows: [n '], [t '], [d '], [in '], [m '], [n ']. That is, at the top right, next to the consonant letter in front of the soft vowel, you need to put a kind of dash. The following soft sounds are also marked with a similar icon - [th "], [h"] and [sh"].

What is sound? This is the minimum component of human speech. Shown in letters. In writing, sounds differ from letters by the presence of first square brackets used in phonetic transcription. The letter is o, the sound is [o]. Transcription shows differences in spelling and pronunciation. Apostrophe [ ‘ ] indicates softness of pronunciation.

In contact with

The sounds are divided into:

• Vowels. They can be easily pulled. When they are created, the tongue does not take an active part, being fixed in one position. The sound is created due to changes in the position of the tongue, lips, various vibrations of the vocal cords and the force of the air supply. vowel length - basis of vocal art(singing, "singing smooth").
• The consonants a are pronounced with the participation of the tongue, which, occupying a certain position and shape, creates an obstacle to the movement of air from the lungs. This leads to the appearance of noise in the oral cavity. At the output, they are converted into sound. Also, the lips, which close and open during speech, prevent the free passage of air.

The consonants are divided into:

• deaf and voiced. The deafness and sonority of the sound depends on the operation of the speech apparatus;
• hard and soft. The sound is determined by the position of the letter in the word.

Letters representing consonants

Deaf

Deaf in Russian: [k], [p], [s], [t], [f], [x], [ts], [sh]. The easiest way to remember the phrase, and not a set of letters, “Stepka, do you want a cabbage? Phi!” containing them all.

An example in which all consonants are deaf: rooster, honeycomb, pin.

voiced

When they are formed, the form of the tongue is close to the form that produces deaf, but vibrations are added. Voiced consonants create active vibrations of the ligaments. vibrations deform the sound wave, and not a clean stream of air enters the oral cavity, but sound. In the future, it is additionally transformed by the tongue and lips.

To voiced consonants belong: b, c, d, e, g, h, d, l, m, n, p.

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

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

Summary table of consonants (voiced and voiced).

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

Paired consonants

What does parity mean? Two letters that are similar in sound, in the pronunciation of which the language occupies similar positions, are called paired consonant sounds. The pronunciation of consonants can be conditionally divided into one-stage (lips and tongues are involved in their creation) and two-stage - the ligaments are connected first, then the mouth. Those cases when, when pronouncing, the movements of the mouth coincide, and create pairs.

Summary table of paired consonants, taking into account hardness and softness

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

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

Paired consonants

Unpaired consonants

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

Unpaired consonants are divided into:

• sonoras - [th '], [l], [l '], [m], [m '], [n], [n '], [p], [p ']. When they are pronounced, the air current hits the upper sky like a dome;
• hissing - [x], [x '], [c], [h '], [u '].

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

Important![h] - deaf! [th] - sonorous! [c] is deaf! [n] - sonorous!

Unpaired consonants

Hard and soft

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

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

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

Vowels form pairs: a-i, u-u, e-e, s-i, o-e.

Two-vowel vowels (i, ё, u, e) are pronounced in one of two combinations: the sound [th] and a paired vowel from E, O, U, A, or a soft sign and a paired vowel. For example, the word jung. It is pronounced as [th] [y] [n] [g] [a]. Or the word mint. It is pronounced as: [m '] [a] [t] [a]. The vowels A, O, U, E, S do not have a double sound, therefore do not affect the pronunciation of the leading consonant.

Difference example:

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

Phonetic transcription:

[Spoon a] - [L 'u k], [m 'o d] - [m o r 'e], [d o m] - [d' a tel].

Pronunciation rules:

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

In Russian, 33 letters form 42 sounds, six of which are vowels, the rest are consonants. Where did so many of them come from, because the letters - b, b, I, E, Yu, E do not denote sounds? It is very difficult to master and understand such information not only for a first grader, but also for an adult. Let's figure it out in order, in a simple way, reinforcing the rules with simple examples.

How many vowel sounds in Russian - the main concept

Reference: letters are symbols that we see and write, sound can only be heard and pronounced, but it has no sign.

Learning to distinguish:

• say in syllables, stretching the first syllable in the word - mom. You hear a clear single sound of the sound A - M-a-a. Now say the word - tree, paying attention to the first syllable. Listen - Yo sounds like “yo”, that is, a double sound;
• let's fix the material: bush, here - [y], whirlpool - "yu" is heard as [yu]. Olya - [o] [ya], spruce - [ye], hedgehog - [yo] [and];
• as you can see, the letters - E, Yo, Yu, I do not have their own sounds, each of them consists of 2 alien ones, borrowed from other letters: [ye], [yo], [yu], [ya]. That is why they are considered letters;
• now about hard and soft signs: one performs a separating function, the other softens the letters in phrases, and since we do not hear them, they are not sounds.

How many consonant sounds in Russian - divisions

The consonant alphabetic row has 21 letters, sounds - 36.

• Fifteen letters - B, C, G, D, Z, K, L, M, N, P, R, C, T, F, X have a double sound: soft - linen [b′] and hard - ram [b] , in other words, in one letter - two sounds. Total - 15 x 2 = 30 sounds.
• The softest letters have Y, Ch, Sch, one sound each.
• Only solid sounds come out when pronouncing - Zh, Sh, Ts (also one sound per letter).

We consider: 30 + 3 +3 = 36 consonants.

How many vowels and consonants in Russian - additional information

• Consonant sounds are divided into voiced - clearly audible in colloquial speech (fever) and deaf, the pronunciation of which is similar to a whisper (sleep, noise).
• Voiced / deaf are combined into pairs that are easy to remember - b / p, v / f, g / c, d / t, w / w, s / s, other sounds are unpaired - [h], [n], [c] , [x], [p], [m], [l].
• When pronouncing a voiced sound, it can be deafened, and a deaf one can become audible: eyebrow - we hear - brof, berry - we say - yagatka. In this case, find a test word so that after this consonant comes a vowel - eyebrows, berries. An exception (must be remembered) is an astronaut, a train station, a zigzag and others.

• Hissing - Zh and Sh in the presence of a solid sound - S, are written with a soft vowel - And (reeds, stomach, living creatures). The sounds CH and Щ with soft voice acting (Y-Y) are written with hard vowels - A-U. For example: sorrel, rook, pike, miracle.

• There are also unpronounceable consonants, which are checked by a related word with a clear sound: reed - cane.

• Some sounds we only hear. For example: skillful, wonderful, heavenly sound with the sound “T”, but it is not there. There is a funny rhyme on this score, memorize it and write it correctly.

Correlation between letter and sound is very important for correct pronunciation and spelling, so carefully study the material presented and try to convey it to the child in an accessible way.

1. A a a
2. B b ba
3. in in ve
4. G G G G
5. D d de
6. E e e
7. Yo yo yo
8. Well
9. Z z ze
10. And and and
11. th and short
12. K to ka
13. L l el
14. M m um
15. N n en
16. Ltd
17. P p p p
18. R r er
19. S s es
20. T t te
21. u u u
22. f f ef
23. x x ha
24. C c c tse
25. h h th
26. Sh sh sha
27. shh shcha
28. ъ solid sign
29. s s s
30. b soft sign
31. uh uh
32. yu yu yu
33. I am I

How are letters different from sounds?

Sound is elastic vibrations in a medium. We hear sounds and can create them, among other things, with the help of the speech apparatus (lips, tongue, etc.).

A letter is a symbol of the alphabet. It has an uppercase (excl., ь and ъ) and a lowercase version. Often a letter is a graphic representation of the corresponding speech sound. We see and write letters. So that the pronunciation features do not affect the letter, spelling rules have been developed that determine which letters should be used in the word in question. The exact pronunciation of a word can be found in the phonetic transcription of the word, which is shown in square brackets in dictionaries.

Vowels and sounds

Vowel sounds (“voice” is the Old Slavonic “voice”) are the sounds [a], [i], [o], [u], [s], [e], in the creation of which the vocal cords are involved, and on the way exhaled air is not blocked. These sounds are sung: [aaaaaaa], [iiiiii] ...

Vowels are denoted by the letters a, e, e, and, o, u, s, e, u, i. The letters e, e, u, i are called iotized. They denote two sounds, the first of which is [th "], when

1. stand first in the phonetic word e le [y "e ́ l" e] (3 letters, 4 sounds) e sche [y" and sch "oʹ] (3 letters, 4 sounds) , 3 sounds) Yu la [y "u l" a] (3 letters, 4 sounds) i block [y" a blaka] (6 letters, 7 sounds) i ichko [y" and ich "ka] (5 letters, 6 sounds)
2. follow after the vowels bird d [pt "itsy" e ́ t] (7 letters, 8 sounds) her [yy" o ́] (2 letters, 4 sounds) kayu ta [kai" u ta] (5 letters, 6 sounds) blue [with "in" y "a] (5 letters, 6 sounds)
3. follow after b and ъ entry zd [vy "e st] (5 letters, 5 sounds) rise m [fall" o m] (6 letters, 6 sounds) lew [l" y ́] (3 letters, 3 sounds ) wings [wing "th" a] (6 letters, 6 sounds)

The letter and also denotes two sounds, the first of which is [th "], when

1. follows after nightingales [salav "th" and ́] (7 letters, 7 sounds)

In a word, vowels highlighted during pronunciation are called stressed, and not highlighted are unstressed. Stressed sounds are most often both heard and written. To check what kind of letter you need to put in a word, you should choose a single-root word in which the desired unstressed sound will be stressed.

Running [b "igush" y"] - running g [b" e k] mountain ra [gara] - mountains [mountains]

Two words united by a single stress make one phonetic word.

To the garden [fsat]

There are as many syllables in a word as there are vowels. The division of a word into syllables may not correspond to the division during transfer.

Consonants and sounds

Consonant sounds are sounds, during the creation of which a barrier is erected in the way of the exhaled air.

Voiced consonants are pronounced with the participation of the voice, and deaf consonants without it. The difference is easy to hear in paired consonants, for example, [n] - [b], when pronouncing which the lips and tongue are in the same position.

Soft consonants are pronounced with the participation of the middle part of the tongue and are indicated in transcription by an apostrophe " what happens when consonants

1. are always soft [th "] , [h"] , [u"] ah [ah"] (2 letters, 2 sounds) beam [beam"] (3 letters, 3 sounds) bream [l" esch "] (3 letters, 3 sounds)
2. follow before the letters e, e, and, u, i, b (excl., always solid [g], [c], [w] and in borrowed words) stranded [m "el"] (4 letters, 3 sounds) aunt [t "ot" a] (4 letters, 4 sounds) people [l "oud" and] (4 letters, 4 sounds) life [zh yz "n"] (5 letters, 4 sounds) circus [ts yrk] (4 letters, 4 sounds) neck [sh eya] (3 letters, 4 sounds) tempo [t emp] (4 letters, 4 sounds)
3. followed by soft consonants (some cases) pancake [bl "in" h "ik]

The rest of the consonants will mostly be solid.

Hissing consonants include sounds [g], [w], [h "], [u"]. Speech therapists rule their pronunciation penultimately: the tongue must be strong and flexible in order to resist exhaled air and be held against the palate in the shape of a cup. Vibrating [p] and [p"] are always the last in line.

Do students need phonetics?

Without division into vowels, consonants, stressed, unstressed, of course, it is impossible. But transcription is a clear overkill.

Speech therapists are required to know the phonetic parsing of words, and probably it can be useful to foreigners.

For students (from grade 1!), who have not yet mastered the rules of spelling, a rather in-depth study of phonetics only hinders, confuses and contributes to incorrect memorization of the spelling of words. It is “back” that the child will associate with the pronounced “run”.