As you know, speech sounds can be divided into vowels (pronounced only by voice) and consonants (noise is involved in their pronunciation). Many consonants can be paired according to their characteristics, but not all.
Paired and unpaired consonants according to deafness-voicing
It should be noted right away that there are only four such sounds that are unpaired in all respects. We'll talk about them at the end of the article. The majority are included in a couple based on one criterion, but not on another. Therefore, it makes no sense to write about the consonant “unpaired” - you need to indicate on what basis.
Consonants differ in deafness and voicedness. This means that when pronouncing some of them, more voice is used (sonorant, voiced), while others use more noise (voiceless) or even just one noise (hissing).
Sonorants are very sonorous consonants, they have a lot of voice, but little noise.
Two sonorant consonants - [L] and [R] - can even, under some circumstances, form a syllable, that is, behave like vowels. Surely you have come across the erroneous spelling “theator”. It is explained precisely by the fact that [P] in this word is syllabic. Other examples are the words “Alexander”, “meaning”.
Unpaired voiced consonant sounds are just sonorant sounds. There are five of them:
Sometimes [Y] is not classified as sonorant, but it still remains voiced unpaired. Let's look at the table.
It shows that, in addition to unpaired voiced sounds, there are also unpaired unpaired sounds. Most of them are fizzy; Only the dull unpaired consonant sound [Ts] does not belong to hissing sounds.
In this article we consider only Russian speech sounds. In other languages, the pairing may be different. For example, in the Tibetan language there is a voiceless pair to a voiced [L].
Hardness-softness pairs
In addition to deafness and voicedness, Russian consonants form pairs based on hardness and softness.
This means that some of them are perceived by ear as softer. Then we usually indicate this in writing somehow: for example, we write a soft sign or one of the vowels E, Yo, Yu, Ya.
Oral speech is primary (everyone understands that it appeared before written speech), so it is incorrect to say: “The sound [N’] in the word HORSE is soft, because it is followed by b.” On the contrary, we write b because H' is soft.
According to hardness-softness, consonants also form pairs. But even in this case, not everything. In the Russian language there are unpaired soft and unpaired hard consonants.
Unpaired hard consonant sounds are mainly hissing sounds ([Zh], [Sh]) and [C]. They always form at the far palate.
But in the ancestor of our language, Old Church Slavonic, on the contrary, [ZH] and [SH] were always soft and did not have a hard pair. Then [K], [G] and [X] were not soft. Nowadays you can find (once the only possible) pronunciation with a soft [Zh’] [DROZH’ZH’I] or [DOZH’] (rain), but this is no longer necessary.
Unpaired soft ones are [Y’] and again hissing [H’] and [Sh’].
That is, all hissing ones are either always hard or always soft. The letter b after them does not indicate softness, it performs a grammatical function (for example, even without knowing what “baldness” is, anyone will immediately say that this is a feminine word, because in the masculine gender b is not placed after hissing words). Hard unpaired hissing consonant sounds in a word may have b with them, but this does not mean that they should soften. This means that we have a 3rd declension noun, an adverb or a verb.
Unpaired soft consonant sounds in a word make you want to put b after them, which is often not required. Therefore, it makes sense to remember that in combinations CHK, CHN, etc. b after h is not needed.
The sounds are “completely unpaired”
In the Russian language, most consonants are either paired according to both characteristics, or paired according to one characteristic and unpaired according to another. For example, in the word [P'EN'] (stump) the sound [P'] is paired both in deafness-voicing (P' - B'), and in hardness-softness (P' - P), and the sound [N'] is paired in terms of hardness-softness (N' - N), but unpaired in deafness-voiceness.
However, there are several sounds that are unpaired in both characteristics. These are the sounds [Y'] (unpaired voiced, unpaired soft), [Ch'] (unpaired soft, unpaired deaf), [Sh'] (unpaired soft, unpaired deaf) and [Ts] (unpaired hard, unpaired deaf). Such sounds are often made in Russian language Olympiads. For example,“Guess the sound by its characteristics: unpaired hard, unpaired dull.” We already see that this is [C].
What have we learned?
From the article about paired and unpaired consonants, we learned that in the Russian language there are both paired and unpaired consonants. Paired consonants differ in deafness-voicing and in hardness-softness.
Test on the topic
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In the Russian language, not all speech sounds are designated, but only the main ones. The Russian language has 43 basic sounds - 6 vowels and 37 consonants, while the number of letters is 33. The number of basic vowels (10 letters, but 6 sounds) and consonants (21 letters, but 37 sounds) also does not match. The difference in the quantitative composition of basic sounds and letters is determined by the peculiarities of Russian writing. In Russian, a hard and soft sound is denoted by the same letter, but the sounds soft and hard are considered different, which is why there are more consonant sounds than the letters with which they are denoted.
Voiced and voiceless consonants
Consonant sounds are divided into voiced and voiceless. Voiced ones consist of noise and voice, deaf ones consist only of noise.
Voiced consonant sounds: [b] [b"] [c] [v"] [d] [g"] [d] [d"] [z] [z"] [zh] [l] [l"] [ m] [m"] [n] [n"] [r] [r"] [th]
Voiceless consonants: [p] [p"] [f] [f"] [k] [k"] [t] [t"] [s] [s"] [w] [x] [x"] [ h"] [h"]
Paired and unpaired consonants
Many consonants form pairs of voiced and voiceless consonants:
Voiced [b] [b"] [c] [c"] [g] [g"] [d] [d"] [z] [z"] [g]
Voiceless [p] [p"] [f] [f"] [k] [k"] [t] [t"] [s] [s"] [w]
The following voiced and voiceless consonant sounds do not form pairs:
Voiced [l] [l"] [m] [m"] [n] [n"] [r] [r"] [th]
Voiceless [x] [x"] [ch"] [sch"]
Soft and hard consonants
Consonant sounds are also divided into hard and soft. They differ in the position of the tongue when pronounced. When pronouncing soft consonants, the middle back of the tongue is raised towards the hard palate.
Most consonants form pairs of hard and soft consonants:
Solid [b] [c] [d] [d] [h] [j] [l] [m] [n] [p] [r] [s] [t] [f] [x]
Soft [b"] [c"] [d"] [d"] [z"] [k"] [l"] [m"] [n"] [p"] [r"] [s"] [ t"] [f"] [x"]
The following hard and soft consonant sounds do not form pairs:
Solid [f] [w] [c]
Soft [h"] [sch"] [th"]
Sibilant consonants
The sounds [zh], [sh], [ch’], [sh’] are called hissing.
[g] [w] [h"] [sch"]
Whistling consonants
[z] [z"] [s] [s"] [ts]
Whistling sounds s-s, z-z, anterior lingual, fricative. When articulating hard s-z teeth exposed, the tip of the tongue touches the lower teeth, the back of the tongue is slightly curved, the lateral edges of the tongue are pressed against the upper molars, causing a groove to form in the middle. Air passes through this groove creating frictional noise.
When pronouncing soft s, s, the articulation is the same, but in addition the back of the tongue rises to the hard palate. When pronouncing sounds z-z, the ligaments are closed and vibrate. The velum is raised.
Every first-grader knows that sound is a unit of speech that we pronounce and hear, and letters we read and write. In Russian they are divided into vowels and consonants. Of the 33 letters of the Russian alphabet, 21 are called consonants. They are divided according to their sonority and dullness, softness and hardness. They begin to study the classification of letters in the 1st grade, but the student will have to use it before graduating from school. When studying phonetics, each student must learn to distinguish between voiceless sounds and voiced sounds. During writing, they are indicated by transcription - [b]. The table will help you distinguish and remember paired consonant sounds.
Paired consonants according to voiced-voicelessness
All consonants in the Russian language form pairs; a voiced consonant is opposed to a voiceless consonant. There are 12 paired letters in total, making 6 pairs:
Paired and unpaired consonants need to be known in order to be successful in spelling. Many spellings of the Russian language are based on the selection of cognate words according to this classification, for example:
- soft - soft,
- tooth-teeth.
The first pair contains the letter g, which is not clearly heard when pronounced and spelling it is difficult. The second words are test words when the spelling is pronounced clearly. Younger students often make mistakes in these works.
You may notice that not all letters of the alphabet form pairs. This happens because phonetics has rules that need to be remembered. They are based on the fact that sounds can only be voiced or only unvoiced. They are easy to remember because they are small in number. As a rule, by the end of 1st grade, students know them by heart. These include r, n, l, m, th - sonorous, always voiced, ts, ch, sh, x - always voiceless.
Paired consonants for softness and hardness
Consonants are usually divided into hard and soft. In phonetics, the softening process occurs in several situations:
- when after a consonant there is a vowel: yu, ya, e, e, and (blizzard, buttercup);
- or there is a soft sign (blizzard, drinking).
If after a consonant there is a vowel, except e, e, yu, ya, and, then it does not allow softening. For example, in the words peony, earth, after the consonant there is a vowel, which provokes the process of softening. In words such as lamp, water, there are no letters e, e, yu, i, and, therefore, when pronounced, all sounds are hard.
There are also letters that, when reproduced in speech, will always be soft or hard. These include: shch, h, j, c, w, g. Every student needs to know the classification of letters and sounds for successful learning.
A special table will help you remember paired voiced and voiceless voices. It's easy to navigate.
Such a table or a similar one can sometimes be found in a primary school classroom. It has been proven that younger schoolchildren have developed more visual-figurative thinking, so they need to provide new information in the form of illustrations or pictures, then it will be effective.
Every parent can create such a table on a first-grader’s desktop. Do not be afraid that this tip will lead to laziness of the student. On the contrary, if he often looks at the image, he will quickly remember everything he needs.
There are more consonant sounds in the Russian language, so remembering their classification is more difficult. If you list all the unvoiced and voiced ones, you get the number 12. The letters ch, sh, y, shch, c, zh, r, n, l, m are not taken into account; they are classified as unpaired.
There are tips for children on how to quickly learn to recognize a voiced and a voiceless consonant when parsing a word. To do this, you need to press your palm to your throat and pronounce a clearly separate sound. Voiceless and voiced consonants will be pronounced differently and, accordingly, will be reflected differently in the palm of your hand. If there is vibration in the hand, it is voiced; if not, it is deaf. Many children use this hint when studying phonetics.
There is another exercise that helps to accurately determine which consonant is in front of the student. To do this, you need to cover your ears with your hands, but preferably there should be silence. Say the exciting letter and listen to it with your ears closed. If it is not heard, then it is a dull sound; if, on the contrary, it is clearly heard, it is a ringing sound.
If you try, today any parent can find many interesting, exciting and educational exercises and rules that will help the child easily master new knowledge. This will make the learning process more interesting and entertaining, which in turn will affect academic performance.
Consonants are voiced and voiceless. Stunning and voicing of consonants
According to their sound and method of formation, consonant sounds are divided in Russian into voiced and voiceless.
Voiced consonants are formed with the participation vocal cords and consist of voice and noise. Voiceless consonants are formed without the participation of the vocal cords and consist only of noise.
Most consonants form voiceless/voiced pairs. Table:
| [b’] - [p’] |
|
| [v’] - [f’] |
|
| [g’] - [k’] |
|
| [d’] - [t’] |
|
| [z’] - [s’] |
|
Some consonants do not form voiced/voiceless pairs (they are, so to speak, “only voiced” or “only voiceless”).
Unpaired voiceless consonants: [x], [x’], [ts], [ch’], [sch’].
Unpaired voiced consonants: [й’], [l], [l’], [m], [m’], [n], [n’], [r], [r’].
In the flow of speech, in certain positions, paired voiced consonants change to voiceless (voiced), and paired voiceless consonants change to voiced (voiced).
Voiced consonants are devoiced in two positions:
- At the end of the word:
Bread - [hl’ep].
(Many) flowers - [tsv’itof].
2. Before a voiceless consonant:
Claws - [kokt’i].
Spoon - [loshka].
Under the floor - [patpolam].
Voiceless consonants are voiced in position before paired voiced ones:
Request - [pros’ba].
Lights out - [adboy"].
With a friend - [to friends].
Consonants are soft and hard. Softening hard consonants
According to their sound and method of formation, consonant sounds in the Russian language are divided into hard and soft.
Soft consonants are formed with the participation of the middle part of the tongue and have a special, “soft” sound. Hard consonants are formed without the participation of the middle part of the tongue and have a “hard” sound.
Most consonants form hard/soft pairs.
Some consonants do not form hard/soft pairs (they are, so to speak, “only hard” or “only soft”).
Unpaired hard consonants: [zh], [sh], [ts].
Unpaired soft consonants: [th’], [h’], [sch’].
Hard consonants cannot be combined with the vowel sound [i] that follows them; soft consonants cannot be combined with the vowel sound [s] that follows them.
Man - [man] (here after the hard [zh] it sounds [s]).
Taught - [uch’il] (here after the soft [ch’] it sounds [i]).
In some cases, paired hard consonants are softened in the flow of speech.
Hard [n] can change to soft [n’] in combinations [n’ch’], [n’sch’].
Pancake - pancake [bl’in’ch’ik].
Change - changer [sm'en'sh'ik].
Hard [d], [t], [z], [s], [n] can soften before soft [d’], [t’], [z’], [s’], [n’].
Whistle - whistle [s’t’]net.
Forest - le[s"n"]ik.
The treasury is in the treasury.
Bow - ba[n"t"]ik.
India - I[n"d"]iya.
Similarity of consonants in sound and pronunciation, loss of consonants in difficult-to-pronounce combinations
In addition to softening, voicing and deafening in the flow of speech, consonant sounds undergo other changes in certain positions. Let's note some of them.
The sounds [z], [s], [d], [t] before the consonants [zh], [sh], [h"], [sch"] are similar to them in sound and pronunciation.
Sew - [shshyt’].
Kindle - [razzhech’].
Account - [sh’sh’ot].
He became generous - he became generous.
Clean up - [pach’ch’is’t’it’].
With a beetle - [buzz].
Made from wool - [ishshers "t"i].
In the verbs na -tsya and -tsya, the sounds [t’] and [s’], mutually similar in pronunciation, coincide in the double sound [ts].
To tear - [vazza].
Suitable - [gad’izza].
In the combination of TSC, the sounds [t] and [s], mutually similar in pronunciation, coincide in the sound [ts].
Arbatsky - [arbatskiy"].
Pirate - [p’iratsk’].
When a combination of consonant sounds is difficult to pronounce, one of them may be dropped.
Imperious - imperious.
Heart - s[rts]e.
Late - late.
The sun is so[nt]e.
Envious - envious.
Feeling - feeling.
Six hundred - she[ss]ot.
Dutch - goll[ns]ky.
Vowels are stressed and unstressed. Reduction of unstressed vowels
According to the characteristics of pronunciation, duration and strength of sound, vowel sounds are divided into stressed and unstressed.
Stressed vowels in Russian have a significantly longer duration and sound strength than unstressed vowels. Stressed vowels are characterized by clearer pronunciation than unstressed vowels.
Stressed vowels form stressed syllables in speech, unstressed vowels - unstressed syllables.
In an unstressed position, vowels are pronounced less clearly and sound for less duration (i.e., they are reduced).
Vowels [и], [ы], [у] without stress generally retain their sound.
Saw - [p’ila].
Smoke - [smoke].
Hand - [hand].
Vowels [o], [e], [a] without stress change the quality of their sound.
After hard consonants, unstressed [o] and [a] coincide in a short vowel sound, close but not identical to [a] (in the school phonetics course there is no special symbol for this sound; the symbol [a] is used).
Chapter - [chapter].
Words - [glory].
After soft consonants, unstressed [e] and [a] coincide in a short vowel sound, close but not identical to [i] (in the school phonetics course there is no special icon for this sound; the symbol [i] is used).
Deeds - [d'ila].
Pyatak - [p’itak].
The dual role of the letters E, E, Yu, I in Russian graphics
Letters e, yo, yu, I play a double role in Russian graphics.
Letters e, yo, yu, I denote two sounds at once if they are at the beginning of a word, either after the separating b and b, or after a vowel sound: [y'e], [y'o], [y'u], [y'a].
There is - [y'es"t"] (letter e denotes two sounds at the beginning of a word).
It will shed - [pral "y"ot] (letter e denotes two sounds after b).
Comfort - [uy’ut] (letter yu denotes two sounds after a vowel).
The letters e, e, yu, i, standing after soft consonants, denote only the vowel sounds [e], [o], [u], [a] and the softness of the previous consonant.
Forest - [l’es].
Honey - [m’ot].
Luke - [l’uk].
Row - [r’at].
In Russian, not all consonants can be both hard and soft. For example, in the word “song” there is an N after the S and we mark the S as a hard consonant. In writing, the hardness and softness of consonant sounds are indicated only when writing a transcription. Find consonant sounds that sound before voiced paired consonants.
So, let's look at vowel sounds, which are divided into hard and soft. Pay attention to consonant sounds at the end of words and before voiceless consonants. 5 letters, 6 sounds). But not all consonant sounds and letters form pairs. Those consonants that do not have pairs are called unpaired.
Make this reminder to your child and let it help him distinguish between hard and soft sounds. Apply all these methods at once and your child will learn to identify hard and soft consonants without any problems. Even though these consonants are paired, they are still very different. First, the child learns to understand how letters are divided into vowels and consonants. It is quite easy to determine whether a consonant is hard or soft.
Having remembered this simple rule, children no longer experience difficulties in determining the hardness and softness of individual consonant sounds if they are followed by a vowel. If, when pronouncing a word or syllable, the corners of the mouth move into a smile (i.e., the consonant is followed by one of the vowels i, e, e, yu, i), then this consonant sound is soft. Phonetics gives a clear idea of whether a consonant sound will be voiced or unvoiced. To remember and distinguish voiced consonants from deaf ones, we divide them into pairs. There are 11 of them in total, if you take into account soft consonants (exception -) -; -; -; -; -.
In each case there are consonants that have a pair, as well as consonants that do not have a pair. Let's look at paired and unpaired consonants, and in what words they occur. In an unstressed position, vowels are pronounced less clearly and sound for less duration (i.e., they are reduced). When letters that usually denote voiceless consonants, when voiced, denote voiced sounds, this seems so unusual that it can lead to errors in transcription.
In tasks related to comparing the number of letters and sounds in a word, there may be “traps” that provoke errors. If a person pronounces consonants, he closes his mouth (at least a little), which causes noise. But consonants make different noises.
Which sounds are always hard and which are soft?
You can conduct a similar experiment by placing your hands on your neck on the right and left sides, and pronounce the sounds and. The sound is pronounced much louder, more resonant. Scientists call such sounds voiced, and sounds that consist only of noise are dull. Let's populate phonetic houses in the city of sounds. Let’s agree: dull sounds will live on the first floor, and voiced sounds will live on the second floor.
Let's put unpaired consonant sounds in our houses. Let us remind you that the sound is always only soft. The sounds of the second house are also called sonorous, because they are formed with the help of the voice and almost without noise, they are very sonorous. Comparison with vowel sounds. Each consonant has characteristics that distinguish it from other consonant sounds. In speech, sounds can be replaced under the influence of neighboring sounds in a word. It is important to know the strong and weak positions of consonant sounds in a word in order to spell them correctly.
We need to teach the child to hear them and identify them based on various signs. If the child has this reminder before his eyes, it will be easier for him to remember these letters. You can print it out and hang it above the table where your child studies.
It depends on the position of the letter in the word. At the end of a syllable, the voiced sound is muted, the same happens if the letter comes before a voiceless consonant, for example “dove”. It is necessary to remember that after hard consonants there are always vowels: a; O; y; e; s. If after the consonant there are: and; e; yu; I; e, then these consonants are soft.
