Which letter w is hard or soft. What are the different consonant sounds - hard and soft

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. Deafness and sonority of the sound depends on the work 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 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, most consonants are soft and hard, this quality is meaningful. Compare words:

• chalk - stranded;
• bank - bathhouse;
• guest - guest

However, there are also those whose hardness is a constant quality, which means that they are always hard.

Consonant sounds: [g]

It occurs in the following words:

• life [zhiz "n"].;
• liquid [zhytk "y];
• honeysuckle [zhimls "t"];
• live [live];
• trembles [tremble];
• guards [starazhyt];
• buzzing [buzzing];
• red [red];
• blessed [blessed].

When comparing spelling and sound, the following conclusion can be drawn: after this consonant, a letter is written And, but the sound [s] is heard. When choosing this spelling, you need to be guided by the rule: ZhI write with the letter I.

To play with a child in order to practice spelling skills, you can use, for example, the following text:

A beetle buzzes over honeysuckle. He lives somewhere near the ground beetle. She guards her home from him. And red hedgehogs run past the puddle. A bush is reflected in its liquid liquid - just like a living one, only turned upside down.

Sound [w]

It is solid in contrast to [zh], which is voiced. This phoneme can be observed in the words:

• breadth [shyr "];
• sew [shit"];
• chiffon [chiffon];
• wardrobe [shyfan "yer];
• mice [mice];
• silence [t "ishyna];
• ruffs [yirshy];
• pennies [grashes];
• in a hurry [sp "ishyt];
• finishes [curls].

Here we are also dealing with the same trend as in the case of the sound [g]: after [w], the letter is written And. The rule, as for the previous spelling: "SHI write with the letter I."

To work out the skill of correctly writing such words, let's turn to the dictation:

Mice rustle under the roof slopes. One of them hears the cat breathing in silence, and hurries to her hole - she has babies there.

Let's sum up, always solid ones serve as identification signs of the spelling "And after Zh and Sh."

Sound [ts]

The last sound, in which hardness is a constant quality, is [ts]. It has more difficulties in terms of spelling. The spelling of vowels after this sound depends on the morpheme. Let's take examples of words with spelling at the root of words:

• digit [number];
• compass [compass "];
• circus [circus];
• citron [citron];
• acacia [akatsyya];
• lecture [lecture];
• section [with "ektsyya];
• sanction [sanction].

Where there is this solid consonant sound in a word, we hear [s] after it, but we designate this phoneme in different ways. In the examples given above, the spelling is regulated next rule: after the letter C, it is written And at the root of the word. But there are exceptions in which you still need to put Y:

• chick-chick-chick;
• on tiptoe;
• Chick;
• click;
• Gypsy.

In addition to these exceptions, it is also possible to write Y in suffixes and endings:

• sinitsyn;
• sisters;
• near the hospital;
• without water;
• at the young woman;
• at the girl.

Play with your child to practice spelling words that are spelled with the letter C:

A gypsy performs in the circus, he clicks at the chickens: "Shush!" They hide in the paws of the fox. The girls laugh, stand on tiptoe and greet the fox's kindness with loud ovations.

To summarize: the sounds in the alphabet are always Zh, C, Sh. The following vowels can be written with them: I, Y.

Replacing W with W

The sound [ts] is not hissing. And the other two are called just that. In a weak position (at the end of a word or before voiceless consonants), the sound [g] is replaced by [w]:

• married [zamush];
• already [ush];
• unbearable [nefterpesh];
• spoon [spoon];
• horns [roshk" and].

The text of the dictation on this topic, which will help to make it interesting training work over this spelling:

This always happens when consonant, voiced, hard sounds in a weak position are replaced by the same, only deaf.

The Golitsyn sisters got married. They are unbearable. And the dowry is ready: spoons, mugs, pillows, boots, tubs, bowls, cups, ladles. And now the droshky appeared on the path, Seryozhka, Alyoshka, Proshka and Olezhka - the sisters' grooms - are riding there. Here the fairy tale ends, and they lived happily ever after.

When put b after Zh and Sh

For the reason that the above consonants are always hard, it is never used with them to indicate softness. However, there are times when you can meet it after the letters Zh and Sh:

• mouse;
• False;
• shiver;
• brooch;
• nonsense;
• all over;
• do not touch;
• hear.

These examples illustrate the rule of using the soft sign to denote grammatical form words:

1. Nouns 3 folds: silence, whim.
2. Adverb: backhand.
3. Verbs: go, lay down.

We use the following suggestions for training:

It's just a lie that the mouse is scary: don't touch it when you walk by, it won't touch it either.

If the house is quiet, and you don’t scream, don’t jump, don’t bliss, then there’s some kind of catch, you won’t understand right away. What are you doing there, and you yourself are silent?

When b is not put after Zh and Sh

Always solid consonants [zh] and [w] are sometimes written with soft sign and it depends on them grammatical category. And, conversely, the absence of this letter after them also has a morphological meaning:

1. There are no 3 declensions for nouns: baby, watchman, roof covering.
2. Short adjective: good, comely.
3. Adverbs-exceptions: already, married, unbearable.

Practice text:

My baby is good, handsome and looks like dad. He will be a pilot, he will fly above the roofs, you can’t follow him.

O and Yo after hissing and C

Always solid consonants require special attention to themselves, since the pronunciation of vowels after them does not always correspond to the spelling. This applies not only to the letters I and Y, but also O and Y:

• walked [shol];
• whisper [whisper];
• silk [silk];
• millstones [zhornof];
• acorn [acorn];
• rustle [rustle];
• highway [shose];
• jockey [jock "hey].

The name of this spelling is "Oh and Yo in the root after hissing." Rule: "If you can pick up a word with the letter E in a single-root word, then we write -Yo, if there is none, we write O." Let's check:

• acorn - acorn;
• silk - silks;
• millstones - millstones;
• rustle - cannot be checked;
• jockey - can't be verified.

In suffixes and endings after Zh and Sh, the letter O is written under stress:

• walrus;
• big.

Without stress, you need to write the letter -E:

• Orange;
• pear.

After C, the letter E is never written, only O (under stress) or E (without stress).

• basement;
• church;
• end face;
• wrestling;
• slate;
• glossy;
• towel;
• stigma.

Consonant letters denoting a solid sound (Ж, Ш, Ц) require very great attention to themselves. As you can see, they are very connected a large number of spelling. By school curriculum envisaged test associated with testing knowledge with these consonants. For example, here is a dictation:

"Once we went hunting and our dogs ran after us.

In the forests in autumn there are many delicious things: cones, pears, honeysuckle berries, blackberries, acorns. Animals eat at this time and get fat.

Here we are in the very thicket of the forest, we hear the barking of dogs and run to that place. We see a fox hole there. The dogs tore open the entrance and dragged her out. We drove the dogs away. The fox red fluffy outfit is slightly wrinkled, but still it is silky and smooth. Yellow circles around the eyes. The breast is white, the paws are black. Good foxes!

We released the poor fellow, she quickly darted into the bushes, and the trail went cold from the sister fox.

Ability to distinguish between soft and hard consonants. Obviously, they should not be memorized, but learned to hear. And for this, the child needs to be prompted exactly how these sounds are obtained - this will greatly facilitate his understanding.

Always soft and always hard consonants

Not all consonants in our language are both hard and soft. First you need your child to memorize those that are only hard: W, W, C, and also always soft: H, W, Y. To do this, you can, for example, make a commemorative plate where always hard will be drawn over blue bricks, and always soft - over green pillows (the choice of color is based on how these sounds are designated in the lower grades).

If the child constantly sees this picture that you put in his workbook or hang over then he will quickly remember these consonants.

How vowels command consonants

Then you explain to the child that the rest of the consonants can be both soft and hard. But neighboring letters will help to suggest this. If after our consonant there is another consonant, then ours is solid. For example: table. What comes after the C sound? So it's a solid consonant.

The vowel sounds "command" the consonant standing in front of what he should be. If these are vowels: A, O, U, E, S, then only solid consonants are in front of them. And if it is: And, E, Yu, I, Yo, then - soft. The softness of the previous consonant is also indicated by

Educational games

In order for the child to remember this easier, try playing with him. Ask him to attach outside index finger to the palate and pronounce syllables in turn, where there are soft and hard consonants. For example: TA - TYA, ON - NYA. The child, thanks to this, will be able to remember exactly how a consonant sound is obtained. He will understand that when a soft consonant is formed, the tongue seems to move forward, and its back rises slightly to the sky. But when hard consonants are pronounced, this does not happen.

Throw the ball to the child, naming the syllable with a hard consonant, and let him return the ball to you, already pronouncing it with a soft one. For example: LA - LA, LO - LE, LY - LI, etc.

At school, students are asked to highlight hard and soft consonants using blue and green. Blue is hard and green is soft. Cut out some red, blue and green squares and ask them to jigsaw the word. The child will lay out vowel sounds in red, hard consonants, respectively, in blue, and soft ones - in green. Take for this small words, from one or two syllables: fish, elephant, branch, chalk etc.

Play word chain. You say a word that ends in a syllable with a hard or soft consonant, and the child calls the next word that begins with this syllable. Not forgetting to determine aloud which consonant, hard or soft, was in this syllable: winds - fish - bagels - cinema etc.

If you methodically explain to your child the difference between hard and soft consonants, this will help him to navigate more easily in the future, when studying many features of the spelling of the Russian language. Good luck to you!

The speech of a person, especially a native speaker, should be not only correct, but also beautiful, emotional, expressive. Voice, diction, and consistent orthoepic norms are important here.

The ability to pronounce sounds correctly consists of practical exercises(voice training: volume, timbre, flexibility, diction, etc.) and knowledge of when this or that pronunciation of sound is appropriate (orthoepic norms).

Before talking about letters that denote soft consonant phonemes, we should recall the basic phonetic concepts and terms.

Phonetics: sounds and letters

Let's start with the fact that there are no soft consonants in the words of the Russian language. Since sound is what we hear and pronounce, it is elusive, it is an indivisible part of speech, which is obtained as a result of human articulation. A letter is just a graphic symbol denoting a particular sound. We see and write them.

There is no complete correspondence between them. In one word, the number of letters and sounds may not match. The Russian alphabet consists of thirty-three letters, and in speech there are forty-seven sounds.

Accurate in a word by means of letters - transcription. Letters in this case are written in square brackets. During phonetic analysis, each sound must be written in a separate letter, stressed and indicated softness, if necessary ["], for example, milk - [malako], mole - [mol"] - in this case, the letter l with an apostrophe indicates a soft sound [l "].

Phonetics: vowels and consonants

When a stream of air flies out of the throat without encountering obstacles in its path, it turns out (melodious). There are six of them in Russian. They are shock and unstressed.

If the air, leaving the larynx, does not pass freely, then a consonant sound is obtained. They are formed from noise or noise and voice. There are thirty-seven consonant phonemes in our Russian language.

• sonorous (voice is much stronger than noise);
• noisy - voiced and deaf.

Also, according to pronunciation, there are soft consonants (the letters that denote them are written with an apostrophe) and hard sounds. They differ in pronunciation - speaking a soft consonant, a person raises the middle back of the tongue high to the sky.

Graphics: letters

So, the letters are the designations of the sounds in the letter. The science that studies them is graphics. An alphabet is a graphic representation of the sounds of a language arranged in a specific order. The ten letters of the Russian alphabet are vowels that represent vowel sounds. It also includes twenty-one consonants and two letters that do not indicate sounds at all. Each letter in the alphabet has its own unique name. The modern alphabet was created in 1918 and officially approved in 1942. Now these graphic signs are used in more than fifty different languages peace.

Letter-sound composition

In Russian, the composition of speech sounds and letters differs due to the specifics of writing - the letters of soft consonants and hard consonants are identical - ate [y "el], el [y" el "]; and six vowels are indicated in writing by ten letters. And so it turns out that there are fourteen more sounds in speech than there are letters in the alphabet.

hard consonants

Consonant phonemes form pairs: voiced - deaf, soft - hard. But there are those who will always sound firm - these are w, w, c. Even in the words parachute, brochure and single-root sh will remain solid. In some foreign words they are pronounced differently.

Soft consonants

There is also a trio of sounds that are always soft, consonant letters denoting them - h, w, y. There are no exceptions to these rules in Russian.

Paired consonants

The consonants are mostly paired, that is, each solid sound corresponds to its softer pronunciation. The letters denoting soft will be identical. In transcription, the sign ["] will be added to them.

How to determine where soft consonants will stand? Letters do not immediately form words, first they form syllables. The softness or hardness of the pronunciation of a consonant depends on which sound follows it in the syllable.

syllables

A syllable is a sound or several sounds that are pronounced in one breath, with one push of air.

Vowels are syllable-forming sounds, consonants adjoin them - a syllable is obtained: mo-lo-ko, le-ta-yu-shcha-ya fish. The number of syllables in a word is equal to the number of vowels in it.

Open syllables end with vowels: picture - kar- Tina, legitimate - right-measured.

If there is a consonant at the end of a syllable, it is a closed syllable: car-ti-na, lawful - right-in- measured.

Words are more common in the middle open syllables, and the consonants adjacent to them are transferred to the next syllable: give, announcer. Sounds that can close a syllable in a word are voiced, unpaired, hard consonants and soft. Letters for writing them - d, r, l, m, n. For example: kitty - ki-son-ka.

There are division of words into syllables and into parts for transfer, as well as into morphemes. This is the syllabic, or syllabic, principle of graphics. It also applies to consonants.

Hard and soft consonants: letters (syllabic principle)

It manifests itself in relation to consonants in that it determines the unit of reading and writing:

1. Like a combination of a consonant and a vowel following it.
2. Combining a consonant and a soft sign.
3. Grouping two consonants or a space at the end of a word.

So, in order to understand whether the sound defined in the word belongs to soft or hard, you need to pay attention to what comes after it in the syllable.

If any consonant follows the one we are interested in, then the sound being determined is solid. For example: chatter - chatter, T- solid.

If the next one is a vowel, then you need to remember that before a, o, u, uh, s stand For example: mother, fetters, vine.

And, e, yu, i, yo- letters denoting a soft consonant sound. For example, a song is a song, p, n- soft, yet from- solid.

In order to speak well and read soft consonants and sounds correctly, it is necessary to develop your own - understanding and distinguishing speech sounds. A well-developed ability to clearly identify what sounds are in a word, even if you hear it for the first time, will allow you to better remember and understand the speech of others. And most importantly - to speak more beautifully and more correctly.

The syllabic principle is convenient in that it allows you to reduce the number of letters in the alphabet. Indeed, in order to designate soft and hard consonant phonemes, it would be necessary to invent, create, and users to learn fifteen new graphic elements. So much is contained in our speech. In practice, it turned out to be enough to determine the vowels indicating which letters of the consonants are soft.

Letters denoting a soft consonant sound

Softness of sound is indicated by ["] only when writing transcription - sound parsing words.

When reading or writing, there are two ways to indicate soft consonants.

1. If a soft consonant ends a word or comes before another consonant, then it is denoted by "ь". For example: a blizzard, a stolnik, etc. Important: when writing, the softness of a consonant is determined by "ь" only if it stands in the same-root words before both the soft and the hard consonant in different occasions(flax - flax). Most often, when two soft consonants stand side by side, after the first "b" is not used in writing.
2. If a soft consonant is followed by a vowel, then it is determined by letters i, yu, i, yo, e. For example: carried, sat down, tulle, etc.

Even when applying the syllabic principle, there are problems with e before a consonant, they are so deep that they turn into orthoepy. Some scientists believe that necessary condition euphony is a ban on writing e after hard consonants, because this grapheme defines soft consonants and interferes correct pronunciation solid. I have a suggestion to replace e to unambiguous uh. Before the introduction, unified spelling of syllables e - e in 1956, the paired spelling of such words (adequate - adequate) was actively and legally practiced. But the unification did not solve the main problem. Replacing e with uh after hard consonants, obviously, it won’t either ideal solution, new words in the Russian language appear more and more often, and in which case to write this or that letter remains debatable.

Orthoepy

Let's go back to where we started - our speech - it is due to orthoepy. On the one hand, these are the developed norms for the correct pronunciation, and on the other hand, it is a science that studies, substantiates and establishes these norms.

Orthoepy serves the Russian language, blurs the lines between dialects, so that it is easier for people to understand each other. So that, communicating with each other, representatives different regions thought about what they were saying, and not about how this or that word sounded from the interlocutor.

The foundation of the Russian language and, consequently, pronunciation is the Moscow dialect. It was in the capital of Russia that sciences began to develop, including orthoepy, so the norms prescribe us to speak - to pronounce sounds like Muscovites.

Orthoepy gives one The right way pronunciation, rejecting all others, but at the same time sometimes allows options that are considered correct.

Despite the clear, understandable and simple rules, orthoepy notes many features, nuances and exceptions in how letters are pronounced, denoting a soft consonant sound and a hard ...

Orthoepy: soft and hard consonants

What letters are soft consonants? H, w, th In no case should you pronounce hard sounds instead of soft sounds. But this rule is violated, falling under the influence of the Belarusian language and even Russian dialects, reprimands. Remember how the word sounds in this Slavic group yet, for example.

L- this is a paired consonant sound, respectively, standing directly before the consonant or at the end of the word, it should sound solid. Front oh, a, uh, uh, s also (tent, corner, skier), but in some words that came to us more often from foreign languages, whose speakers live mainly in Europe, and which are proper names, l pronounced almost softly (La Scala, La Rochelle, La Fleur).

The last consonants in the prefix in front of a hard sign, even if letters denoting a soft consonant sound follow, are pronounced firmly (entrance, announcement). But for consonants from And h this rule is not in full force. Sounds from And h in this case, they can be pronounced in two ways (congress - [s "] rides - [s] rides).

The rules of orthoepy state that you cannot soften the final consonant in a word, even if they merge with the next word starting with e (in this, to the equator, with emu). If such a consonant softens in speech, this indicates that a person communicates through a colloquial style.

"b" also belongs to the list of "soft consonants" and the sounds before it should be pronounced softly, even sounds m, b, p, c, f in words such as seven, eight, hole, shipyard, etc. Pronounce soft sounds firmly in front of " b"is unacceptable. Only in the words eight hundred and seven hundred m may not have a soft, but a hard sound.

What letters denote soft consonants, you need to remember clearly - e, yu, yo, i, and.

So, in many foreign words before e the consonant sound is not softened. This often happens with lips. m, f, c, b, p. P- Chopin, coupe; b- Bernard Show; in- Solveig; f- auto-da-fé; m- reputation, consommé.

Much more often than these consonants, firmly before e dental consonants sound r, n, z, s, d, t. R- Reichswehr, Roerich; n- pince-nez, tour; h- chimpanzee, Bizet; from- highway, Musset; d- dumping, a masterpiece; T- pantheon, aesthetics.

Thus, letters of soft consonants have a fairly definite composition, but fall under a number of exceptions.

Sound is the smallest unit of language, pronounced with the help of the organs of the speech apparatus. Scientists have discovered that at birth, human hearing perceives all the sounds that it hears. All this time, his brain sorts out unnecessary information, and by 8-10 months a person is able to distinguish sounds that are unique to his native language, and all the nuances of pronunciation.

33 letters make up the Russian alphabet, 21 of them are consonants, but letters should be distinguished from sounds. A letter is a sign, a symbol that can be seen or written. The sound can only be heard and pronounced, and in writing it can be designated using transcription - [b], [c], [d]. They carry a certain semantic load, connecting with each other, form words.

36 consonants: [b], [h], [c], [d], [g], [g], [m], [n], [k], [l], [t], [p ], [t], [s], [u], [f], [c], [w], [x], [h], [b "], [h "], [c"], [ d "], [th"], [n"], [k"], [m"], [l"], [t"], [s"], [n"], [r"], [ f "], [g"], [x"].

The consonants are divided into:

• soft and hard;

voiced and deaf;

paired and unpaired.

Soft and hard consonants

The phonetics of the Russian language has a significant difference from many other languages. It contains hard and soft consonants.

At the moment of pronouncing a soft sound, the tongue is pressed against the palate more strongly than when pronouncing a hard consonant sound, preventing the release of air. This is what distinguishes a hard and soft consonant from each other. In order to determine in a letter whether a consonant is soft or hard, you should look at the letter immediately after a specific consonant.

Consonants are classified as solid in such cases:

• if letters a, o, u, uh, s follow after them - [poppy], [rum], [hum], [juice], [bull];
• after them there is another consonant sound - [pile], [hail], [marriage];
• if the sound is at the end of the word - [gloom], [friend], [table].

The softness of the sound is written as an apostrophe: mol - [mol '], chalk - [m'el], gate - [kal'itka], fir - [p'ir].

It should be noted that the sounds [u ’], [d ’], [h ’] are always soft, and hard consonants are only [w], [c], [g].

The consonant sound will become soft if it is followed by "b" and vowels: i, e, u, i, e. For example: gene - [g "en], len - [l" he], disk - [d "isk] , hatch - [l "uk], elm - [v" yaz], trill - [tr "el"].

Voiced and deaf, paired and unpaired sounds

According to the voicedness, consonants are divided into voiced and deaf. Voiced consonants can be sounds created with the participation of the voice: [c], [h], [g], [b], [g], [d], [m], [d], [l], [p] , [n].

Examples: [boron], [ox], [shower], [call], [heat], [head], [catch], [pestilence], [nose], [genus], [swarm].

Examples: [count], [floor], [volume], [dream], [noise], [u "uk], [choir], [king"], [ch "an].

Paired voiced and deaf consonants include: [b] - [n], [g] - [w], [g] - [x], [h] - [s]. [d] - [t], [c] - [f]. Examples: true story - dust, house - volume, year - code, vase - phase, itching - court, live - sew.

Sounds that do not form a pair: [h], [n], [c], [x], [p], [m], [l].

Soft and hard consonants can also have a pair: [p] - [p "], [n] - [n"], [m] - [m"], [c] - [c"], [d] - [ d "], [f] - [f "], [k] - [k"], [h] - [h "], [b] - [b"], [g] - [g"], [ n] - [n "], [s] - [s"], [l] - [l "], [t] - [t"], [x] - [x"]. Examples: true story - white, height - branch, city - cheetah, cottage - business, umbrella - zebra, skin - cedar, moon - summer, monster - place, finger - pen, ore - river, soda - sulfur, pillar - steppe, lantern - farm, mansions - hut.

Table for memorizing consonants

To visually see and compare soft and hard consonants, the table below shows them in pairs.

Table. Consonants: hard and soft

Solid - before the letters A, O, U, S, E Soft - before the letters I, E, E, Yu, I	Hard and soft consonants
	b	ball	b"	battle
	in	howl	in"	eyelid
	G	garage	G"	hero
	d	hole	d"	tar
	h	ash	h"	yawn
	to	godfather	to"	sneakers
	l	vine	l"	foliage
	m	March	m"	month
	n	leg	n"	tenderness
	P	Spider	P"	song
	R	growth	R"	rhubarb
	from	salt	from"	hay
	T	cloud	T"	patience
	f	phosphorus	f"	firm
	X	thinness	X"	chemistry
Unpaired	well	giraffe	h	miracle
	sh	screen	SCH	hazel
	c	goal	th	felt

Another table will help memorize consonant sounds.

Table. Consonants: voiced and voiceless

Paired	voiced	Deaf
	B	P
	IN	F
	G	TO
	D	T
	F	W
	W	FROM
Unpaired	L, M, N, R, Y	X, C, H, W

Children's poems for better mastering of the material

The letters are exactly 33 in the Russian alphabet,

To find out how many consonants -

Subtract ten vowels

Signs - hard, soft -

It will immediately become clear:

It turns out the number is exactly twenty-one.

Soft and hard consonants are very different,

But not dangerous at all.

If we pronounce with noise, then they are deaf.

Consonant sounds proudly say:

They sound different.

Hard and soft

Actually very light.

One simple rule to remember forever:

W, C, F - always solid,

But H, W, Y - only soft,

Like cat paws.

Let's soften the others like this:

If we add a soft sign,

Then we get spruce, moth, salt,

What a clever sign!

And if we add the vowels I, I, E, E, Yu,

We get a soft consonant.

Signs-brothers, soft, hard,

We don't pronounce

But to change the word

Let's ask for their help.

The rider is riding a horse

Kon - use in the game.