Paired and unpaired voiceless consonants

The possession of oral speech is very important for the social life and development of the individual. Much attention in the study of native (or foreign) language is given to colloquial speech - the correct pronunciation of phonemes. There are many words that differ only in individual sounds. Therefore, the functioning of the organs of speech and sound formation is given special attention.

Production of sounds

Sound formation occurs as a result of a person's mental and speech activity. The voice apparatus consists of the diaphragm, larynx, epiglottis, pharynx, vocal cords, nasal cavity and mouth, tongue, palate (soft and hard), alveoli, teeth, tongue, lips.

The tongue with the lower lip actively participate in the sound production. Teeth, palate, upper lip remain passive.

Production of sounds (phonemes) includes:

• Respiration - breathing,
• Phonation - the use of the larynx and vocal folds to create phonemes,
• Articulation - the work of the speech apparatus for sound production.

Noisy (voiceless) consonant sounds of the Russian language

The letters in Russian are exactly 33, and there are much more sounds - 42. Vowel phonemes consisting of a clear voice - 6. The remaining 36 sounds are consonants.

In the creation of 16 consonant phonemes, only noise, formed as a result of overcoming by the exhaled air flow, certain barriers, representing interacting speech organs, participates.

[K], [n], [c], [m ^, ], [φ ^, ], [x ^, ], [h ^, ], [nu], [k], [n], [c ], [Т], [ф], [х], [ц], [ш] - voiceless consonant sounds.

To learn how to determine which consonant sounds are deaf, you need to know their main features: how and in what place they are formed, how voice folds are involved in their production, whether there is palatalization during pronunciation.

The formation of noisy consonants

In the process of producing deaf consonant phonemes, the interaction of various organs of the speech apparatus takes place . They can close together or form a gap.

Deaf consonant sounds are born when an exhaled air stream overcomes these obstacles. Depending on the type of obstacles, deaf phonemes are divided into:

• Stop blasting [k,, n,, m,, k, n, t];
• Closed gap (affricates) [ц, ч ^, ];
• Slit (fricative) [c,,,,,,,,, C, φ, χ, ω].

Depending on the places where the barriers are formed, among the deaf phonemes distinguish:

• Labial-labial [n,, n];
• Labial-dental [Φ,, φ];
• Front-dental teeth [c,, c, t,, t, n];
• Front-lingual palatal-dental [h, U ^, u ^, w];
• Back-lingual backbone [k,, x,, k, x].

Vocal folds are always in a relaxed state when voiceless consonant sounds are produced. The voice does not form, phonemes consist of pure noise.

Palatalization and Volatile

Noisy phonemes are classified according to the degree of tension of the middle of the tongue. When the front and middle regions of the tongue rise in the process of sound production to the hard palate, a palatalized consonant (soft) deaf sound is born. Velarized (solid) phonemes are produced by raising the root of the tongue to the posterior region of the soft palate.

6 soft and 6 solid noisy deaf phonemes are pairs, the rest do not have pairs.

The paired consonant voiceless sounds are [k ^, - k], [n ^, - n], [c ^, - c], [m ^, - m], [φ ^, - φ], [x ^, - x]; [Ц, ч,, ш, щ ^, ] - voiceless unpaired consonant sounds.

Articulation

The combination of all the works of individual organs of the speech apparatus involved in pronouncing phonemes is called articulation.

To make the speech understandable, one must be able to clearly pronounce the sounds, words, sentences. For this it is required to train your speech apparatus, to practice the pronunciation of phonemes.

Understanding how voiceless consonant sounds are formed, how to pronounce them correctly, a child or an adult will master speech much more quickly.

Sounds [k - k,, x - x ^, ]

Lower the end of the tongue, slightly pushing away from the incisors of the lower jaw. Mouth slightly open. The back part of the tongue should be raised so that it touches the border zone of the raised soft and hard palate. By means of a sharp exhalation, the air overcomes the obstruction - [k].

Pressing the end of the tongue to the lower front teeth. The middle and back of the tongue are brought closer to the middle-back region of the hard palate. Exhale - [to ^, ].

In the production of phonemes [x - x ^, ], the speech organs are arranged analogously. Only between them there is not a bow, but a slot.

Sounds [n - n ^, ]

The lips are closed, the tongue is left to lie freely, its tip is slightly removed from the lower incisors. Exhalation. The air stream breaks through the lips - [n].

The lips are the same. The end of the tongue is pressed against the incisors of the lower jaw. To the firm palate lift the middle of the tongue. A sharp push of air overcomes the labial barrier - [n ^, ].

Sounds [s - s ^, ]

Lips stretch, the teeth almost close. The end of the tongue touch the front teeth of the lower jaw. Bend the tongue, lifting the middle back to the palate. Its lateral edges are pressed against the upper chewing teeth. Air flow passes through the groove formed in the middle of the tongue. Overcomes the gap between the alveolar arch and the front of the tongue - [s].

The phoneme [c ^, ] is pronounced similarly. Only the middle of the tongue rises higher, and the front arches more (the groove disappears).

Sounds [t - t ^, ]

Open your lips. The end of the tongue to rest in the incisors of the upper jaw, forming a bow. A jet of exhaled air with force breaks through the barrier - [t].

The position of the lips is the same. The tip of the tongue is pressed against the lower incisors. The front part of the tongue touch the upper alveolar arch, creating a bow. Under the pressure of the air jet, the obstruction - [t ^, ] is overcome.

Sounds [ф - ф ^, ]

The lower lip is slightly retracted and the upper incisors are pressed to it. The back of the tongue is raised to the back of the soft palate. On exhalation, air passes through a flat slit formed by the lip and teeth - [f].

Lips and teeth in the same position. Tip the tip of the tongue to the lower incisors. The middle part of the tongue is raised to the palate. The flow of air penetrates through the labial-tooth gap - [ф ^, ].

Sound [q]

Sound is produced in two stages:

1. Stretch a little tight lips. The end of the tongue should be squeezed to the front lower teeth. Raise the front part of the tongue, closing with a firm palate (just behind the alveolar arch).
2. The air flow enters the oral cavity. The tongue should be slightly bent - raise the middle part, lower the lower part, press the lateral edges to the chewing teeth. The bowl turns into a slot and the air goes out - [c].

Sound [h ^, ]

The formation of the phoneme consists of two phases:

1. Slightly round and extend the lips. The end and front part of the tongue to press against the hard palate and alveolar arch, creating an obstruction.
2. Push out the air: in the place of the bow between the tongue and the palate a slit is obtained. At the same time, it is necessary to raise the middle of the tongue - [h ^, ].

Sound [w]

Slightly rounded lips extend. The end of the tongue should be raised to form a narrow passage with the palate and alveolar arch (1st slit). Having lowered the middle of the tongue, raise its back part (2nd slot). The edges are pressed to the chewing teeth, forming a bowl. Smoothly exhale - [w].

The sound [ui ^, ]

Lips slightly push and round. The end of the tongue should be raised to the alveolar arch, not pressing, so that the lumen remains. Tongue the tongue to the firm palate (except for the front part), to press the edges to the molars of the upper jaw. Exhale slowly. The central part of the tongue goes down, creating a chute along which the air flow passes. The tongue strains - [uh ^, ].

In the speech stream, voiceless consonant sounds coexist with other phonemes (vowels and consonants). If a vowel follows a noisy phoneme, then the lips take a position to articulate the latter.

Comparison of noisy deaf and sonorous phonemes

Ringtones are phonemes, in the formation of which both voice and noise participate (the latter predominates). Some voiced sounds have a pair of sounds from among the deaf.

Paired voiceless consonant sounds and sonorous sounds: [k-r], [k ^, -r ^, ], [n-6], [n ^, -b ^, ], [m-d], [m ^, -d ^, ], [ C - s], [c ^, - s ^, ], [cp - c], [cp ^, - c ^, ], [w - x].

Voiced and deaf unpaired consonant sounds:

• [D, л,, м,, н,, р,, л, м, н, р] - sonorous (sonorous);
• [X, N, n,,, x, n] are noisy deaf.

The designation of noisy phonemes in letters

The ability to write correctly is as important as speaking. Mastery of written speech involves more difficulties, since some sounds on paper can be written in different letters or letters.

Deaf consonant sounds are written in similar letters when they are written in strong positions.

By deafness-voiced: before a vowel, sonorous consonant, [in-in ^, ], other noisy (applicable to the pair of deaf people!).

By hardness-softness: before the vowel, [b, m, r, k, n, x, b,, m,, r,, k,, n,, x ^, ] - for the sounds [c, c, T ^, ], at the end of the word.

In other cases, to determine the correct letter (or combination of letters) for a deaf consonant phoneme, certain rules of the Russian language must be applied. And sometimes you just need to remember the correct spelling of words (vocabulary).