Sounds of speech are involved in education ... Speech and letter sounds

When we talk, we make sounds. They are formed as a result of the movement of air from the lungs through the mouth and, depending on how the tongue and lips are located at that moment, have a different color.

Sounds of speech are involved in the formation of words - linguistic units that have a certain semantic meaning and are used for the communication process. Let's get to know them better!

What are letters and sounds?

Everything that we hear and say is sounds. They are designated in a certain way in writing, and what we write and then read is letters.

But the sounds of speech and the letters with which they are designated in the Russian language vary greatly in quantity. In oral speech, we pronounce 43 basic sounds, but to write them we use only 33 letters.

That is, all the letters of our language can be divided into 3 groups.

1. Letters that do not indicate sounds (these are "ь" and "» "). As an example, you can bring: "stump", which is pronounced [p'en'], and "move out" - [dy'ehat].
2. Letters denoting 2 sounds. Such letters include "e", "e", "yu", "I". In their pronunciation a pair of sounds is used: [d'o], [d'e], [d'y], [d'a].
3. Letters that denote 1 sound (these are all the other letters).

What is the difference between vowels and consonant sounds

There are two main groups of speech sounds - they are defined as vowels and consonants. The vowels are those sounds in whose occurrence only the voice participates. They are pronounced lingeringly, in the mouth sound does not meet any obstacles.

Consonants are what we say, combining both voice and noise (they are called sonorous) or only noise (voiceless consonants). In addition, consonants can be either hard or soft.

Shock and unstressed syllables

Vowel sounds of speech are involved in the formation of syllables, while appearing under stress or in an unstressed position. Under stress is meant the pronunciation of a syllable with greater force.

Russian language is inherent in the change in the position of stress. It can appear on any syllable, unlike the Polish or French languages, where a certain place is assigned to it. For example, in the word "whistled" the stress on the first syllable, and in the word "whistle" - on the second.

What letters denote in Russian the vowel sounds

To denote the basic vowel sounds of speech (in our language there are six), ten vowel letters are used:

Sound [and] - is denoted by the letter "and" (tiger);

[Ы] - with the letter "ы" (smoke);

[A] - the letters "a" (mother) and "I" (pit);

[O] - the letter "o" (nose) and "e" (hedgehog);

[E] - the letter "e" (echo) and "e" (day);

[Y] - the letter "y" (kum) and "yu" (south).

Thus, it turns out that in order to denote 4 vowel sounds ([a], [a], [e], [y]) in the alphabet there are two whole series of letters. It can be:

• A, o, e, y;
• I, e, e, w.

In the second row, the letters perform two functions at once. They not only denote a vowel sound, but also signal that the previous consonant was soft (chalk - [m'al]).

If they are at the beginning of the word, they are placed after the vowels or after a soft or solid separating sign - they denote a combination of sounds. For example, the word Christmas tree sounds [y'olka], and the word sings - [pay'ot].

How are deaf and sonorous consonants written on the letter

Sounds of speech are involved in the formation of words and are there in a weak or strong position, which often has a direct impact on their designation on the letter. So, the same letter in the language can denote different sounds. Example: with the letter "n" you can designate 2 sounds - [n] and [n']: niche - [n'isha] or nyl [nyl].

And one letter "b" can designate 4 variants of sounds [б], [б'] or [п], [н]. For example: was [was] - beat [b'il] or hump [gorp] - Ob [op'].

If a voiced consonant is written at the end of a word or is placed in front of a deaf consonant, then it can denote its twin blank sound. This position is called weak. Notice how we pronounce: the vat is ka [t] ka (the sound is in front of the deaf consonant) or the eye-eye [s] (the sound is at the end of the word). This process is defined as stunning.

Deaf consonants can sound like their paired - sonorous, if they find themselves in a strong position. For example: threshing sounds like a young man [d'] ba, but in the word plea, a sound [s'] - about [s'ba] is heard. This, as you know, is a kind of voicelessness.

It should be mentioned that the position of consonant sounds before vowels or before voiced consonants is considered a strong position in the Russian language.

How on the letter some consonant sounds are indicated

Some sounds of Russian speech are indicated on the letter by a combination of letters. By the way, this situation causes a very large number of spelling errors.

For example, one sound [ni] can appear in the written word as c, h, or hh. We write - an account, but we say [shch'ot], we write - a cabman, but we say [vosvosh'ik], we write - a man, but it sounds like [mushch'ina].

And the sound [q] can be denoted as a combination of mj or dy, and as nc or mc. For example: read - read [q] a, twenty - two [q].

Letters do not always correspond to "their" sounds

As already mentioned, the sounds of speech are involved in the formation of words and are indicated on the letter in certain letters. And often it turns out that behind a single letter can be "hiding" different sounds. For example, at the root of a word, when we change its number, we write the same letter, but we say different sounds: stOl (st [o] n) - stalks (st [a] ly). That is, with one letter "o" we designate two sounds: [a] and [a].

But there are cases when different sounds are denoted by one letter. So, both in the word "treasure" and in the word "raft", the same sound [t] sounds at the end, but it is indicated, as you can see, in different letters: "d" and "t".

The wording of words often does not coincide with the sound. For example, in the word "valiant" ten letters are written, but only nine are pronounced: [dob'l'nyj]. In this and similar cases, the letter "t" is an unpronounceable consonant. That is, a letter that does not mean sound. Here are a few more examples of such letters: the sun - [sontse], the heart - [s'erze].

Features of the combination of consonant and vowel sounds

The solid consonant sounds of Russian speech are not combined with the vowel "and" following them, and the soft ones can not be combined with "s". For example, in the word "dinner", always a solid sound [g] requires a sound [s], so we say [yahin].

In some cases, there is a softening in the speech of solid consonants, standing in a pair with a soft consonant. So, if the word car is in the word, the sound [n] is solid, then in combination with the always soft [ch'] it sounds gently - the car [wagon'ch'ik].

The same thing happens in situations with a combination with other soft consonants: phant-fa [n't'] ik, forest-le [s'n'] ik, pure-chi [c't'l].

The use of a hard and soft sign in Russian

The sounds of speech and letters in our language, as you have probably already understood, often do not coincide. For example, a hard and soft sign on a letter does not indicate any sounds.

These letters, as a rule, signal that the e, e, y, w standing behind them are pronounced as two sounds (drinking [nd'ot]). If he stands after the consonant, then he points to his softness (day [d'en]).

In some cases, the soft sign plays only a grammatical role. For example, in the word "lie" it does not mean the softness of the previous consonant, but merely indicates that the given noun belongs to the feminine gender.

Features of writing and pronunciation of some borrowed words

In some words, borrowed from other languages, before the letter e does not sound soft, as is customary in Russian, but a solid consonant. Pay attention - in the word "tempo" we write e, but at the same time utter a solid sound [t]. The pronunciation of this and similar words must be remembered or referred to the orthoepic dictionary.

The cache - [ne], the model - [de], the claim - [te], the relay - the first syllable [re], the dash - [re], the test - [te], the thermos - [te], tennis - [te].

As you can see, the sounds of speech (1st class or 11 left behind) is a deep and serious topic that, if carefully studied, will help you understand the subtleties of the rules of pronunciation and the principles of writing many words that cause difficulties. Good luck!