Russian Phonology

The Russian Language possesses five vowels, which are written with different letters depending on whether or not they Palatalize a preceding consonant. The consonants typically come in pairs, called ''hard'' (non-palatalised) and ''soft'' (palatalised).

The Standard Language , based on the Moscow Dialect , possesses heavy Stress and moderate modulation in pitch (which is not a lexical differentiator). Stressed Vowel s are somewhat Drawl ed, while unstressed vowels tend to be reduced to an unclear Schwa . Consonant clusters tend to be simplified. The spoken dialects show a large number of variations.

VOWELS

The modern standard Russian has five vowels:

The second letter in each row (with the exception of ) denotes the sound produced by '' Iotation '' (when initial, see Semi-vowel ) or ''softening'', or palatalization, (when preceded by a consonant, see Consonants ) of the first letter.

The pronunciation of Russian vowels greatly depends on the dialect. But in standard Russian, the following modifications in the pronunciation of vowels are made.

Stressed vowels

# The default pronunciation of а is ; '''я''' differs from this merely by indicating the palatalization of the preceding consonant (or iotation at the beginning of the word). In both cases, is fronted to between palatized consonants (see consonants below). So ''мать'' is realised as , whereas ''пять'' is realised as .
# The default pronunciation of э is ; '''е''' differs from this merely by indicating the palatization of the preceding consonant (or iotation at the beginning of the word). It should be noted that э is a relatively rare letter generally used only as the initial letter of a word. In both cases, is raised to before a palatalized consonant (the quality of any preceding consonant is not relevant). So ''столе'' and ''это'' are and respectively, whereas ''эти'' is .
# The vowels ы and '''и''' ( and ) are considered allophonic. Their isolated pronunciation is distinct. The vowel is more tense than the , and the position of the tongue differs: neutrally flat for , slightly raised (without tension) for . However, the two sounds tend to merge (tending to ) when unstressed or when following the sibilant consonants '''ж''' , '''ш''' , '''щ''' ,'''ц''' , '''ч''' . See Consonants for details. '''И''' indicates palatalization of the preceding consonant, unless that consonant is '''ж''', '''ц''', or '''ш''', which are invariably hard (but see below for discussion of the palatalization of '''жж''').
# The default pronunciation of о is ; '''ё''', frequently written simply as '''е''', differs from this by indicating the palatalization of the preceding consonant (or iotation at the beginning of the word). Where it occurs, '''ё''' is always stressed, and so need not be discussed below in the section on unstressed vowels. In the case of either о or '''ё''', the vowel is fronted to between two palatalized consonants. For example, ''тётя'' is realised as .
# The default pronunciation of у is ; '''ю''' differs from this by indicating the palatalization of the preceding consonant (or iotation at the beginning of the word). In either case, the vowel is fronted to between two palatalized consonants. For example, ''люди'' is realised as .

Unstressed vowels

Standard speech pronounces vowels clearly only under stress. In the unstressed (weak) position, vowels are reduced in a number of ways, partly dependent on the position of the vowel in relation to the stressed syllable. Russian Orthography does ''not'' reflect vowel reduction.

# Reduction of о and '''a'''. These are reduced in similar ways. In the syllable immediately before the stress (the pretonic syllable), both are realised as . For example, ''потом'' becomes , and ''паром'' becomes . The vowel reductions apply across word boundaries, eg ''под морем'' becomes . The combinations '''аа''', '''ао''', '''оа''' and '''оо''' are all pronounced , as in ''сообразить'', .
# In pre-pretonic positions (before the stressed syllable, but not immediately before it), both о and '''a''' become . For example, ''молодой'' becomes .
# In post-tonic positions (after the stressed syllable), both о and '''a''' become . For example, ''рано'' is pronounced .
#: There are a number of exceptions to the above comments on unstressed о and '''а'''. Firstly, о is not always reduced in foreign borrowings, eg ''радио'', . Secondly, '''а''' is pretonically pronounced after '''ч''' and '''щ''', eg ''часы'', and ''щадить'', . Thirdly, some speakers pronounce '''а''' as after '''ж''' and '''ш'''. In standard Russian, this pronunciation generally only applies to ''жалеть'', , ''к сожалению'', , and oblique cases of ''лошадь'', such as ''лошадей'', . '''а''' is pronounced as after '''ц''' in the oblique cases of some numerals, eg ''двадцати'', .
# Reduction of е and '''я'''. These are reduced in similar ways in unstressed syllables. Pretonically, both are realised as , preceded by palatalization/iotation where appropriate. So ''язык'' is pronounced . Also worth noting is that words that are differentiated in spelling by unstressed е and '''я''' in the pretonic position are pronounced the same, eg ''разредить'' and ''разрядить'', both of which are pronounced .
# Post-tonically е is pronounced , whereas '''я''' is pronounced . ''поле'' is . ''дыня'' is . Exceptions to this are that '''я''' is pronounced before a palatalized consonant and in a non-final post-tonic position, eg ''память'', and ''выглянул'', .
# The unstressed vowels у and '''ю''' show a slight loss of quality compared with the stressed vowels, but the difference is not great enough to require a separate phonetic symbol. If a separate transcription were required, there is a slight tendency towards . An exception would be ''капюшон'' where the '''ю''' is pronounced .
# As mentioned above, the unstressed vowels и and '''ы''' tend to lose quality and merge towards .
# Unstressed э is pronounced , as in ''этап'', .

Semi-vowel

''ёга'' would be pronounced identically). If the immediately follows a consonant and precedes a vowel sound, it is separated from the consonant in writing by the ''hard sign'' '''ъ''' (after a Prefix , the sole remaining usage for the letter '''ъ''' in Russian), or by the soft sign '''ь''' (in all other cases): ''съездить'' , "to go, travel"; ''панъевропейский'' "pan-European"; ''пью'' "I drink"; ''пьеса'' "a theatrical play". Note: in the case of the hard sign, the modern tendency is for pronunciation to follow the spelling and thus to pronounce the prefix ending immediately before the hard sign hard.

CONSONANTS

;Phonemic distinctions

;Phonetic detail

Hard and soft consonants

Russian consonants are of two types: ''hard'' (''твёрдый'' ) and ''soft'' (''мягкий'' ). The ''hard'' pronunciation is the basic one, and is achieved in general by keeping the tongue as low as possible. For the ''soft'' pronunciation or '' Palatalization '', the mouth is slightly more open in a horizontal slit, and the tongue is drawn slightly back, almost as though to pronounce an that is not there.

Consonants with both hard and soft varieties

The consonants б, '''г''', '''з''', '''д''', '''в''' and '''ж''' are devoiced at the end of a word.

The consonants б , '''в''' , '''г''' , '''д''' , '''ж''' , '''з''' , '''к''' , '''л''' , '''м''' , '''н''' , '''п''' , '''р''' , '''с''' , '''т''' , '''ф''' , '''х''' have both a hard and a soft pronunciation. Except for '''ж''' , their softness is indicated in writing:

if followed by a soft sign ь;

always before the vowels я or , '''ё''' or , '''и''' , '''ю''' or , which are then pronounced as standard ''uniotated'' '''а''' , '''о''' , '''и''' , '''у''' (the initial '''и''' has not been iotated since the nineteenth century);

almost always before the vowel е or , which is then pronounced as '''э''' or . In words borrowed from other languages, it is often the case that е does not soften the preceding consonant at first, but often does so after the foreign word has been fully adopted into Russian. For example, Fr/E chauffeur > R ''шофер''; early twentieth century pronunciation , modern pronunciation ''шофёр'', . On the other hand, the pronunciation of words such as ''отель'' "hotel" retains the hard consonants despite a long presence in the language.

The soft pronunciation of ж (always "doubled" = lengthened) is indicated in writing by doubling: '''жж''' (as in ''жжёшь'' "you (sg) burn"). Otherwise, the consonant ж is always hard, except in isolated cases of consonant assimilation (see below): ''жаба'' "toad". There is exactly one unassimilated exception: ''жюри'' "jury". In feminine nouns and in some inflexional forms, a soft sign '''ь''' is written by historical tradition after the undoubled ж at the end of the word, but there is no softening: ''рожь'' "rye". Similarly, an '''е''' , '''ё''' , or '''и''' or written after the undoubled ж does not imply a soft pronunciation: ''также'' "also", ''жёлтый'' "yellow", ''жить'' "to live". The soft pronunciation of '''жж''' has in the twentieth century lost ground to the hard. Nonetheless, it continues to be standard in broadcasting, etc.

Consonants that are always either hard or soft

The consonants ш and '''ц''' are always hard. In writing, the soft sign '''ь''' historically follows ш, ''but never'' '''ц''', for feminine nouns and in some inflexional forms at the end of the word.

The consonants щ and '''ч''' are always soft. In writing, the soft sign '''ь''' historically follows them for feminine nouns and in some inflexional forms at the end of the word.

Supplementary notes

The hard х is similar to the German <'''ch'''> in ''ach''. Its Place Of Articulation is Velar . The soft х is just its Palatalized equivalent. Its Place Of Articulation is Palato-velar . It is '''not''' pronounced like the German soft <'''ch'''> in ''ich'' , which is a Palatal .

The hard л , '''т''' , and '''д''' are dental, with the tongue kept much lower than for the s, with a brief palatalized (Russian does not contrast the briefly fricated and non-fricated versions, but this is possible).

Both the hard р and the soft '''рь''' are trilled.

The hard ж is similar to the English <'''g'''> in ''genre'', but is harder (the tongue is lower). The soft '''жж''' is much closer to the English <'''g'''> in ''genre''.

The hard ш is similar to the English <'''sh'''> in ''ship'', but is considerably harder. The soft '''щ''' is a long soft sound similar to the English <'''sh'''>, but is somewhat softer. The consonant '''щ''' is sometimes pronounced , but this pronunciation is falling into disuse.

Assimilation of consonants

In continuous speech, the pronunciation of consonants shows systematic transformations not reflected in the Russian Orthography :

Voiced Consonant s with Voiceless counterparts lose their voicing at the end of a word: ''строганов'' .

Voiceless consonants with voiced counterparts become voiced before voiced consonants: ''футбол'' "soccer/football".

Similarly, voiced consonants with voiceless counterparts become voiceless before voiceless consonants:''водка'' "vodka".

Consonants assimiliate at morphemic boundaries. For example, с + '''ч''' > {Link without Title} : ''счастье'' "happiness, fortune".

Certain clusters of consonants assimilate ''in individual cases'' even if not at morphemic boundaries. For example, sometimes з + '''ж''' > {Link without Title} : ''езжу'' "I go, ride, travel".

In clusters of consonants followed by a softening vowel, all the consonants, not merely the final one, tend to become soft. This tendency, however, manifests itself to different extents depending on the word being pronounced, the dialect, and, indeed, the individual speaker.

The historic transformation of into in the Genitive case (and also the Accusative for animate entities) of masculine singular adjectives and pronouns is not reflected in the modern Russian Orthography : ''его'' his, him; ''белого'' "(of the) white"; ''синего'' "(of the) blue".

STRESS

Heavy ''stress'', rather than pitch or Vowel Length , lexically determines Russian accentuation. The stress may fall on any syllable, and may shift within an inflexional paradigm: ''до́ма'' , of the house; ''дома́'' , houses. Note the different reductions of the unstressed о before and after the stress.

PHONOLOGY

The Moscow standard features:

A moderate amount of modulation in pitch, though pitch is not a lexical differentiator.

Slight drawling of stressed vowels and levelling of the unstressed vowels to an (" Akanye " ''аканье''), a schwa , or an intermediate frontal vowel (" Ikanye " ''иканье'') as described in the section on unstressed vowels above. Iotation and palatalization (soft consonants) are preserved in the unstressed syllables, regardless of the level of vowel reduction. The vowels in syllables immediately ''before'' the stressed syllable are reduced less than the others.

an affection for sibilant consonants in some positions. In particular, the pronunciation of [ч] approaches that of ['''ш'''] in a number of fundamental words. For example, ''что'' ("what") is pronounced ''што'' . The pronunciation is a hallmark of old St. Petersburg, but, though not yet dead, is in decline. This transformation is fairly common before a following sound: ''конечно'' "of course", although in the related, and original, sense "finally", the may be kept more often.

a tendency to soften consonants before е" class="copylinks" target="_blank">{Link without Title} in borrowed words.

In contrast, the pronunciation in St. Petersburg has traditionally been more staccato, monotonic, and more faithful to the written appearance of native words and to the original pronunciation of borrowed ones.

The regions show a very large number of variations. As in many other languages, mass communications have considerably levelled the regional differences.

HISTORICAL SOUND CHANGES

The modern Phonological system of Russian is inherited from Common Slavonic , but underwent considerable modification in the early historical period, before being largely settled by about 1400.

Like all Slavic Languages , Russian was originally a language of ''open syllables''. All syllables ended in vowels (as in Fijian and Hawaiian ), and consonant clusters, in far lesser variety than today, existed only at the start of a syllable.

By the time of the earliest records, Old Russian already showed characteristic divergences from Common Slavonic . Major features of this stage include:

The loss of the nasal vowels (the with interpolated {Link without Title} after Common Slavonic nasal vowels have been taken to indicate that the nasal vowels did exist in E.Slavic until some time possibly just before the historical period.

Simplification of ancient to [-l- : ComSl , Polish mydło, R ''мыло'' "soap".

A tendency for greater maintenance of intermediate ancient [-k- , etc., before frontal vowels, than in other Slavic languages, the so-called ''incomplete second and third palatalizations'': R ''ноги'' Uk нозі "legs".

''Pleophony'' or "full-voicing"(''полногласие'' ), that is, the addition of vowels on either side of and between two consonants. Church Slavonic influence has made it less felt in Russian than in modern Ukrainian and Belarusian: R ''воробей'' , OCS врабіи "sparrow"; R ''Владимир'' , Uk Володимір "Vladimir"/"Volodymir"; although the nickname form in Russian is still Володя .

Major phonological processes in the last thousand years have included:

The absence of the Slavonic open-syllable requirement, achieved in part through the loss of the ultra-short vowels, the so-called ''fall of the Yer s'', which alternately lengthened and dropped: OR > R ''обо мне'' "about me"; OR ''сънъ'' > R ''сон'' "sleep" (nom. sg.), cognate with Lat. somnus; OR ''съна'' > R ''сна'' "of sleep" (gen. sg.). (Please note that the yers are given conventional transcription rather than precise IPA symbols in the Old Russian pronunciations.)

The loss of the yers has led to a much greater variety of consonant clusters, with attendant voicing and/or devoicing in the assimilation: OR > R ''где'' "where". Nonetheless, multiple consonant clusters thus created were often in their turn simplified: ''здравствуйте'' "hello", ''not'' ; ''сердце'' "heart", ''not'' ; ''солнце'' "sun", ''not'' . The tendency to consider all clustered consonants to be at the ''beginning'' of a syllable wherever possible has, however, remained.

The development of OR (conventional transcription) into , as seen above. This development has caused by far the greatest of all Russian Spelling Controversies . The timeline of the development of into or has also been Debated .

The development of into under stress: OR ''о чемъ'' "about which" (loc. sg.) > R ''о чём'' .

A greater variety of (non-allophonic) soft consonants, and the systematic softening of consonants before and .

Conversely, the hardening of ж , '''ш''' , and '''ц''' , all of which were in the early historical period soft (, , , repectively). In particular '''ш''' was close to modern '''щ''', which was a compound '''шч''' to a much greater extent than is heard today.

The adoption of as a non-foreign sound, stemming from the loss of the final yer and the devoicing of now-terminal . Before a vowel, where the occurs only in borrowed words, it was considered difficult for uneducated speakers to pronounce until at least the end of the nineteenth century.

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Russian Phonology