Phonetic transcription is very simple. Transcription and reading rules

Starting to study in English, the first thing you meet is English alphabet (alphabet |ˈalfəbɛt |). Writing English letters is not something completely new, even on the very initial stage learning, because any modern man daily encounters English letters on the keyboard of a computer and phone. Yes and English words are found at every step: in advertising, on the labels of various products, in shop windows.

But while the letters seem familiar, pronouncing them correctly in English is sometimes difficult, even for those who speak English tolerably well. Everyone is familiar with the situation when you need to spell an English word - for example, to dictate an address Email or site name. This is where the wonderful names begin - i - “like a stick with a dot”, s - “like a dollar”, q - “where is the Russian th”.

English alphabet with Russian pronunciation, transcription and voice acting

The English alphabet with Russian pronunciation is only for the very beginners. In the future, when you get acquainted with the rules of reading English and learn new words, you will need to study transcription. It is used in all dictionaries, and if you know it, it will once and for all remove the problem of the correct pronunciation of new words for you. We advise at this stage to compare the transcription icons in square brackets with the Russian equivalent. Perhaps, in these short examples, you will remember some of the ratios of English and Russian sounds.

Below is a table showing the English alphabet with transcription and Russian pronunciation.

← Move the table to the left to view it in full

English alphabet cards

Very effective cards of the English alphabet in its study. Bright and large letters will be easier to remember. See for yourself:

Features of some letters of the English alphabet.

In the English alphabet 26 letters: 20 consonants and 6 vowels.

The vowels are A, E, I, O, U, Y.

There are a few letters in English that we want to pay special attention to because they have certain features that need to be taken into account when learning the alphabet.

• The letter Y in English can be read as a vowel and as a consonant. For example, in the word “yes” it is a consonant sound [j] (th), and in the word “many” it is a vowel sound [i] (and).
• Consonants in words, as a rule, convey only one sound. The letter X is an exception. It is transmitted immediately by two sounds - [ ks ] (ks).
• The letter Z in the alphabet is read differently in the British and American versions (as you probably already noticed in the table). The British version is (zed), the American version is (zi).
• The pronunciation of the letter R is also different. British version - (a), American version - (ar).

To make sure that you pronounce the English letters correctly, we recommend that you not only look at them and read (using transcription or the Russian version), but also listen. To do this, we advise you to find and listen to ABC-song. This song is usually used when teaching children the alphabet, but it can also be useful for adults. ABC-song is very popular in teaching, it exists in various variations. If you sing it with the announcer several times, you can not only check the correct pronunciation of the letters, but also easily remember the alphabet along with the melody.

A few words about spelling

So, we learned the alphabet of the English language. We know how English letters are pronounced individually. But turning to the rules of reading, you will immediately see that many letters in different combinations are read in a completely different way. A reasonable question arises - as the cat Matroskin would say - what is the use of memorizing the alphabet? In fact, there are practical benefits.

The point here is not the ability to tell the alphabet from beginning to end, but the ability to easily spell any English word. This skill is necessary when you need to write down from dictation English names. If you need English for work, this skill can be very useful, since English names, even if they sound the same, can be spelled in several ways. For example, Ashley or Ashlee, Mila and Milla, not to mention surnames. Therefore, for the British and Americans themselves, it is considered absolutely natural to ask to spell the name if you need to write it down (spell it) - hence the word spelling, which you can see in various tutorials.

Online exercises for learning the alphabet

Choose the letter that goes

Write the letter that starts the word.

Write the letter that ends the word.

Decipher the code and write down the secret message in letters. The number corresponds to the order of the letter in the alphabet.

Well, the final, interactive exercise "Dictation", you can follow this link.

You can apply the knowledge gained in practice with the help of. With the help of unique exercises, even on the very entry level, you will be able to master not only reading, but also writing English words, as well as learn the basic grammar rules and continue learning further.

Before proceeding to perform phonetic analysis with examples, we draw your attention to the fact that letters and sounds in words are not always the same thing.

Letters are letters, graphic symbols, with the help of which the content of the text is conveyed or the conversation is outlined. Letters are used to visually convey meaning, we will perceive them with our eyes. The letters can be read. When you read letters aloud, you form sounds - syllables - words.

A list of all letters is just an alphabet

Almost every student knows how many letters are in the Russian alphabet. That's right, there are 33 of them in total. The Russian alphabet is called Cyrillic. The letters of the alphabet are arranged in a certain sequence:

Russian alphabet:

In total, the Russian alphabet uses:

• 21 letters for consonants;
• 10 letters - vowels;
• and two: ь (soft sign) and ъ (hard sign), which indicate properties, but do not in themselves determine any sound units.

You often pronounce the sounds in phrases differently from how you write them down in writing. In addition, more letters than sounds can be used in a word. For example, "children's" - the letters "T" and "C" merge into one phoneme [ts]. Conversely, the number of sounds in the word "blacken" is greater, since the letter "Yu" in this case is pronounced as [yu].

What is phonetic parsing?

We perceive sound speech by ear. Under the phonetic analysis of the word is meant the characteristic of the sound composition. In the school curriculum, such an analysis is more often called “sound-letter” analysis. So, in phonetic parsing, you simply describe the properties of sounds, their characteristics depending on the environment, and the syllabic structure of a phrase united by a common word stress.

Phonetic transcription

For sound-letter analysis, a special transcription in square brackets is used. For example, the correct spelling is:

• black -> [h"orny"]
• apple -> [yablaka]
• anchor -> [yakar"]
• tree -> [yolka]
• sun -> [sontse]

The phonetic parsing scheme uses special characters. Thanks to this, it is possible to correctly designate and distinguish between the letter record (spelling) and the sound definition of letters (phonemes).

• the phonetically parsed word is enclosed in square brackets - ;
• a soft consonant is indicated by a transcription sign ['] - an apostrophe;
• shock [´] - with an accent;
• in complex word forms from several roots, a secondary stress sign [`] is used - grave (not practiced in the school curriculum);
• the letters of the alphabet Yu, Ya, E, Yo, b and b are NEVER used in transcription (in the curriculum);
• for double consonants, [:] is used - a sign of the longitude of pronouncing the sound.

Below are detailed rules for orthoepic, alphabetic and phonetic and word parsing with online examples, in accordance with the general school norms of the modern Russian language. For professional linguists, the transcription of phonetic characteristics is distinguished by accents and other symbols with additional acoustic features of vowels and consonants.

How to make a phonetic parsing of a word?

The following diagram will help you conduct a letter analysis:

• You write necessary word and say it out loud a few times.
• Count how many vowels and consonants are in it.
• Mark the stressed syllable. (Stress with the help of intensity (energy) singles out a certain phoneme in speech from a number of homogeneous sound units.)
• Divide the phonetic word into syllables and indicate their total number. Remember that the syllable division in differs from the hyphenation rules. The total number of syllables always matches the number of vowels.
• In transcription, disassemble the word by sounds.
• Write the letters from the phrase in a column.
• Opposite each letter, in square brackets, indicate its sound definition (how it is heard). Remember that sounds in words are not always identical to letters. The letters "ь" and "ъ" do not represent any sounds. The letters "e", "e", "yu", "I", "and" can mean 2 sounds at once.
• Analyze each phoneme separately and mark its properties with a comma:
  • for a vowel, we indicate in the characteristic: the sound is a vowel; shock or unstressed;
  • in the characteristics of consonants we indicate: the sound is consonant; hard or soft, voiced or deaf, sonorous, paired / unpaired in hardness-softness and sonority-deafness.
• At the end of the phonetic analysis of the word, draw a line and count the total number of letters and sounds.

This scheme is practiced in the school curriculum.

An example of phonetic parsing of a word

Here is an example of phonetic analysis by composition for the word "phenomenon" → [yivl'e′n'iye]. In this example, there are 4 vowels and 3 consonants. There are only 4 syllables: I-vle′-ni-e. The emphasis falls on the second.

Sound characteristic of letters:

i [th] - acc., unpaired soft, unpaired voiced, sonorous [and] - vowel, unstressed in [c] - acc., paired solid, paired sound [l '] - acc., paired soft, unpaired . sound, sonorous [e ′] - vowel, percussion [n '] - consonant, paired soft, unpaired. sound, sonorous and [and] - vowel, unstressed [th] - acc., unpaired. soft, unpaired sound, sonorant [e] - vowel, unstressed ____________________ In total, the phenomenon in the word is 7 letters, 9 sounds. The first letter "I" and the last "E" represent two sounds.

Now you know how to do sound-letter analysis yourself. The following is a classification of sound units of the Russian language, their relationship and transcription rules for sound-letter parsing.

Phonetics and sounds in Russian

What are the sounds?

All sound units are divided into vowels and consonants. Vowel sounds, in turn, are stressed and unstressed. A consonant sound in Russian words can be: hard - soft, voiced - deaf, hissing, sonorous.

How many sounds are there in Russian live speech?

The correct answer is 42.

Doing phonetic analysis online, you will find that 36 consonants and 6 vowels are involved in word formation. Many have a reasonable question, why is there such a strange inconsistency? Why is it different total number sounds and letters in both vowels and consonants?

All this is easily explained. A number of letters, when participating in word formation, can denote 2 sounds at once. For example, pairs of softness-hardness:

• [b] - peppy and [b '] - squirrel;
• or [d] - [d ’]: home - do.

And some do not have a pair, for example [h '] will always be soft. If in doubt, try to say it firmly and make sure that this is impossible: stream, pack, spoon, black, Chegevara, boy, rabbit, bird cherry, bees. Thanks to this practical solution, our alphabet has not reached a dimensionless scale, and the sound units are optimally complemented, merging with each other.

Vowel sounds in the words of the Russian language

Vowel sounds unlike melodic consonants, they flow freely, as if in a singsong voice, from the larynx, without barriers and tension of the ligaments. The louder you try to pronounce the vowel, the wider you will have to open your mouth. And vice versa, the louder you strive to pronounce the consonant, the more vigorously you will close the oral cavity. This is the most striking articulatory difference between these classes of phonemes.

The stress in any word forms can only fall on a vowel sound, but there are also unstressed vowels.

How many vowels are in Russian phonetics?

Russian speech uses fewer vowel phonemes than letters. There are only six percussive sounds: [a], [i], [o], [e], [y], [s]. And, recall, there are ten letters: a, e, e, and, o, y, s, e, i, u. The vowels E, Yo, Yu, I are not "pure" sounds in transcription are not used. Often, when parsing words alphabetically, the letters listed are stressed.

Phonetics: characteristics of stressed vowels

The main phonemic feature of Russian speech is the clear pronunciation of vowel phonemes in stressed syllables. Stressed syllables in Russian phonetics are distinguished by the strength of exhalation, increased duration of sound, and are pronounced undistorted. Since they are pronounced distinctly and expressively, the sound analysis of syllables with stressed vowel phonemes is much easier to perform. The position in which the sound does not undergo changes and retains the main form is called strong position. Only a stressed sound and a syllable can occupy such a position. Unstressed phonemes and syllables remain in weak position.

• The vowel in a stressed syllable is always in strong position, that is, it is pronounced more distinctly, with the greatest force and duration.
• A vowel in an unstressed position is in a weak position, that is, it is pronounced with less force and not so clearly.

In Russian, only one phoneme “U” retains unchanging phonetic properties: kuruza, plank, u chus, u catch - in all positions it is pronounced distinctly like [u]. This means that the vowel "U" is not subject to qualitative reduction. Attention: in writing, the phoneme [y] can also be indicated by another letter “Yu”: muesli [m’u ´sl’i], key [kl’u ´h’], etc.

Analysis of the sounds of stressed vowels

The vowel phoneme [o] occurs only in a strong position (under stress). In such cases, "O" is not subject to reduction: cat [ko´ t'ik], bell [kalako´ l'ch'yk], milk [malako´], eight [vo´ s'im'], search [paisko´ vaya], dialect [go´ var], autumn [o´ s'in'].

An exception to the rule of a strong position for “O”, when unstressed [o] is also pronounced clearly, are only some foreign words: cocoa [cocoa "o], patio [pa" tio], radio [ra" dio], boa [bo a "] and a number of service units, for example, union no. The sound [o] in writing can be reflected by another letter “e” - [o]: turn [t’o´ rn], fire [kas’t’o´ r]. Parsing the sounds of the remaining four vowels in the stressed position will also not be difficult.

Unstressed vowels and sounds in Russian words

It is possible to make the correct sound analysis and accurately determine the characteristics of the vowel only after placing the stress in the word. Do not forget also about the existence of homonymy in our language: for "mok - zamok" and about the change in phonetic qualities depending on the context (case, number):

• I'm at home [ya to "ma].
• New houses [but "vye da ma"].

IN unstressed position the vowel is modified, that is, it is pronounced differently than it is written:

• mountains - mountain = [go "ry] - [ga ra"];
• he - online = [o "n] - [a nla" yn]
• witness = [sv'id'e "t'i l'n'itsa].

Similar vowel changes in unstressed syllables are called reduction. Quantitative, when the duration of the sound changes. And a qualitative reduction, when the characteristic of the original sound changes.

The same unstressed vowel can change its phonetic characteristic depending on its position:

• primarily with respect to the stressed syllable;
• at the absolute beginning or end of a word;
• in open syllables (consist of only one vowel);
• under the influence of neighboring signs (b, b) and a consonant.

Yes, different 1st degree of reduction. She is subject to:

• vowels in the first prestressed syllable;
• open syllable at the very beginning;
• repeated vowels.

Note: To make a sound-letter analysis, the first pre-stressed syllable is determined not from the “head” of the phonetic word, but in relation to the stressed syllable: the first to the left of it. In principle, it can be the only pre-shock: not-here [n'iz'd'e´shn'y].

(bare syllable) + (2-3 pre-stressed syllable) + 1st pre-stressed syllable ← Stressed syllable → stressed syllable (+2/3 stressed syllable)

• forward-re -di [fp'ir'i d'i´];
• e-ste-ve-nno [yi s’t’e´s’t’v’in: a];

Any other pre-stressed syllables and all pre-stressed syllables in sound analysis refer to reduction of the 2nd degree. It is also called "weak position of the second degree."

• kiss [pa-tsy-la-va´t '];
• model [ma-dy-l’i´-ra-vat’];
• swallow [la´-hundred-ch'ka];
• kerosene [k'i-ra-s'i'-na-vy].

The reduction of vowels in a weak position also differs in steps: the second, third (after hard and soft consonants, - this is outside the curriculum): study [uch'i´ts: a], numb [atsyp'in'e´t '], hope [nad'e´zhda]. In a letter analysis, the reduction of a vowel in a weak position in a final open syllable (= at the absolute end of a word) will appear very slightly:

• cup;
• goddess;
• with songs;
• turn.

Sound letter analysis: iotized sounds

Phonetically, the letters E - [ye], Yo - [yo], Yu - [yu], I - [ya] often denote two sounds at once. Have you noticed that in all the indicated cases, the additional phoneme is “Y”? That is why these vowels are called iotated. The meaning of the letters E, E, Yu, I is determined by their positional position.

During phonetic analysis, the vowels e, e, u, i form 2 sounds:

◊ Yo - [yo], Yu - [yu], E - [ye], I - [ya] in cases where there are:

• At the beginning of the word "Yo" and "Yu" always:
  • - cringe [yo´ zhyts: a], Christmas tree [yo´ lach’ny], hedgehog [yo´ zhyk], capacity [yo´ mkast’];
  • - jeweler [yuv ’il’i´r], yule [yu la´], skirt [yu´ pka], Jupiter [yu p’i´t’ir], briskness [yu ´rkas’t’];
• at the beginning of the word "E" and "I" only under stress *:
  • - spruce [ye´ l '], I go [ye´ f: y], huntsman [ye´ g'ir '], eunuch [ye´ vnuh];
  • - yacht [ya´ hta], anchor [ya´ kar’], yaki [ya´ ki], apple [ya´ blaka];
  • (*to perform sound-letter analysis of unstressed vowels “E” and “I”, a different phonetic transcription is used, see below);
• in the position immediately after the vowel "Yo" and "Yu" always. But "E" and "I" in stressed and unstressed syllables, except when the indicated letters are located behind the vowel in the 1st pre-stressed syllable or in the 1st, 2nd stressed syllable in the middle of words. Phonetic analysis online and examples for specific cases:
  • - reception mnik [pr’iyo´mn’ik], sing t [payo´t], kluyo t [kl’uyo ´t];
  • -ay rveda [ayu r’v’e´da], sing t [payu ´t], melt [ta´yu t], cabin [kayu ´ta],
• after the separating solid “b” sign “Yo” and “Yu” - always, and “E” and “I” only under stress or at the absolute end of the word: - volume [ab yo´m], shooting [syo´mka], adjutant [adyu "ta´nt]
• after the dividing soft "b" sign "Yo" and "Yu" - always, and "E" and "I" under stress or at the absolute end of the word: - interview [intyrv'yu´], trees [d'ir'e´ v'ya], friends [druz'ya´], brothers [bra´t'ya], monkey [ab'iz'ya´ na], blizzard [v'yu´ ha], family [s'em'ya´ ]

As you can see, in the phonemic system of the Russian language, stresses are of decisive importance. Vowels in unstressed syllables undergo the greatest reduction. Let's continue the literal analysis of the remaining iotated sounds and see how they can still change their characteristics depending on the environment in the words.

◊ Unstressed vowels"E" and "I" denote two sounds and in phonetic transcription and are written as [YI]:

• at the very beginning of a word:
  • - unity [yi d'in'e´n'i'ye], spruce [yilo´vy], blackberry [yizhiv'i´ka], his [yivo´], egoza [yigaza´], Yenisei [yin'is 'e´y], Egypt [yig'i´p'it];
  • - January [yi nva´rsky], core [yidro´], sting [yiz'v'i´t'], label [yirly´k], Japan [yipo´n'iya], lamb [yign'o´nak ];
  • (The only exceptions are rare foreign word forms and names: Caucasoid [ye wrap’io´idnaya], Eugene [ye] vge´niy, European [ye wrap’e´yits], diocese [ye] pa´rchia, etc.).
• immediately after a vowel in the 1st pre-stressed syllable or in the 1st, 2nd stressed syllable, except for the location at the absolute end of the word.
  • in a timely manner [piles vr'e´m'ina], trains [payi zda´], let's eat [payi d'i´m], run into [nayi zh: a´t '], Belgian [b'il'g'i´ yi c], students [uch'a´shch'iyi s'a], sentences [pr'idlazhe´n'iyi m'i], vanity [suyi ta´],
  • bark [la´yi t '], pendulum [ma´yi tn'ik], hare [za´yi ts], belt [po´yi s], declare [zai v'i´t '], I will manifest [prayi in 'l'u´]
• after a separating hard "b" or soft "b" sign: - intoxicates [p'yi n'i´t], express [izyi v'i´t'], announcement [abyi vl'e´n'iye], edible [sii do´bny].

Note: The St. Petersburg phonological school is characterized by "ekanye", while the Moscow school has "hiccups". Previously, the yottered "Yo" was pronounced with a more accentuated "ye". With the change of capitals, performing sound-letter analysis, they adhere to Moscow standards in orthoepy.

Some people in fluent speech pronounce the vowel "I" in the same way in syllables with a strong and weak position. This pronunciation is considered a dialect and is not literary. Remember, the vowel “I” under stress and without stress is pronounced differently: fair [ya ´marka], but egg [yi ytso´].

Important:

The letter "I" after the soft sign "b" also represents 2 sounds - [YI] in sound-letter analysis. ( This rule relevant for syllables in both strong and weak positions). Let's conduct a sample of sound-letter online analysis: - nightingales [salav'yi´], on chicken legs [on ku´r'yi' x "no´shkakh], rabbit [cro´l'ich'yi], no family [with "im 'yi´], judges [su´d'yi], draws [n'ich'yi´], streams [ruch'yi´], foxes [li´s'yi] But: The vowel "O" after a soft sign "b" is transcribed as an apostrophe of softness ['] of the preceding consonant and [O], although when pronouncing the phoneme, iotization can be heard: broth [bul'o´n], pavillo n [pav'il'o´n], similarly: postman n , champignon n, shigno n, companion n, medallion n, battalion n, guillotina, carmagno la, mignon n and others.

Phonetic analysis of words, when the vowels "Yu" "E" "Yo" "I" form 1 sound

According to the rules of phonetics of the Russian language, at a certain position in words, the indicated letters give one sound when:

• sound units "Yo" "Yu" "E" are under stress after an unpaired consonant in hardness: w, w, c. Then they denote phonemes:
  • yo - [o],
  • e - [e],
  • yu - [y].
  Examples of online parsing by sounds: yellow [yellow], silk [sho´ lx], whole [tse´ ly], recipe [r'ice´ Fri], pearls [zhe´ mch'uk], six [she´ st '], hornet [she´ rshen'], parachute [parashu´ t];
• The letters "I" "Yu" "E" "Yo" and "I" denote the softness of the preceding consonant [']. Exception only for: [w], [w], [c]. In such cases in a striking position they form one vowel sound:
  • ё - [o]: voucher [put'o´ fka], light [l'o´ hk'y], honey agaric [ap'o´ nak], actor [act'o´ r], child [r'ib' o´ nak];
  • e - [e]: seal [t'ul'e´ n '], mirror [z'e´ rkala], smarter [smart'e´ ye], conveyor [kanv'e´ yir];
  • i - [a]: kittens [kat'a´ ta], softly [m'a´ hka], oath [kl'a´ tva], took [vz'a´ l], mattress [t'u f'a ´ k], swan [l'ib'a´ zhy];
  • yu - [y]: beak [kl'u´ f], people [l'u´ d'am], gateway [shl'u´ s], tulle [t'u´ l'], suit [kas't 'mind].
  • Note: in words borrowed from other languages, the stressed vowel "E" does not always signal the softness of the previous consonant. This positional softening ceased to be a mandatory norm in Russian phonetics only in the 20th century. In such cases, when you do phonetic analysis by composition, such a vowel sound is transcribed as [e] without the preceding softness apostrophe: hotel [ate´ l '], strap [br'ite´ l'ka], test [te´ st] , tennis [te´ n: is], cafe [cafe´], puree [p'ure´], amber [ambre´], delta [de´ l'ta], tender [te´ nder], masterpiece [shede´ vr], tablet [tablet´ t].
• Attention! After soft consonants in prestressed syllables the vowels "E" and "I" undergo a qualitative reduction and are transformed into the sound [i] (excl. for [c], [g], [w]). Examples of phonetic parsing of words with similar phonemes: - grain [z'i rno´], earth [z'i ml'a´], cheerful [v'i s'o´ly], ringing [z'v 'and n'i´t], forest [l'and snowy], blizzard [m'i t'e´l'itsa], feather [n'i ro´], brought [pr' in'i sla´], knit [v'i za´t'], lay down [l'i ga´t'], five grater [n'i t'o´rka]

Phonetic analysis: consonant sounds of the Russian language

There is an absolute majority of consonants in Russian. When pronouncing a consonant sound, the air flow encounters obstacles. They are formed by organs of articulation: teeth, tongue, palate, vibrations of the vocal cords, lips. Due to this, noise, hissing, whistling or sonority occurs in the voice.

How many consonant sounds are there in Russian speech?

In the alphabet for their designation is used 21 letters. However, performing a sound-letter analysis, you will find that in Russian phonetics consonants more, namely - 36.

Sound-letter analysis: what are consonant sounds?

In our language, consonants are:

• hard - soft and form the corresponding pairs:
  • [b] - [b ’]: b anan - b tree,
  • [in] - [in ’]: in height - in June,
  • [g] - [g ’]: city - duke,
  • [d] - [d ']: dacha - d elfin,
  • [h] - [h ’]: z won - z ether,
  • [k] - [k ’]: to onfeta - to engur,
  • [l] - [l ’]: l odka - l lux,
  • [m] - [m ’]: magic - dreams,
  • [n] - [n ’]: new - n ectar,
  • [n] - [n ’]: n alma-p yosik,
  • [p] - [p ’]: r chamomile - r poison,
  • [s] - [s ’]: with uvenir - with a surprise,
  • [t] - [t ’]: t uchka - t tulip,
  • [f] - [f ’]: flag flag - February,
  • [x] - [x ’]: x orek - x hunter.
• Certain consonants do not have a hardness-softness pair. Unpaired include:
  • sounds [g], [c], [w] - always solid (life, cycle, mouse);
  • [h ’], [u’] and [y ’] are always soft (daughter, more often, yours).
• The sounds [w], [h ’], [w], [u’] in our language are called hissing.

A consonant can be voiced - deaf, as well as sonorous and noisy.

You can determine the sonority-deafness or sonority of a consonant by the degree of noise-voice. These characteristics will vary depending on the method of formation and participation of the organs of articulation.

• Sonorants (l, m, n, p, d) are the most sonorous phonemes, they hear a maximum of voice and a little noise: lion, paradise, zero.
• If, during the pronunciation of a word, both a voice and noise are formed during the sound analysis, then you have a voiced consonant (g, b, s, etc.): factory, b people, life from n.
• When pronouncing deaf consonants (p, s, t and others), the vocal cords do not tense up, only noise is emitted: stack a, chip a, k ost yum, circus, sew up.

Note: In phonetics, consonant sound units also have a division according to the nature of formation: a bow (b, p, d, t) - a gap (g, w, h, s) and the method of articulation: labial-labial (b, p, m) , labio-dental (f, c), anterior lingual (t, d, h, s, c, f, w, u, h, n, l, r), middle lingual (d), posterior lingual (k, d, x) . The names are given based on the organs of articulation that are involved in sound production.

Hint: If you are just starting to practice phonetic parsing, try placing your hands over your ears and pronouncing the phoneme. If you managed to hear a voice, then the sound being studied is a voiced consonant, but if noise is heard, then it is deaf.

Hint: For associative communication, remember the phrases: “Oh, we didn’t forget a friend.” - this sentence contains absolutely the entire set of voiced consonants (excluding softness-hardness pairs). “Styopka, do you want to eat cabbage soup? - Fi! - similarly, these replicas contain a set of all voiceless consonants.

Positional changes of consonant sounds in Russian

The consonant sound, like the vowel, undergoes changes. The same letter can phonetically denote a different sound, depending on the position it occupies. In the flow of speech, the sound of one consonant is likened to the articulation of a nearby consonant. This effect facilitates pronunciation and is called assimilation in phonetics.

Positional stun/voicing

In a certain position for consonants, the phonetic law of assimilation by deafness-voicedness operates. The voiced double consonant is replaced by a voiceless one:

• at the absolute end of the phonetic word: but [no´sh], snow [s’n’e´k], garden [agaro´t], club [club´p];
• before deaf consonants: forget-me-not a [n’izabu´t ka], hug [aph wat’i´t’], Tuesday [ft o´rn’ik], tube a [corpse a].
• making sound letter parsing online, you will notice that a voiceless double consonant standing before a voiced one (except for [d'], [v] - [v'], [l] - [l'], [m] - [m'] , [n] - [n '], [r] - [r ']) is also voiced, that is, it is replaced by its voiced pair: surrender [zda´ch'a], mowing [kaz'ba´], threshing [malad 'ba´], request [pro´z'ba], guess [adgada´t'].

In Russian phonetics, a deaf noisy consonant does not combine with a subsequent voiced noisy consonant, except for the sounds [v] - [v’]: whipped cream. In this case, the transcription of both the phoneme [h] and [s] is equally acceptable.

When parsing by the sounds of words: total, today, today, etc., the letter "G" is replaced by the phoneme [v].

According to the rules of sound-letter analysis, in the endings of the "-th", "-his" names of adjectives, participles and pronouns, the consonant "G" is transcribed as a sound [v]: red [kra´snava], blue [s'i´n'iva] , white [b'e'lava], sharp, full, former, that, this, whom. If, after assimilation, two consonants of the same type are formed, they merge. In the school program on phonetics, this process is called contraction of consonants: separate [ad: 'il'i´t'] → the letters "T" and "D" are reduced to sounds [d'd'], silent smart [b'ish: u ´many]. When parsing by composition, a number of words in sound-letter analysis show dissimilation - the process is the opposite of assimilation. In this case, it changes common feature for two adjacent consonants: the combination "GK" sounds like [hk] (instead of the standard [kk]): light [l'o'h'k'y], soft [m'a'h'k'y].

Soft consonants in Russian

In the phonetic parsing scheme, the apostrophe ['] is used to indicate the softness of consonants.

• Softening of paired hard consonants occurs before "b";
• the softness of the consonant sound in the syllable in the letter will help determine the vowel that follows it (e, e, i, u, i);
• [u’], [h’] and [th] are only soft by default;
• the sound [n] always softens before the soft consonants “Z”, “S”, “D”, “T”: claim [pr'iten'z 'iya], review [r'icen'z 'iya], pension [pen 's' iya], ve [n'z '] spruce, face [n'z '] iya, ka [n'd '] idat, ba [n'd '] um, and [n'd '] ivid , blo[n'd'] in, stipe[n'd'] ia, ba[n't'] ik, wi[n't'] ik, zo[n't'] ik, ve[n' t '] il, a [n't '] personal, co[n't '] text, remo[n't '] to edit;
• the letters "N", "K", "R" during phonetic analysis of the composition can soften before soft sounds [h '], [u ']: glass ik [staka′n'ch'ik], changer ik [sm'e ′n'shch'ik], donut ik [po′n'ch'ik], mason ik [kam'e′n'sh'ik], boulevard ina [bul'var'r'shch'ina], borscht [ Borsch'];
• often the sounds [h], [s], [r], [n] in front of a soft consonant undergo assimilation in terms of hardness-softness: wall [s't'e'nka], life [zhyz'n'], here [ z'd'es'];
• in order to correctly perform sound-literal analysis, consider the words of exception when the consonant [r] before soft teeth and lips, as well as before [h ’], [u’] is pronounced firmly: artel, feed, cornet, samovar;

Note: the letter "b" after a consonant unpaired in hardness / softness in some word forms performs only grammatical function and does not impose a phonetic load: study, night, mouse, rye, etc. In such words, during literal analysis, a [-] dash is placed in square brackets opposite the letter “b”.

Positional changes in paired voiced-voiced consonants before sibilant consonants and their transcription in sound-letter parsing

To determine the number of sounds in a word, it is necessary to take into account their positional changes. Paired voiced-voiced: [d-t] or [s-s] before hissing (w, w, u, h) are phonetically replaced by a hissing consonant.

• Letter analysis and examples of words with hissing sounds: visitor [pr'iye´zhzh y], ascension [your e´stv'iye], izzhelta [i´zhzh elta], take pity [zhzh a´l'its: but].

The phenomenon when two different letters are pronounced as one is called complete assimilation in all respects. Performing sound-letter parsing of a word, you should designate one of the repeated sounds in transcription with the longitude symbol [:].

• Letter combinations with hissing "szh" - "zzh", are pronounced as a double solid consonant [zh:], and "ssh" - "zsh" - like [w:]: squeezed, sewn, without a tire, climbed.
• The combinations "zh", "zhzh" inside the root during sound-letter analysis is recorded in transcription as a long consonant [zh:]: I drive, squeal, later, reins, yeast, burnt.
• The combinations "sch", "sch" at the junction of the root and the suffix / prefix are ​​pronounced as a long soft [u':]: account [u': o´t], scribe, customer.
• At the junction of the preposition with the next word in place "sch", "zch" is transcribed as [sch'h']: without a number [b'esch' h' isla´], with something [sch'ch' em mta] .
• With a sound-letter analysis, the combinations "tch", "dch" at the junction of morphemes are defined as double soft [h ':]: pilot [l'o´ch': ik], young man ik [little´h ': ik], report ot [ah': o´t].

Cheat sheet for likening consonants at the place of formation

• mid → [u':]: happiness [u': a´s't'ye], sandstone [n'isch': a´n'ik], peddler [razno´sh': ik], cobbled, calculations, exhaust, clear;
• zch → [u’:]: carver [r’e´shch’: hic], loader [gru´shch’: hic], storyteller [raska´shch’: hic];
• ZhCh → [u’:]: defector [p’ir’ibe´ u’: ik], man [mush’: i´na];
• shh → [u’:]: freckled [v’isnu′shch’: common];
• stch → [u’:]: tougher [zho´shch’: e], whip, rigger;
• zdch → [u’:]: traverser [abye´shch’: ik], furrowed [baro´shch’: whit];
• ss → [u’:]: split [rasch’: ip’i′t ’], generous [rasch’: e′dr’ils’a];
• van → [h'sh']: split off [ach'sh' ip'i′t'], snap off [ach'sh' o'lk'ivat'], in vain [h'sh' etna], carefully [h' sh'at'el'na];
• tch → [h ':] : report [ah ': o't], homeland [ah ': izna], ciliated [r'is'n'i'ch ': i'ty];
• dh → [h’:] : underline [patch’: o’rk’ivat’], stepdaughter [pach’: ir’itsa];
• szh → [zh:]: compress [zh: a´t '];
• zzh → [zh:]: get rid of [izh: y´t '], ignition [ro´zh: yk], leave [uyizh: a´t '];
• ssh → [sh:]: bringing [pr’in’o′sh: th], embroidered [rash: y´ty];
• zsh → [w:] : inferior [n'ish: y'y]
• th → [pcs], in word forms with “what” and its derivatives, making a sound-literal analysis, we write [pcs]: so that [pcs about′by], ​​not for anything [n'e′ zasht a], anything [ sht o n'ibut'], something;
• thu → [h't] in other cases of literal parsing: dreamer [m'ich't a´t'il'], mail [po´ch't a], preference [pr'itpach't 'e´n' ie] and so on;
• ch → [shn] in exception words: of course [kan'e´shn a′], boring [sku´shn a′], bakery, laundry, scrambled eggs, trifling, birdhouse, bachelorette party, mustard plaster, rag, and also in female patronymics ending in "-ichna": Ilyinichna, Nikitichna, Kuzminichna, etc.;
• ch → [ch'n] - literal analysis for all other options: fabulous [fairytale'n], country [yes'ch'n], strawberry [z'im'l'in'i´ch'n th], wake up, cloudy, sunny, etc.;
• !zhd → in place of the letter combination “zhd”, a double pronunciation and transcription [u ’] or [pcs ’] in the word rain and in the word forms formed from it: rainy, rainy.

Unpronounceable consonants in the words of the Russian language

During the pronunciation of a whole phonetic word with a chain of many different consonant letters, one or another sound may be lost. As a result, in the orthograms of words there are letters devoid of sound meaning, the so-called unpronounceable consonants. To correctly perform phonetic analysis online, the unpronounceable consonant is not displayed in the transcription. The number of sounds in such phonetic words will be less than letters.

In Russian phonetics, unpronounceable consonants include:

• "T" - in combinations:
  • stn → [sn]: local [m’e´sny], reed [tras’n ’i´k]. By analogy, you can perform a phonetic analysis of the words ladder, honest, famous, joyful, sad, participant, messenger, rainy, furious and others;
  • stl → [sl]: happy [w’: asl ’and’vy "], happy ivchik, conscientious, boastful (exception words: bony and spread, the letter “T” is pronounced in them);
  • ntsk → [nsk]: gigantic [g’iga´nsk ’y], agency, presidential;
  • sts → [s:]: sixs from [shes: o´t], eat up I [vzye´s: a], swear I [kl’a´s: a];
  • sts → [s:] : tourist cue [tur'i´s: k'iy], maximalist cue [max'imal'i´s: k'iy], racist cue [ras'i´s: k'iy] , bestseller, propaganda, expressionist, hindu, careerist;
  • ntg → [ng]: roentgen en [r'eng 'e´n];
  • “-tsya”, “-tsya” → [c:] in verb endings: smile [smile´ts: a], wash [we´ts: a], look, fit, bow, shave, fit;
  • ts → [ts] for adjectives in combinations at the junction of the root and the suffix: children's [d'e'ts k'y], fraternal [brother's];
  • ts → [ts:] / [tss]: athlete men [sparts: m’e´n], send [acs yla´t ’];
  • ts → [ts:] at the junction of morphemes during phonetic analysis online is written as a long “ts”: bratts a [bra´ts: a], ottsepit [atz: yp'i´t'], to father u [katz: y'];
• "D" - when parsing by sounds in the following letter combinations:
  • zdn → [zn]: late [po´z'n' y], starry [z'v'o´zn y], holiday [pra′z'n 'ik], gratuitous [b'izvazm' e′zn y];
  • ndsh → [nsh]: mundsh tuk [munsh tu´k], landsh aft [lansh a´ft];
  • ndsk → [nsk]: Dutch [gala´nsk ’y], Thai [taila´nsk ’y], Norman y [narm´nsk ’y];
  • zdts → [sts]: under the bridles [pad sts s´];
  • nds → [nc]: Dutch s [gala´nts s];
  • rdts → [rc]: heart [s’e´rts e], evina’s heart [s’irts yv’i´na];
  • rdch → [rch "]: heart-ishko [s’erch ’i´shka];
  • dts → [ts:] at the junction of morphemes, less often in roots, are pronounced and when parsing the word it is written as a double [ts]: pick up [pats: yp'i´t '], twenty [two´ts: yt '] ;
  • ds → [ts]: factory [zavats ko´y], kinship [rational tvo´], means [sr’e´ts tva], Kislovods to [k’islavo´ts k];
• "L" - in combinations:
  • sun → [nc]: sun e [so´nts e], sun state;
• "B" - in combinations:
  • vstv → [stv] literal analysis of words: hello [hello uyt'e], feelings about [h'u´stva], sensuality [h'u´stv 'inas't'], pampering about [pampering o´], virgin [d'e´st 'in: y].

Note: In some words of the Russian language, with the accumulation of consonant sounds “stk”, “ntk”, “zdk”, “ndk”, the phoneme [t] is not allowed: trip [paye´stka], daughter-in-law, typist, agenda, laboratory assistant, student , patient, bulky, Irish, Scottish.

• Two identical letters immediately after the stressed vowel are transcribed as a single sound and a longitude character [:] in literal parsing: class, bath, mass, group, program.
• Doubled consonants in pre-stressed syllables are indicated in transcription and pronounced as one sound: tunnel [tane´l '], terrace, apparatus.

If you find it difficult to perform a phonetic analysis of a word online according to the indicated rules or you have an ambiguous analysis of the word under study, use the help of a reference dictionary. The literary norms of orthoepy are regulated by the publication: “Russian literary pronunciation and stress. Dictionary - reference book. M. 1959

References:

• Litnevskaya E.I. Russian language: a short theoretical course for schoolchildren. – Moscow State University, Moscow: 2000
• Panov M.V. Russian phonetics. – Enlightenment, M.: 1967
• Beshenkova E.V., Ivanova O.E. Rules of Russian spelling with comments.
• Tutorial. - "Institute for advanced training of educators", Tambov: 2012
• Rosenthal D.E., Dzhandzhakova E.V., Kabanova N.P. A guide to spelling, pronunciation, literary editing. Russian literary pronunciation. - M .: CheRo, 1999

Now you know how to parse a word into sounds, make a sound-letter analysis of each syllable and determine their number. The described rules explain the laws of phonetics in the format school curriculum. They will help you phonetically characterize any letter.

Learn more about what dash, colon, parentheses, and other symbols mean.

You can see another version of the English transcription and, if necessary, print or copy for editing in Microsoft Word
English transcription

Pronunciation of English sounds.

Pronunciation of English vowels.

Pronunciation English sounds presented in Russian letters, you should understand what to convey the correct English pronunciation using the Russian alphabet is not possible.

• ɑː long, deep a
• ʌ short vowel a, as in the Russian word to run.
• ɒ = ɔ - short, open about
• ɔː - long o
• зː - long vowel ё, as in the Russian word hedgehog.
• æ - open e
• e - like e in the word these
• ə - obscure unstressed sound, similar to e
• iː - long and
• ɪ - short, open and
• ʊ \u003d u - short u, pronounced with a slight rounding of the lips.
• uː - long y pronounced without much rounding of the lips.

Two-vowel sounds

Pronunciation of English consonants.

• p - p
• b - b
• m - m
• f - f
• v - in
• s - with
• z - z
• t - resembles a Russian sound tpronounced with the tongue positioned at the gums.
• d - resembles a Russian sound dpronounced with the tongue positioned at the gums.
• n - resembles a Russian sound npronounced with the tongue positioned at the gums.
• l - resembles a Russian sound l, pronounced with the tongue positioned at the gums.
• r is a very hard sound pronounced without vibration of the tongue. Corresponds to the sound p in the word lot
• ʃ - soft Russian sh
• ʒ - soft Russian zh, as in the word yeast.
• tʃ- h
• ʤ - similar to the Russian sound j (voiced h)
• k - to
• h - breath, reminiscent of a weakly pronounced sound x
• ju - long yu in the word southern
• je - the sound e in the word spruce
• jɔ - sound ё in the word Christmas tree
• jʌ - sound i in the word pit
• j - resembles the Russian sound й before vowels. Occurs in combination with vowels.

English consonants that do not have approximate equivalents in Russianː

• w - formed with rounded lips (as in a whistle). It looks like a sound delivered with only lips. In translation, it is denoted by letters in or y ː W illiams - Williams, Williams.
• ƞ - Open your mouth and say n without closing your mouth.
• ɵ - Move the slightly flattened tip of the tongue between the teeth and pronounce Russian with
• ð - Push the slightly flattened tip of the tongue between the teeth and say Russian

When you study a foreign language, you are not only studying a set of vocabulary and grammar, but in any case, you are faced with the culture and mentality of the people who speak this language. The best way to learn about language and culture is reading in original. And to read on foreign language, you should learn to read in that language first .

You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.

You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. You can just get people to stop reading them.

But, if at school or university you studied German or French, or your school base turned out to be smaller than you would like, and now you decide to learn English, then let's start with the most primary and basic and learn a few techniques where to start in order to master reading rules.

English alphabet

I think you know that English is different from Russian and German, in which we mostly read and write. In English, the system is a little more complicated. The very first thing we need to do is to learn the alphabet.

IN English alphabet There are 26 letters, among which 21 are consonants and 5 are vowels. Knowing the letters and the ability to pronounce them correctly is the key to successful and competent reading in English.

English alphabet with transcription of the names of the letters.

A very easy way to remember letters visually and aurally is with the help of a song. Watch the video and sing the song until you remember the letters of the alphabet.

You can use the same method to teach the alphabet to your children, and sing a song along with your little ones.

Reading rules in English

After studying the alphabet, we will begin to study the combination of letters, reading short words. In English, there are a number of rules that you need to learn, practice and remember if you want to read English words correctly.

Rules for reading English consonants

Many consonants read similarly to Russian consonants, such as letters m, n, l, b, f, z. You can see it in words like mom, lemon, finger, boy, zebra .

Letters like t And d sound similar but are pronounced with aspirated. For example words table, teacher, dad, dirty.

Letter c has two readings. Before letters i,e,y it reads like [s]- city, face, cyber. And before the rest of the vowels it reads like [k]- cat, cake, factory.

Rule with vowels i,e,y works with letter g. Before them, it reads as - gym, George, giant. Before other consonants, the letter is read as [g].

Letter q always found in a combination of letters qu and reads like - quick, queen, square.

Letter j always read as - jacket, jam, joy.

Table of the ratio of consonants and sounds in English.

How vowels are read in English

In English, a word can end in an open or closed syllable, which affects pronunciation. For example words cat, pot, sit end in a closed syllable and have vowels a, o, i give sounds .

Words such as name, home, five end in an open syllable, since the word ends with a letter e, which is unreadable. But, thanks to her, the vowels in the middle of the word are read exactly the same as they are pronounced in the alphabet, that is, the word name is read.

Types of reading English vowels in stressed syllables.

Reading vowel combinations in English

There are certain combinations of letters that have established reading rules, although English language - language exceptions, and when reading more complex words, you should consult a dictionary. The table below shows combinations of english vowels with examples how they are read and what sound they make.

Table of combinations of vowels in English.

And of course, there are exceptions to all rules. However, do not worry and think that you will never be able to learn it. Everything can be understood, you just need to try a little and practice.

English diphthongs with transcription

When you learn the basic rules of reading, you will see that in English there are diphthong sounds that are quite difficult to reproduce, especially if you start learning the language not from childhood, but as an adult.

Table of English diphthongs with transcription.

Transcription of sounds in English

Practice shows that when children learn a language, they must necessarily study transcription, while adults do not want to learn it, and for them it can be difficult.

If you still want to learn how to write and read transcription, then great! And if not, then you can use online dictionaries where the word will be pronounced for you. One of best dictionaries today are Multitran and online dictionary Lingvo.

Important!

Remember that it is necessary to use dictionaries, not translators!

Here is an example of reading short words with transcription:

English vowel table and transcription.

The fact that we live in the age of the Internet has some advantages. Sitting at home, you can learn different knowledge online. For your attention video lesson which explains basic principles reading. However, even after gaining knowledge through an online lesson, they need to be consolidated in order to form a skill.

Learn English tongue twisters

Here tongue twisters can help you, which are often aimed at practicing one sound. Here are some examples you can use.

Don't worry it's tongue twisters! At this stage, when you are just learning to read and practicing sounds, it is important to pronounce them correctly, albeit slowly. You can always speed up.

Learn to hear English speech

After learning the basic, basic rules of reading, you can use the method of repeating after the announcer. Your auditory memory will also work and you will hear how words are pronounced correctly and what intonation is in sentences.

To do this, you can use small dialogues and audiobooks for beginners. At this level, it will be ideal if the text is in front of your eyes, you listen, read and repeat at the same time!

You can use such a great resource as Oxford Bookworm Library, which features audiobooks for all levels. You can download the library for free

For those who continue to learn English, we recommend learning the language from films, which you can read about in the article

Work on your pronunciation

Reading is only the first step in learning a language. As well as learning grammar and vocabulary, learning how to pronounce and hear correctly is very important if you want to understand what is being said to you and say it so that you are understood. Especially if you're talking to a native speaker.

As we said a little above, one of the best ways is to listen carefully to native speakers and try to copy their pronunciation and intonation .

Particular attention should be paid to sounds that are not in your mother tongue. Often, English learners have a problem with the 'r' sound, as in Russian it is hard, while in English it is more guttural and growling.

There are also difficulties with the pronunciation of two sounds, which gives combination of letters 'th'. Students stubbornly pronounce it as 'c' and 'h'. Although it is worth paying attention that in such words as this, that, there this sound is said as between 'z' and 'd'. And in words like three, think, thief, it is pronounced as a sound between ‘f’ and ‘s’.

This may seem strange to you, since there are no such sounds in Russian, but if you listen to native speakers, you will understand that this is what they say.

Don't worry if you can't get these words right the first time, it takes a little practice. But, try to learn correctly from the very beginning, because it will be more difficult when you are forced to relearn.

Learn to pronounce phrases in English correctly

In English, words in sentences are not pronounced separately, they often merge, as if into one whole, especially if it is a combination of vowel and consonant letters. Look and practice on these transcription examples.

The same applies to phrases where one word ends with the letter 'r', and the next word begins with a vowel. In such cases, the 'r' sound is pronounced. Here are some examples.