Грамматика русского языка. Часть 2. Изменение звуков. Глава 3. Действие "мягких" гласных. Russian Grammar. Part 2. Sound Variations. Unit 3. Action Of The Soft Vowels.

Now that you know how consonants are softented by the soft sign [ь], let's see how the soft vowels и, я, ё, е and ю do the same.

The vowel и after a consonant

Compare:

мал [mahl] small (m.) and мил [meel] nice (m.)
пол [pawl] floor and пил [peel] (he) drank
пар [pahr] steam and пир [peer] feast
кот [kawt] cat and кит [keet] whale
лапа [lah-puh] and липа [lee-puh]

The vowels  я, ё, е and ю after a consonant

These vowels also soften a consonant before them, but in doing so, they lose their initial й [y] sound.
The sound й which otherwise begins the letters я, ё, е, ю is absorbed by the softening consonant. In effect, when you see a consonant followed by я, ё, е, ю:
1. Pronounce the consonant soft (except in the case of ж, ш, and ц) - lifting your tongue nearer to the roof of your mouth and smiling at the same time.
2. With the mouth in this position and the pitch of the voice raised, pronounce what remains of the soft vowel - i. e., ah, aw, eh, or oo.

Compare:

яма [yah-muh] pit and мял [m'ahl] (he) crumpled not мйял [myahl]
ел [yehl] (he) ate and пел [p'ehl] (he) sang not пьел [pyehl]

Practice:

мал [mahl] small (m.) and мял [m'ahl] (he) crumpled
вал [vahl] rampart and вял [v'ahl] (he) faded

The letter ё after a consonant

Compare:

мол [mawl] pier and мёл [m'awl] (he) swept
лот [lawt] half an ounce and слёт [sl'awt] gathering
нос [naws] nose and нёс [n'aws] (he) carried

The letter е after a consonant

Compare:

мол [mawl] pier and мел [m'ehl] chalk
пол [pawl] floor and пел [p'ehl] (he) sang
сват [svaht] matchmaker and свет [sv'eht] light

The letter ю after a consonant

стук [stook] knock and тюк [t'ook] bale
лук [look] onion and люк  [l'ook] hatchway
рамки [rahm-kee] frames and рюмки [r'oom-k'ee] wine glasses