Video Lessons (Russian/English/Spanish). Vídeo Lecciones (Ruso/Inglés/Español).

The Russian Alphabet. El Alfabeto Ruso. Русский алфавит.

Грамматика русского языка. Часть 4. Безударные гласные. Глава 1. Безударные А и О. Russian Grammar. Part 4. The Unstressed Vowels. Unit 1. The Unstressed А and О.

Russian words have only one stressed syllable and the vowel in that stressed syllable always remains true to its sound in the alphabet. You therefore know how to pronounce every stressed vowel in the Russian language.

Attention please

1. As in English, the stress in Russian has no fixed place in a word. In a word of two or more syllables, it may fall on any syllable.
2. In Russian, the stressed syllable - and particularly the vowel in that syllable - is pronounced more emphatically than in English.
3. In the pronunciation of a stressed syllable in Russian, the pitch of the voice is raised.

Грамматика русского языка. Часть 3. Различие согласных звуков по глухости / звонкости. Глава 1. Звонкие и глухие согласные (Продолжение (2)). Russian Grammar. Part 3. Voicing and Devoicing of Consonants. Unit 1. Voiced and Voiceless Consonants (Continued (2)).

Voicing before a Voiced Consonant

The opposite holds true. If a voiced consonant (other than л, м, и, or р) follows a voiceless consonant, the voiceless consonant becomes voiced.

For example:
сделать [zd'eh-luht'] to have done

Compare:

просить [pruh-s'eet'] to ask and просьба [prawz'-buh] request
сажать [ suh-zhaht'] to seat and сжать [zzhaht'] to squeeze
собрать [suhb-raht'] to gather and сбор [zbawr] collection

Грамматика русского языка. Часть 3. Различие согласных звуков по глухости / звонкости. Глава 1. Звонкие и глухие согласные (Продолжение). Russian Grammar. Part 3. Voicing and Devoicing of Consonants. Unit 1. Voiced and Voiceless Consonants (Continued).

Devoicing at the End of a Word

Let´s take up the sounds that change when they are at the end of a word. The voiced consonants б, в, г, д, ж, and з - when they come at the end of a word - lose their sharpness; that is, they become voiceless.

The б sounds almost like п;
The в sounds almost like ф;
The г sounds almost like к or х;
The д sounds almost like т;
The ж sounds almost like ш;
The з sounds almost like с;

Грамматика русского языка. Часть 3. Различие согласных звуков по глухости / звонкости. Глава 1. Звонкие и глухие согласные. Russian Grammar. Part 3. Voicing and Devoicing of Consonants. Unit 1. Voiced and Voiceless Consonants.

You've learnt how the soft vowels and the soft and hard signs affect the sounds around them. Now you'll see how the position of the consonant in the word affects its sound.

Voiced and Voiceless Consonants

Russian consonants are divided not only into hard and soft sounds, but also into voiced and voiceless consonants. Voiced consonants are produced with the aid of the vocal chords, which give to the consonants a buzzing sound; in the production of voiceless consonants, however, the vocal chords remain inactive.

Грамматика русского языка. Часть 2. Изменение звуков. Глава 4. Действие разделительных знаков. Russian Grammar. Part 2. Sound Variations. Unit 4. Action Of The Separation Signs.

In the previous examples illustrating the softening of consonants, the initial й sound of the soft vowels - я, ё, е, and ю - was lost. There is, however, a way of keeping the sound of the soft vowels. It is done by means fo two signs, one of which is already familiar to you - the soft sign [ь].

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]

Грамматика русского языка. Часть 2. Изменение звуков. Глава 2. Буква ь (мягкий знак). Russian Grammar. Part 2. Sound Variations. Unit 2. The letter ь (Soft Sign).

The soft sign is a special Russian letter that has no sound. However, it affects the sound of the consonant before it (the soft sign never begins a word). It softens it.

At the end of a word

Let's see what the soft sign does at the end of a word. Compare:

дан [dahn] given and дань [dahn'] tribute
мол [mawl] pier and моль [mawl'] moth

Грамматика русского языка. Часть 2. Изменение звуков. Глава 1. Действие мягкого знака. Russian Grammar. Part 2. Sound Variations. Unit 1. Action of The Soft Sign.

You have now learnt to pronounce all the Russian letters when they are true to their sound in the alphabet. However, as in English, the sound of a Russian letter is affected by: the sounds of the letters that surround it, by its position in the word, and by its position in the sentence. First, let's study how a consonant is affected by the sounds that surround it.

Часть 1. Русский алфавит. Глава 8. Гласные И, Е, Ё, Ю, Я. Russian Grammar. Part 1. Russian Alphabet. Unit 8. The Vowels И, Е, Ё, Ю, Я.

You have now learnt the "hard" vowels: а, о, у, ы and э. Next, let's take up the five "soft" vowels.*

The letter И и [transcribed ee]
The letter и [ee] sounds shorter than the ee in feet or people.
Examples:
ива  [ee-vuh] willow tree
иск  [eesk] legal action
идол [ee-duhl] idol

Грамматика русского языка. Часть 1. Русский алфавит. Глава 7. Буква Й. Russian Grammar. Part 1. Russian Alphabet. Unit 7. The Letter Й.

The letter Й й [transcribed y; pronounced as in yank]

Before studying soft vowels, you will find it very useful to learn to pronounce a special Russian letter which is part of the sound of these soft vowels. This letter never stands alone. It always stands next to a vowel. This is the letter й.

Грамматика русского языка. Часть 1. Русский алфавит. Глава 6. Буквы с необычным звучанием. Russian Grammar. Part 1. Russian Alphabet. Unit 6. Letters with unusual sounds.

Let's consider the sounds that have no counterpart in English. Two of them occur in several other European languages; the last one is particularly Russian. These sounds are the р [err], the х [khah], and the ы [ih].

The letter Р р [transcribed r]
To pronounce the letter р [err], purr like a cat rrrr... Exaggerate the sound at first. It will help you get used to it.
Examples:
спорт  [spawrt] sport
брат [braht] brother
курс [koors] course

Грамматика русского языка. Часть 1. Русский алфавит. Глава 5. Согласные Ж, Ц, Ч, Ш, Щ. Russian Grammar. Part 1. Russian Alphabet. Unit 5. The Consonants Ж, Ц, Ч, Ш, Щ.

The following Russian letters are quite easy to pronounce because there are similar sounds in English. However, in English, it is necessary to use several letters to represent these sounds; in Russian, each of these sounds has its own special letter. These letters are: ж [zheh], ц [tseh], ч [cheh], ш [shah], щ [shchah]. The letters sound harsher than in English. 

The letter Ж ж [transcribed zh]
The letter ж [zheh] sounds even harsher than in pleasure or vision.
Examples:
жук  [zhook] beetle
жажда  [zhahzh-duh] thirst
кожа [kaw-zhuh] skin

Грамматика русского языка. Часть 1. Глава 4. Русский алфавит. Согласные К, П, Т. Russian Grammar. Part 1. Russian Alphabet. Unit 4. The Consonants К, П, Т.

Now let us take up some sounds that will require a little practice - first, the letters п [peh], т [teh], and к [kah].

Attention!

Aspiration occurs when a short puff of breath is released after another sound, giving the effect of a slight hesitation or h-sound. It can be heard after the p in pie, the t in tie, and the k in kind. By contrast, the h-sound should not be heard after the p in please, the t in try, or after the hard c in clean.
Before you proceed to work intensively on the letters к, п, т, practice on the English words please, try, and clean so that you may be sure to avoid any aspiration when you pronounce the Russian к, п, т.

The letter К к [transcribed k]
The letter к [kah] sounds like the k-sound in clean. Once more, the aspiration heard after the k in English words like key and kind never occurs in Russian.
Examples:
как [kahk] how
кот [kawt] cat
класс [klahss] class

Грамматика русского языка. Часть 1. Русский алфавит. Глава 3. Согласные Д, З, Л, Н, С. Russian Grammar. Part 1. Russian Alphabet. Unit 3. The Consonants Д, З, Л, Н, С.

The letter Д д [transcribed d]
Examples:
дом [dawm] house
два [dvah] two
дама [dah-muh] lady

Грамматика русского языка. Часть 1. Русский алфавит. Глава 2. Согласные Б, В, Г, М, Ф. Russian Grammar. Part 1. Russian Alphabet. Unit 2. The Consonants Б, В, Г, М, Ф.

Now let me introduce to you some Russian consonants that also sound much as they do in English. They are the letters: б [beh], в [veh], г [geh], м [emm], and ф [eff].

The letter Б б [transcribed b]
Examples:
бак [bahk] tank (receptacle)
бум [boom] boom
бок [bawk] side

Грамматика русского языка. Часть 1. Русский алфавит. Глава 1. Гласные А, О, Э, У. Russian Grammar. Part 1. Russian Alphabet. Unit 1. The Vowels А, О, Э, У.

The first sounds you will learn to pronounce will be the vowels А, О, Э, У .

The letter А a [transcribed ah when stressed]
The stressed a sounds almost like the a in father, but it is brighter and shorter.
Examples:
так [tahk] thus
лак [lahk] varnish
мак [mahk] poppy