Unpaired consonants. How to distinguish voiced and voiceless consonants

All consonant sounds in Russian are divided according to several criteria, including the principle of voiced-deafness. This pronunciation characteristic affects whether the voice is used when pronouncing the sound or not. Studying this topic is very important for understanding the basic principles of the phonetic system, because voiceless consonants are a very important part of it.

What is a voiceless consonant

Deaf consonants are produced only by noise, without the participation of the voice. When pronouncing them, the vocal cords are completely relaxed, the larynx does not vibrate.

Paired and unpaired voiceless consonants

Most of the sounds that fall into this category have a voiced pair. What sounds these are, you can find out from the table “Deaf consonants in Russian”.

Thus, in Russian there are 11 voiceless consonants with a voiced pair. But there are also unpaired - these are sounds such as [x], [x ’], [h’] and [u ’].

They cannot become voiced regardless of position.

A special mnemonic phrase helps to remember all the voiceless consonants that are in Russian: “Stepka, do you want a shchets? - Fu! ”. But it will not help to remember their pairing by hardness-softness, since voiceless consonants that have a pair are represented in it in only one variety - either hard or soft.

Rule of stunning consonants

In Russian, there are cases when a voiced consonant letter is written in a letter, and in speech it turns into a voiceless consonant sound. This happens, for example, when a voiced letter appears at the very end of a word, as in the word mushroom, the transcription of which will look like [grip].

Due to the fact that voiced consonants at the end are deafened, it is often difficult to reproduce such words in writing. However, there is a simple way to check which letter to use: you need to change the word so that the consonant appears before the vowel, for example, mushroom - mushroom. Then it will immediately become clear what needs to be written. The same applies to cases when there is a voiceless consonant at the end, and on the letter it is voiced "according to the general rule." You can check which letter is spelled in the same way: shout - shout, lot - lot.

Voiced consonants located in the position at the beginning and in the middle of a word can also be stunned if they are followed by a voiceless consonant. This is easy to understand with an example: booth [booth].

What have we learned?

Deaf consonants are such sounds, during the formation of which the larynx does not vibrate, that is, the voice does not participate. They consist only of noise. Most voiceless consonants have a voiced pair, but there are four unpaired sounds of this type - [x], [x ’], [h’], and [u ’]. Due to the rule of stunning consonants, when pronouncing those consonants that are voiced in writing, they pass into their voiceless pair. This happens if they appear at the end of a word, as well as when there is another voiceless consonant in front of them.

The modern Russian alphabet consists of 33 letters. The phonetics of the modern Russian number defines 42 sounds. Sounds are vowels and consonants. The letters ь (soft sign) and ъ (hard sign) do not form sounds.

Vowel sounds

In Russian, there are 10 vowels and 6 vowels.

• Vowels: a, i, e, e, o, y, s, e, y, i.
• Vowel sounds: [a], [o], [y], [e], [and], [s].

For memorization, vowels are often written in pairs according to a similar sound: a-z, o-e, e-e, i-s, u-y.

Percussion and unstressed

The number of syllables in a word is equal to the number of vowels in a word: forest - 1 syllable, water - 2 syllables, road - 3 syllables, etc. The syllable that is pronounced with more intonation is stressed. The vowel forming such a syllable is stressed, the rest of the vowels in the word are unstressed. A stressed position is called a strong position, without an emphasis a weak position.

Yoted vowels

A significant place is occupied by iotated vowels - the letters e, e, yu, i, which mean two sounds: e → [y '] [e], e → [y'] [o], yu → [y '] [y], i → [th '] [a]. Vowels are iotated if:

1. stand at the beginning of a word (spruce, tree, whirligig, anchor),
2. stand after the vowel (which, sings, hare, cabin),
3. stand after b or b (stream, stream, stream, stream).

In other cases, the letters e, e, yu, i mean one sound, but there is no one-to-one correspondence, since different positions in the word and different combinations with the consonants of these letters give rise to different sounds.

Consonant sounds

There are 21 consonants and 36 consonants in total. The discrepancy in the number means that some letters can mean different sounds in different words - soft and hard sounds.

Consonant letters: b, c, d, d, g, h, d, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, f, x, c, h, w, sch.
Consonants: [b], [b '], [c], [c'], [g], [g '], [d], [d'], [g], [h], [z ' ], [y '], [k], [k'], [l], [l '], [m], [m'], [n], [n '], [n], [n' ], [p], [p '], [c], [c'], [t], [t '], [f], [f'], [x], [x '], [q] , [h '], [w], [u'].

The ‘sign means a soft sound, which means the letter is pronounced softly. The absence of a sign indicates that the sound is solid. So, [b] - hard, [b ’] - soft.

Voiced and voiceless consonants

There is a difference in how we pronounce consonants. Voiced consonants are formed in a combination of voice and noise, voiceless consonants are formed due to noise (the vocal cords do not vibrate). A total of 20 voiced consonants and 16 voiceless consonants.

By pair-unpaired voiced and voiceless consonants are divided into:
b-p, v-f, g-c, d-t, z-sh, z-s - paired for voiced-deafness.
d, l, m, n, p - always voiced (unpaired).
x, c, h, u are always deaf (unpaired).

Unpaired voiced consonants are called sonorous.

Among the consonants according to the level of "noise", groups are also distinguished:
w, w, h, w - hissing.
b, c, d, d, g, h, k, p, s, t, f, x, c, h, w, u - noisy.

Hard and soft consonants

Consonants sound differently in different words. Somewhere hard, somewhere soft. In this lesson, we will learn to distinguish between soft and hard consonants and denote the softness of consonants in writing with the letters I, E, E, YU, Z and L. We will find out which consonants form pairs according to hardness-softness, and which are only hard or only soft.

Compare the first consonants. When pronouncing a sound in the word KIT, the middle part of the tongue rises to the palate, the passage through which the air flows narrows and a sound is obtained, which scientists conditionally called soft... And the opposite sound was named - solid.

Let's complete the task. You need to arrange the vegetables in two baskets. In the first, we put those in the names of which you can hear any soft sounds, in the second those in the names of which all consonants are solid. Beetroot, turnip, eggplant, cabbage, onion, tomato, onion, pumpkin, cucumber.

Let's check. We put in the first basket: beets(sound [in ']), turnips(sound [p ’]), tomato(sound [m ']),cucumber(sound [p ’]). Second: cabbage, pumpkin, eggplant, onion .

It is important to listen to the sounds of the spoken words. If you say the word Nyos otherwise - with a solid first sound, we get a completely different word - NOSE.

Let's listen and observe the movement of our tongue:

row - sound [p ’] - rad - sound [p]

hatch - sound [l '] - bow - sound [l]

Fig. 3. Bow ( )

crumpled - sound [m '] - small - sound [m]

Sounds can be recorded (conditionally) with icons. Musical sounds are recorded in notes, and speech sounds - in letters, but in special square brackets - in transcription. In order not to confuse hard and soft sounds when reading the transcription, the scientists agreed to show the softness of the sound with an icon very similar to a comma, just put it on top.

Most consonants form pairs in terms of softness - hardness:

Some consonants are only hard or only soft. They do not vaporize in terms of hardness / softness:

Strong consonants only: [w], [w], [c]. Soft consonants only: [th ’], [h’], [u ’].

Let's complete the task: indicate the paired sound.

[h] -? [f] -? [R'] - ? [h ’] -? [from'] - ? [l] -? Let's check the correctness of the task: [h] - [z ’]; [p '] - [p]; [c '] - [c]; [l] - [l ']. [f], [h ’] - sounds unpaired in softness and hardness.

In writing, the hardness of consonants is denoted by the vowels A, O, U, Y, E, and the softness of consonants is denoted by the vowels E, E, I, Yu, Ya.

There are words with soft consonants at the end of words or in the middle of words before other consonants. Listen to the words: salt, horse, notebook, coat, ring, letter.Then a soft sign will come to the rescue. Even his name is suggestive - a sign soft, for soft consonants.

Let's compose a memo on how to act while writing words:

I hear a hard consonant sound - after it I write letters in place of the vowel sound: A, O, U, Y, E.

I hear a soft consonant sound in front of a vowel sound - I designate its softness with vowels: E, E, I, Yu, Ya.

I hear a soft sound at the end of a word or before a consonant sound - I show softness b.

Fig. 5. Hard and soft consonants ()

So, today we learned that consonants can be soft and hard, and the softness of consonants in writing in Russian is indicated by the letters u, e, e, u, i and b.

1. Andrianova T.M., Ilyukhina V.A. Russian language 1. M .: Astrel, 2011. ().
2. Buneev R.N., Buneeva E.V., Pronina O.V. Russian language 1. M .: Ballas. ()
3. Agarkova N.G., Agarkov Yu.A. Textbook on teaching literacy and reading: ABC. Academbook / Textbook.

Additional web resources

1. Knowledge Hypermarket ()
2. Russian language: short theoretical course. ()
3. Logozavriya: a site for children's computer games. ()

Make at home

1. Andrianova T.M., Ilyukhina V.A. Russian language 1. M .: Astrel, 2011. Pp. 35, exercise. 6, p. 36, exercise. 3.
2. Count how many soft consonants are in a word electric train? (The word electric train has 3 soft consonants ([l '], [p ’], [h’]).
3. Using the knowledge gained in the lesson, make puzzles or charades with words, where the softness-hardness of the sound changes the meaning.

Every first grader knows that sound is a unit of speech that we utter and hear, and we read and write letters. In Russian, they are divided into vowels and consonants. Of the 33 letters of the Russian alphabet, 21 are called consonants. They are divided by voicedness and deafness, softness and hardness. They begin to study the classification of letters from grade 1, but the student will have to use it before leaving school. When studying phonetics, each student must learn to distinguish between muffled sounds and voiced ones. During writing, they are indicated by the transcription - [b]. The table will help to distinguish and memorize paired consonant sounds.

Paired consonants for voiced-voicelessness

All consonants in Russian form pairs, a voiced consonant is opposed to a voiceless one. There are 12 paired letters, 6 pairs are obtained:

Paired and unpaired consonants need to be known to be successful in spelling. Many orthograms of the Russian language are based on the selection of one-root words according to this classification, for example:

• soft - soft
• tooth teeth.

The first pair contains the letter g, which, when pronounced, is indistinctly audible and its spelling brings difficulty. The second words are test words when the spelling is pronounced clearly. Younger students often make mistakes in these works.

You will notice that not all letters of the alphabet form pairs. This happens due to the fact that there are rules in phonetics that must be remembered. They are based on the fact that sounds can be only voiced or only deaf. It is easy to remember them, since they have a small number. As a rule, students by the end of grade 1 know them by heart. These include r, n, l, m, d - sonorous, always voiced, c, h, w, x - always deaf.

Paired consonants for softness-hardness

It is customary to divide consonants into hard and soft. In phonetics, the softening process occurs in several situations:

• when after the consonant there is a vowel: yu, i, e, yo, i (blizzard, buttercup);
• or there is a soft sign (blizzard, I drink).

If there is a vowel after the consonant, except for e, e, yu, i, and, then it does not allow softening. For example, in the words peony, earth, after the consonant, there is a vowel, which provokes a softening process. In such words as lamp, water, there are no letters e, e, yu, i, and, therefore, when pronounced, all sounds are solid.

There are also letters that, when reproduced verbally, will always be soft or hard. These include: sch, h, y, c, w, zh. The classification of letters and sounds is necessary for every student to know for successful learning.

A special table will help you remember paired voiced and deaf ones. It is easy to navigate by it.

Such a table or similar can sometimes be found in the office of primary classes. It has been proven that younger students have more visual-figurative thinking, therefore, they need to provide new information in the form of illustrations or pictures, then it will be effective.

Each parent can create such a table on the first grader's desktop. Do not be afraid that this hint will lead to student laziness. On the contrary, if he often looks at the image, he will quickly remember everything he needs.

There are more consonants in Russian, so remembering their classification is more difficult. If you list all the voiceless and voiced, then you get the number 12. The letters h, w, d, sch, c, zh, p, n, l, m are not taken into account, they refer to unpaired ones.

There are tips for children on how to quickly learn to recognize voiced and voiceless consonants when parsing a word. To do this, you need to press your palm to your throat and pronounce a distinctly separate sound. Voiceless and voiced consonants will be pronounced differently and, accordingly, reflected differently in the palm of your hand. If vibration gives off to the hand, it is voiced, if not, it is deaf. Many guys use this hint when studying phonetics.

There is another exercise that helps to accurately determine which consonant is in front of the student. To do this, you need to cover your ears with your hands, but at the same time, there should be silence. Say an exciting letter, listen to it with your ears closed. If it is not heard, then it is a dull sound, if, on the contrary, it is clearly voiced.

If you try, today any parent can find many interesting, exciting and informative exercises and rules that will help the baby to easily master new knowledge. This will make the learning process more interesting and entertaining, which in turn will affect academic performance.

At home and on the street, we can hear many sounds: human footsteps, the ticking of a clock, the sound of rain, birdsong, the whistle of a car. However, the sounds of human speech stand apart and differ from others, because they can be used to form words. It is known that all sounds of the Russian language are divided into two groups: consonants and vowels. When vowels are formed for air, there is no obstruction in the oral cavity. But in the case of the pronunciation of consonants in the oral cavity, an obstacle arises. So, what groups can they be divided into, what does the expression "paired consonants" mean?

Voiceless and voiced consonants

The division into these groups is as follows: voiced consonants are pronounced using noise and voice, but deaf ones consist of one noise. The first and the second can form deaf / voiced pairs. Relative pairing is represented by 12 rows. For example: "d" - "t", "g" - "k", "z" - "s" and others. Such sounds are paired consonants. But not all consonants can be paired. They are not formed by voiced "n", "m", "l", "y", "r", as well as voiceless "ts", "x", "u", "h". In writing, sounds are indicated by the corresponding letters. It's important to be attentive. Paired and unpaired consonants at the end of a word or in the middle before a consonant can sound the same, but be designated by different letters. To check their spelling, it is necessary to find a word with the same root so that after the checked consonant there is a vowel, and the sound leaves no doubt about the spelling. For instance:

gris b - gri bs, gri nn - gri nnmeaningful;

ro t - ro tnew (cavity), ro d - ro dovoy (castle).

Depending on the position of the tongue when pronouncing sounds, all consonants are divided into hard and soft. These are different phonemes. Paired consonants and unpaired consonants are distinguished. Examples of pairs: "in" - "in,", "k" - "k,", "p" - "p," and others. The icon ( , ) denotes the softness of the sound during transcription. Steam does not form soft "u", "h", "d", as well as always hard "w", "w", "c". Of course, it is very important to distinguish between hard and soft paired consonants. Sometimes they even distinguish between words. For instance:

mate - mol, me l - me lb.

IN " mate "and" me lb "highlighted consonants are soft, and in words" mol "and" me l " - solid. Thanks to this special pronunciation, words are not confused.

When writing words, the softness of consonants can be indicated in the following ways:

• With the help of "b". For example: skates, elk, kick.
• Using the letters "i", "i", "e", "e", "u". These are the cases: a wheel, thrown, a ball.

It is important to remember that in the middle of a word before a consonant, softness is not indicated by a soft sign in the following combinations: "st", "schn", "nt", "rsh", "chn", "chk", "nsh", "nch". Pay attention to the words: to lFina, spo rshitza mo stiki. In the selected combinations, the first consonant is heard softly, but it is written without

The letters "i", "e", "e", "u" can represent the vowel sounds "a", "e", "o", "u" + the softness of a consonant in front of them. In other cases (at the beginning of a word, after after "b", "b") they mean two sounds. And before the sound "and", the consonants will always be pronounced softly.

So, one could notice that the creation of pairs is a feature that is very characteristic of the consonant system of the Russian language. Paired consonants are combined into groups and at the same time opposed to each other. They often help distinguish words.