One letter can mean different things sounds. Sounds and letters

Sounds belong to the section of phonetics. The study of sounds is included in any school curriculum in the Russian language. Acquaintance with sounds and their main characteristics occurs in the lower grades. A more detailed study of sounds with complex examples and nuances takes place in middle and high school. This page gives only basic knowledge by the sounds of the Russian language in a compressed form. If you need to study the device of the speech apparatus, the tonality of sounds, articulation, acoustic components and other aspects that are beyond the scope of the modern school curriculum, refer to specialized textbooks and textbooks on phonetics.

What is sound?

Sound, like words and sentences, is the basic unit of language. However, the sound does not express any meaning, but reflects the sound of the word. Thanks to this, we distinguish words from each other. Words differ in the number of sounds (port - sport, crow - funnel), a set of sounds (lemon - firth, cat - mouse), a sequence of sounds (nose - dream, bush - knock) up to a complete mismatch of sounds (boat - boat, forest - park).

What sounds are there?

In Russian, sounds are divided into vowels and consonants. There are 33 letters and 42 sounds in Russian: 6 vowels, 36 consonants, 2 letters (ь, ъ) do not indicate a sound. The discrepancy in the number of letters and sounds (not counting b and b) is due to the fact that there are 6 sounds for 10 vowels, 36 sounds for 21 consonants (if we take into account all combinations of consonant sounds deaf / voiced, soft / hard). On the letter, the sound is indicated in square brackets.
There are no sounds: [e], [e], [u], [i], [b], [b], [g '], [w '], [ts '], [th], [h] , [sch].

Scheme 1. Letters and sounds of the Russian language.

How are sounds pronounced?

We pronounce sounds when exhaling (only in the case of the interjection “a-a-a”, expressing fear, the sound is pronounced when inhaling.). The division of sounds into vowels and consonants is related to how a person pronounces them. Vowel sounds are pronounced by the voice due to the exhaled air passing through the tense vocal cords and freely exiting through the mouth. Consonant sounds consist of noise or a combination of voice and noise due to the fact that the exhaled air meets an obstacle in its path in the form of a bow or teeth. Vowel sounds are pronounced loudly, consonant sounds are muffled. A person is able to sing vowel sounds with his voice (exhaled air), raising or lowering the timbre. Consonant sounds cannot be sung, they are pronounced equally muffled. Hard and soft signs do not represent sounds. They cannot be pronounced as an independent sound. When pronouncing a word, they affect the consonant in front of them, make it soft or hard.

Word transcription

Transcription of a word is a record of sounds in a word, that is, in fact, a record of how the word is pronounced correctly. Sounds are enclosed in square brackets. Compare: a - letter, [a] - sound. The softness of consonants is indicated by an apostrophe: p - letter, [p] - hard sound, [p '] - soft sound. Voiced and voiceless consonants are not marked in writing. The transcription of the word is written in square brackets. Examples: door → [dv'er '], thorn → [kal'uch'ka]. Sometimes stress is indicated in transcription - an apostrophe before a vowel stressed sound.

There is no clear juxtaposition of letters and sounds. In the Russian language, there are many cases of substitution of vowel sounds depending on the place of stress of a word, substitution of consonants or dropping out of consonant sounds in certain combinations. When compiling a transcription of a word, the rules of phonetics are taken into account.

Color scheme

In phonetic analysis, words are sometimes drawn with color schemes: letters are painted with different colors depending on what sound they mean. Colors reflect the phonetic characteristics of sounds and help you visualize how a word is pronounced and what sounds it consists of.

All vowels (stressed and unstressed) are marked with a red background. Iotated vowels are marked green-red: green means a soft consonant sound [y ‘], red means the vowel following it. Consonants with solid sounds are colored blue. Consonants with soft sounds are colored green. Soft and hard signs are painted in gray or not painted at all.

Designations:
- vowel, - iotated, - hard consonant, - soft consonant, - soft or hard consonant.

Note. The blue-green color is not used in the schemes for phonetic analysis, since a consonant cannot be both soft and hard at the same time. The blue-green color in the table above is only used to show that the sound can be either soft or hard.

Although graphics were originally created to fix speech in writing, there is no direct (one-to-one) correspondence between letters and sounds. Several types of relationship between letter and sound are possible.

1. One letter can represent only one sound. For example, the letter y means only the sound "yot", the letter y - only the sound [y].

2. One letter can denote different sounds speaking in different positions. For example, the letter o in the word policeman [gr'davo: j] denotes 3 different sounds - unstressed vowels [b], [a] and a stressed vowel; the letter b in the word fish denotes a voiced sound [b], and in the form R. p. pl. hours of fish - a dull sound [n]: [ryp]. The letter e is often used in printed texts not only in its main sound meaning, but also replaces the letter e, i.e., in such use it denotes an impact sound [o] (brought, ice, led), and after a vowel or dividing b and b - combination (reception, rise, curls).

3. One letter can represent a combination of two sounds. For example, iotized letters, as mentioned above, often denote a combination of a consonant sound [j] and a vowel sound: sing [pajy].

4. A letter may not denote a single sound, that is, it may not have a sound meaning. This applies not only to the voiceless letters b and b (entrance, notebook), but also, for example, the so-called unpronounceable consonants: feeling [feelings], heart [s'erts], sun [sonts].

5. The combination of two letters in a word can mean one sound. For example, in the word count, the first two consonant letters denote one long soft consonant sound: [sh`itat`]. The combination of a consonant letter with a soft sign denotes one consonant sound: day [d`en`], mouse [mouse].

6. Different letters can represent the same sound. So, the letters t and d can denote the same sound [t]: that [that], year [goth].

Despite the peculiarities of the relationship between letters and sounds, modern Russian graphics are convenient for everyday practice that does not require accurate fixation of all the features of the sound structure of our speech. It allows you to accurately represent the ratio of the sounds of Russian speech in writing and is a good basis for Russian spelling.

In the clinic.

Polyclinic or dispensary(from other Greek πόλι - many and other Greek κλινική - healing) - a multidisciplinary or specialized medical institution for providing outpatient medical care to patients at the reception and at home.

On the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, they are distributed on a territorial basis, and are the basic level of medical care for the population.

Clinics may have different status:

· Basic- Serves sick military personnel of the naval base.

· Departmental- serves employees of ministries and departments. Not included in the system of institutions of the Ministry of Health.

· Garrison- serves sick military personnel from a certain garrison.

· Geriatric- serves elderly and senile patients.

· Urban- Serves patients according to the territorial (district) principle. It can either be part of a joint hospital or be an independent institution.

· City nursery- caters for children under the age of 15. It can either be part of a joint hospital or be an independent institution.

· Resort- serves patients during their treatment at the resort.

· District central- is created in a rural administrative district in the absence of a central district hospital and performs the functions of a district health department.

· dental- serves the adult population, specializing in the treatment of dental diseases. Also exists Dental nursery clinic serving children under the age of 18.

· Physiotherapy- provides treatment of patients with physiotherapeutic methods.

Grammar theme: Consonants.

Lexical topic: My work day

Lecture plan.

1 Classification of consonant sounds of the Russian language, the composition of consonant sounds.

2. Schedule of the working day

Consonants- speech sounds combined in a syllable with vowels and / or syllabic consonants and, in contrast, do not form the top of the syllable. Acoustically, consonants have relatively less total energy than vowels and may not have a clear formant structure.

Consonants are also sounds, during the pronunciation of which there is a narrowing of the vocal tract, so that the air flow is completely or partially blocked and, overcoming an obstacle (see the place and method of formation of consonants), changes its direction. In Russian, these are noisy consonants (plosives, fricatives and affricates), a group of sonorants (smooth and lateral), a group of sonorant consonants (trembling and nasal), as well as a semivowel (or semiconsonant) j.

Consonants are also often understood as letters that convey such sounds. Sometimes, to avoid confusion, the term "consonant sounds" is used.

The consonant system of a particular language is called "consonantism".

In Russian, consonants are transmitted by the letters B, C, G, D, Zh, Z, Y, K, L, M, N, P, R, C, T, F, X, C, Ch, W, Shch. They opposed to the vowels A, E, E, I, O, U, Y, E, Yu, Ya.

For the articulatory description of consonants, the following criteria are used:

division into voiced and voiceless consonants;

By the way consonants are formed;

By the place of formation of consonants.

For example, /d/, according to these criteria, is a voiced alveolar plosive.

According to acoustic-auditory criteria, consonants differ from vowels in the degree of sonority (perceptibility, that is, the range of sound).

Vowels have a higher sonority than consonants. Vowels occupy a certain position in the structure of a syllable, in the general case - at the beginning and at the end of a syllable, that is, consonants usually do not form a syllable. An exception are sonorants: approximants (that is, vowels in consonant position, such as / ju "la / whirligig, phonetically, as well as nasal and lateral (German. Matten))

My work day

I would like to describe my working day. All these days are the same.

On weekdays, I usually get up at seven. I do gymnastics. Then I wash my face and brush my teeth. At half past seven I have breakfast. I love a light breakfast. After breakfast I go to school.

My college is close to home. The road to the college takes 10 minutes. Classes start at 8:30 and end around 15:00. Three couples a day is the usual schedule. Twice a week I stay at college after class to play basketball.

When I come home I have dinner. Then I rest a little. Sometimes I read or talk to my friends on the phone.

After that I start doing my homework. Twice a week I have additional anatomy classes to improve my knowledge.

As a rule, I finish doing my homework around 9 o'clock. But one day a week is not so busy. It's Thursday. On Thursday I usually help my mother. Sometimes I shop or pick up clothes from the dry cleaners.

I have dinner at 7 o'clock. Then I keep practicing. At 10 o'clock I go to bed.

Grammar theme: Spelling of consonants in writing.

Lexical theme: Difficulties of the chosen path.

Lecture plan.

1 Features of the spelling of consonants in writing.

2. The difficult path of a medical worker

Spelling of consonants(at the root, in prefixes and suffixes that do not change their spelling) you should check the spelling of the consonant in a strong position, first of all, in the position before the vowel.

· 1.15.1. Voiced - voiceless consonants

· 1. To check the spelling of paired voiced and voiceless consonants at the end and in the middle of a word, you need to choose a related word or change the word so that a vowel follows this consonant.

· Proud – prd s, youngt ba - youngt it, ath cue - ath ok, pruet - (No) prut a.

· Exception: swad bba(although swat at).

· 2. It should be remembered that in derivative words d, d alternates with well (bootsG and - sapowell ki, fastenG at - straightwell ka), a X alternates with w (paX at - wake upw ka, kazaX and - kazaw ka).

· 3. Shock - hedgehog (a) written in verbal nouns.

· cramming - bisonhedgehog a.

· 4. If it is impossible to find a test word, then the spelling of the consonant must be remembered (as a rule, these are borrowed words).

· Cosmonin t, fiwith harmony, rito sha, ziG zag, into hall, Ein frat.

· There are also Russian words with an unverifiable consonant.

· Vet rank, att cha, byt cheat,h here,h health orh gi,with kind, chuin to go.

This rule applies to the spelling of consonants in the root, in prefixes and suffixes that do not change their spelling, although the spelling of various morphemes (parts of a word) has its own specifics

I. A. Baudouin de Courtenay formulated the methodological basis for this implementation as follows: “The Russian alphabet is not at all connected with the Russian language in essence; it is connected with it only due to historical chance.

That is, under certain historical circumstances (for example, when choosing a different state religion), the Latin or even Arabic alphabet could be used for Russian writing. Also, by "historical accident" Russian writing in most cases does not convey sounds, but phonemes. If it were not for the genius of M. V. Lomonosov, it is possible that in Russian writing for some time it would have been established and to a greater extent manifested by the present time, the phonetic principle of writing “by ringing”, advocated by V. K. Trediakovsky. Some of the spellings are traditional and conditional, but in general, our spelling does not directly indicate the pronunciation of words. In this regard, it is possible to define specific cases of the relationship between a letter and a sound:

No discrepancy between pronunciation and spelling (competition, scoreboard);

One letter simultaneously denotes two sounds (e l, e lka, y la, y ma);

One letter in different cases denotes different sounds (one hundred l - hundred la, same st - ve sleep, mushroom s - mushroom);

The letters ъ and ь do not represent sounds at all;

The letters v, d, l, t can mean zero sound (feel, heart, sun, honest);

One sound is indicated by different letters (obzho ra, but lud);

Two identical letters (doubled) denote one short sound (purchased, alleya, platform, apparat);

Two identical letters (doubled) denote one long sound (kass a, gamma a, burn it);

One long sound is indicated by two different letters (burned, incident);

One long sound is indicated by two different combinations of letters (stitch, fit; bills, customer; fat-free, compress);

One letter denotes one long sound (schetina, rinse and);

One letter can optionally function instead of another (in fact, the letter e, which is used instead of the letter e, received "citizenship rights", which, by the way, led to numerous spelling errors in the pronunciation of words such as scam, firebrand, gutter, perch, worthless, guardianship, wool and under .);

The letter separating a solid sign can optionally "illegally" be replaced by an apostrophe (an "appearance, under" rides, with "capacity, with" rides, etc.).

Examples of such correlations between what is written and what is spoken in Russian letters are endless. And in most cases, the linguistic consciousness of ordinary native speakers of the Russian language (who are not specialists in the field of linguistics) does not notice this difference and reacts with bewilderment to the fact that, for example, in the words nests, hard, mine, light, it sounds some kind of mythical, from their point of view, combinations of sounds: [gn "ost], [t" ashk], [majivo], [l "ohkjb], .

It can be assumed that in many cases this is inspired not only by the pressure of the letter, but also by the phonemic hearing that exists in the mind of each person, the instinct that correlates the idea of sound with a strong variant of the phoneme. The phonemic principle of the Russian alphabet and Russian spelling only contributes to the consolidation of this sound representation. "The graphic image cannot but influence the perception of sound ... Even if we do not read, but listen or pronounce ... letters put pressure on our perception, forcing us to perceive with the mind not quite what is perceived by the ear"12.

Sound and letter in the analysis of the phonetic structure of artistic speech. Academician F.F. Fortunatov attributed the mixing of language sounds with letters to the number of "major, basic mistakes" of the theory, "which occur as a result of mixing completely heterogeneous facts and create in the minds of students such a confusion of concepts about the phenomena of the language, as a result of which ... classes in Russian grammar at school can arouse in students an aversion to the theoretical study of the language.

Of course, there is no big trouble when parents say about their child: "He does not pronounce the letter r", although, of course, in this case it should not be about the letter. It is probably not so scary when a vocal teacher, even as qualified as G. Vishnevskaya, requires a student to "sing the letter a" in a lesson broadcast on television, but I would like a specialist to avoid such mistakes. It’s bad when a speech therapist thinks that his ward “stutters on the letter and”. But it’s not good at all when a philologist who analyzes the sound structure of artistic speech, ignoring the non-identity of letters and sounds, misleads both himself and his readers, as M.V. Panov showed: “One philologist who does not know phonetics , found "brilliant instrumentation on e" in such verses by Tyutchev:

Human tears, oh human tears,

You pour early and late sometimes ...

The philologist thinks that the sound [e] is repeated in these lines ("they are instrumented on e"). In fact, the sound [e] here ... never occurs!".

Mistakes of this kind are often made by quite venerable writers, even known as subtle connoisseurs of sounding speech. So, Yu. Olesha, reflecting on the acoustic impression produced by the lines of A. S. Pushkin, notices what is not. "And let it be at the coffin entrance ... Five times in a row repeating "o" - "coffin-ho". You go down the steps under the vaults, into the crypt. Yes, yes, there is an echo under the vaults! However, there are only two sounds [o] here: those that are under stress. The remaining three letters o are read differently. However, there is no repeating sound here [r]: [grbavov fkhod].

K. I. Chukovsky, according to A. A. Blok, reported that the poet began to write "The Twelve" from the line: "I'm already a stripe with a knife, a stripe!", Because "these two "g" in the first line seemed to him very expressive." Only letters could seem expressive to the poet here. But they mean different sounds in the above line: [w] - snake and [g] - a knife with an eye.

It leads to ignorance of the regularities of the correlation of sounding and written speech and other recognized masters of "sound writing" (alliterations and assonances) and the semantic characteristics of individual sounds. According to L. Uspensky, who listened to a lecture by K. Balmont on poetic skill, the latter, arguing that in Russian words "everything huge is determined through O", gave examples, including funeral, midnight, big, island, lake, cloud, huge , Landslide, thunderstorm "(emphasized by L. Uspensky. - A. L.), At the same time [o] here we hear only in stressed syllables or we don’t hear it at all, for example, in the word thunderstorm.

In general, it should be noted that the studies of the semantic, figurative, color expressiveness of sounds that have gained popularity in recent decades are mainly guided by the idea of native speakers about this sound, i.e. on a letter (or, as it is called in such studies, a sound letter), and not on a real sound. According to some scientists, this is purely technical convenience: it is easy to set the sound-letter form to a computer.

Indeed, "technical conveniences" are evident. But in this case, will we have a correct analysis of the poetic text, which, of course, in most cases is designed specifically for auditory perception. On the other hand, artistic texts were created and distributed for many years in oral form (folklore works, for example). Epics, songs, ritual texts, ditties, jokes, proverbs and sayings, tongue twisters - all this has existed since time immemorial, created and distributed by thousands of people who do not know the letter. What was the basis of sound expressiveness and sound significance in such creations? It is clear that not on combinations of letters, but on combinations of sounds. And what kind of perception do writers and poets rely on when creating texts for young readers - the perception of a letter or a sound?

Several types of relationship between letter and sound are possible.

1. One letter can represent only one sound. For example, the letter y means only the sound "yot", the letter y - only the sound [y].

2. One letter can denote different sounds speaking in different positions.

For example, the letter o in the word policeman [gr'davo: j] denotes 3 different sounds - unstressed vowels [b], [a] and a stressed vowel; the letter b in the word fish denotes a voiced sound [b], and in the form R. p. pl. hours of fish - a dull sound [n]: [ryp]. The letter e is often used in printed texts not only in its main sound meaning, but also replaces the letter e, i.e., in such use it denotes an impact sound [o] (brought, ice, led), and after a vowel or dividing b and b - combination (reception, rise, curls).

3. One letter can represent a combination of two sounds. For example, iotized letters, as mentioned above, often denote a combination of a consonant sound [j] and a vowel sound: sing [pajy].

6. Different letters can represent the same sound. So, the letters t and d can denote the same sound [t]: that [that], year [goth].

The syllabic principle of Russian graphics is that in Russian writing, in certain cases, not a letter, but a syllable, acts as a unit of writing. Such a syllable, that is, a combination of a consonant and a vowel, is an integral graphic element, the parts of which are mutually conditioned. The syllabic principle of graphics is used in the designation of paired consonants in hardness-softness. In modern Russian, consonants paired in hardness-softness have a phonemic meaning, that is, they serve to distinguish the sound shells of words. However, in the Russian alphabet there are no separate letters to designate consonants paired in terms of softness and hardness, so, for example, the letter t is used for both hard and soft sounds [t] - (cf .: become - tightened).

The absence in the Russian alphabet of individual letters for consonants paired in terms of hardness and softness is compensated by the presence of double vowel styles in our chart. So, the letters i, o, u, e, s indicate the hardness of the previous consonant, paired in hardness-softness, and the letters i, e, u, e, and - softness (cf .: glad - row, they say - chalk , knock - bale, sir - ser, was - beat). Thus, the letters denoting consonant sounds paired in hardness-softness are two-valued: without taking into account the subsequent letter, it is impossible to determine whether a consonant sound paired in hardness-softness is hard or soft. Only at the end of a word and before consonants (although not always) the softness of consonants, paired in hardness-softness, is indicated by a special letter b.

The syllable principle also applies to the designation of the consonant sound [j] (yot), and this application is carried out only within words. The consonant sound yot is indicated by a special letter y only when the syllable ends with this sound following the vowel (cf.: sing - sing, lei - pour, spring, blind, etc.). In all other positions, the sound yot together with the next vowel sound is indicated by one letter, namely: i -, e -, e -, u -. This meaning of the letters i, e, e, u takes place: 1) at the beginning of the word (cf. pit, hedgehog, south, spruce); 2) after vowels (mine, mine, I will go, mine); 3) after the separating signs b and b (announce - monkey, volume - let's go down, congress - mouth, conjuncture - blizzard).

However, the syllabic principle is far from consistent in Russian graphics. The main deviation from the syllabic principle is the designation of vowels after consonants, unpaired in hardness-softness. So, after always solid consonants [w], [w], [c] vowels are denoted, contrary to the syllabic principle, by the letters i, e, e, occasionally u, i (cf. fat, breadth, gesture, pole, groove, whisper , brochure, jury, parachute, figure, chain, Kotsyubinsky, Tsyavlovsky, etc.); after always soft [h], [u], contrary to the syllabic principle, the letters a, o, y are written (cf. bowl, clink glasses, miracle, food, Shchors, pike, etc.). These deviations from the syllabic principle in modern Russian graphics have developed historically. In modern Russian, the sounds [zh], [sh], [ts] do not have soft varieties, and the sounds [h], [u] do not have hard varieties. Therefore, the hardness and softness of these sounds are indicated by the consonants themselves, which are unambiguous and do not require designation by subsequent vowels.

Particular cases of deviations from the syllabic principle: 1) writing foreign (more often French) words with ё instead of ё (cf .: broth - linen, etc.); 2) writing complex abbreviated words with yo, ba, yu and yu (cf. village district, village airfield, Dalugol, construction site); 3) writing at the beginning of foreign words yo instead of ё (cf. hedgehog, ruff - iot, iodine, Yorkshire, New York).

In addition to the indicated inconsistency in the application of the syllabic principle, one can note in Russian graphics the absence of a stressed syllable designation in a word, as well as a special letter for the sound [zh "] (cf. yeast, squeal, drive, etc.).

What is sound? What is a letter? How do they compare? How are sounds formed and what are they?

Sounds

Speech sounds differ from all other sounds in that they form words.
Sound is the smallest basic unit of language along with the word, phrase and sentence. But, unlike them, the sound has no semantic meaning. But, it is thanks to the sounds that we distinguish the words that we hear and pronounce: house [house] and rum [rum] - the difference is in one sound. Sounds create the sound shell of words and this helps to distinguish words from each other, i.e. perform a semantic function. With the help of speech sounds, you can turn one word into another: souk - bow - tuk - tok - rock - mouth - rum - tom - com - ... (when you change one sound, the word changes).

The words are different:

the number of sounds they consist of: crow (6 sounds) - funnel (7 sounds), dispute - sport;
set of sounds:
- difference in one sound: lemon [l'imon] - estuary [l'iman]; port [port] - cake [cake], onion [onion] - bough [bough];
- difference in several sounds: tan [tan] - fence [fence]; beans [beans '] - password [password '];
the sequence of sounds: bush [bush] - knock [knock]; nose [nose] - sleep [sleep];
sounds in words may not completely match: school [school] - teacher [teacher]; crucian carp [carp '] - catfish [catfish], house [house] - hut [hut].

Formation of sounds and their classification.

Speech sounds are formed during exhalation: the air exhaled from the lungs passes through the larynx and oral cavity. Air vibrations and work speech apparatus(larynx with vocal cords, oral and nasal cavities, palate, tongue, lips, teeth) sound is formed.

Tones (voice) and noises are involved in the formation of speech sounds. When the exhaled air passes through the tense vocal cords in the larynx, which causes rhythmic vibrations of the cords, voice (tone). Noise is formed in the oral cavity when the exhaled air overcomes the obstacles (slit or bow) that are formed by the lower lip or tongue when they approach or close with the upper lip, teeth or palate.

When the exhaled air without obstacles passes through the larynx between tense vocal cords and through the oral cavity, which can change its shape, are formed vowel sounds. They consist only of voice, they are the most sonorous. If you put your finger on the larynx and pronounce the vowel sound [a], [o], [y], [i], [s], [e], then you can feel how the vocal cords tremble. Vowels can be sung.

If the exhaled air meets an obstacle in the oral cavity, they form consonants . Both voice and noise are already involved in their education. Consonant sounds, in the formation of which voice and noise are involved, are called voiced. If in the creation of sound the voice prevails over the noise, then such voiced consonant sounds - sonorous. Deaf sounds are created only by noise without a voice (vocal cords are relaxed, do not tremble).

Speech sounds according to the degree of sonority (by the amount of voice and noise):

vowels: [a], [o], [y], [and], [s], [e]- only the voice participates in their formation;
voiced:
- sonorous consonants: [m], [m’], [n], [n’], [l], [l’], [r], [r’], [th’]- voices more than noise, always voiced, unpaired voiced;
- noisy voiced consonants: [b], [b’], [c], [c’], [g], [g’], [d], [d’], [h], [h’], [g]- there is more noise than voices, paired voiced (a voiced sound is sometimes used in speech [w']: jury [j'uri], reins [reins]);
noisy voiceless consonants: [p], [n'], [f], [f'], [k], [k'], [t], [t'], [s], [s'], [w], [ u'], [x], [x'], [c], [h']— consist only of noise.

Please note that vowels and consonants (voiced and voiceless) differ in the degree of participation of voice and noise, according to the method of formation (there are or are not obstacles in the oral cavity when air is exhaled).

The specific sound of each vowel depends on the volume and shape of the oral cavity - the position of the tongue and lips.

The sound of each consonant depends on the work of the organs of speech. Consonants are sonorous and noisy, and noisy - voiced and deaf, depending on the participation of voice and noise in their formation. Consonants also differ in the place of noise formation, depending on where and by what organs of speech an obstacle is formed through which the exhaled air passes (labial, lingual, etc.).

The consonants are divided into hard and soft . Soft sounds differ from hard sounds in that when they are formed, the tongue performs an additional action: its middle part rises to the hard palate.

Letters

Letters- These are graphic signs with which speech sounds are indicated when writing. There are 33 letters in total. There is no complete correspondence between letters and sounds.

We pronounce and hear sounds, we see and write letters.

The precise recording of speech sounds is called transcription , is denoted by square brackets [...]. When recording a transcription of a word, it is necessary to designate each sound with a separate letter, put an accent sign, a soft sign [‘]. For example, cow - [karOVA], letter to transmits sound [to], letter R stands for sound [R] etc.

How are letters and sounds related?

Letters are called vowels or consonants because they represent vowels or consonants.

All sounds in a word can correspond to their letter: table [table].
One letter can represent different sounds:
in the words fruit [raft], fruit [plody] letter about used to represent sounds [about], [a], and the letter d- to represent sounds [t] and [e].
Letters may not represent sounds:
- the letters b and b do not represent sounds: moL [mol '], congress [sy'ezd];
- with a confluence of consonants in some words, sounds [v], [d], [l], [t] are not pronounced, but the letters are written:
  chu in property [h'Ustva], with l ntse [sontse], ser d tse [s'ertse], rados t ny [joyful '].
One letter can represent two sounds:
- letters e, yo, yu, i at the beginning of a word, after dividing b, b and vowels, two sounds are indicated [y'e], [y'o], [y'y], [y'a]. Sounds e, yo, yu, i does not exist in Russian.
- letters b, c, d, e, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, f, x to designate consonants, they designate either hard consonants or soft ones: chalk - they say.
The ambiguity of letters is associated with syllabic principle of functioning of Russian graphics. The essence of this principle lies in the fact that the unit of writing and reading is not a letter, but , i.e. a combination of letters to denote consonant and vowel sounds, where the letters are mutually conditioned. The syllabic principle is used to denote the hardness and softness of consonants, as well as to denote the consonant sound [th].
One sound can be transmitted by different letters:
in words c irkul [ c yrkul’], smile tc I [smile c a] sound [c] is transmitted by the letter c and letters ts (ts).

That. in a word, the number of letters and sounds, their sound and spelling may not match. There is no one-to-one correspondence between letters and sounds. It is necessary to distinguish sound and letter composition of the word.

Total 33 letters:

10 vowels: a, y, o, s, i, uh, i, u, yo, u ;
21 consonant letters: b, c, d, e, g, h, d, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, f, x, c, h, w, u;
b and Kommersant signs that do not represent individual sounds.

Sounds - 42 :

6 vowel sounds: [a], [o], [y], [and], [s], [e],
36 consonants: [b], [b '], [c], [c '], [g], [g '], [d], [d '], [g], [s], [s '], [th'], [k], [k'], [l], [l'], [m], [m'], [n], [n'], [n], [n '], [p], [p'], [s], [s'], [t], [t'], [f], [f'], [x], [x'], [c ], [h'], [w], [w'] .

The difference in the number of consonant letters and sounds is associated with the way the hardness and softness of consonants are reflected in writing.

Sounds are indicated by letters, but the pronunciation and spelling of the word may not coincide.

References:

Babaitseva V.V. Russian language. Theory. 5 - 9 grade: textbook for in-depth. study Russian language. / V.V. Babaitsev. - 6th ed., revised. - M. Bustard, 2008
Kazbek-Kazieva M.M. Preparation for Olympiads in the Russian language. 5-11 grades / M.M. Kazbek-Kazieva. - 4th ed. – M.J. Iris-press, 2010
Litnevskaya E.I. Russian language. A short theoretical course for schoolchildren. - Moscow State University, Moscow, 2000, ISBN 5-211-05119-x
Svetlysheva V.N. Handbook for high school students and university applicants / V.N. Svetlysheva. — M.: AST-PRESS SCHOOL, 2011