What is phonetic analysis of a word: design, transcription, examples, useful tips

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

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

A list of all letters is just an alphabet

Almost every schoolchild knows how many letters are in the Russian alphabet. That's right, there are 33 of them in total. The Russian alphabet is called the Cyrillic alphabet. 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: b ( soft sign) and ъ (hard sign), which indicate properties, but do not themselves define any sound units.

You often pronounce sounds in phrases differently from how you write them in writing. In addition, a word may use more letters than sounds. For example, “children’s” - the letters “T” and “S” merge into one phoneme [ts]. And vice versa, the number of sounds in the word “blacken” is greater, since the letter “Yu” in this case is pronounced as [yu].

What is phonetic analysis?

We perceive spoken speech by ear. By phonetic analysis of a word we mean the characteristics of the sound composition. In the school curriculum, such analysis is more often called “sound-letter” analysis. So, with phonetic analysis, 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 parsing, a special transcription is used in square brackets. For example, it is correctly written:

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

The phonetic parsing scheme uses special symbols. Thanks to this, you can correctly designate and distinguish the letter entry (spelling) and sound definition letters (phonemes).

• The phonetically parsed word is enclosed in square brackets – ;
• a soft consonant is indicated by a transcription sign [’] - an apostrophe;
• percussive [´] - accent;
• in complex word forms from several roots, the secondary stress sign [`] - gravis is used (not practiced in the school curriculum);
• the letters of the alphabet Yu, Ya, E, Ё, ь and Ъ are NEVER used in transcription (in the curriculum);
• for doubled consonants, [:] is used - a sign of the longitude of the sound.

Below are detailed rules for orthoepic, alphabetic and phonetic and analysis of words with examples online, in accordance with general school standards of the modern Russian language. Professional linguists' transcriptions of phonetic characteristics differ in accents and other symbols with additional acoustic features of vowel and consonant phonemes.

How to make a phonetic analysis of a word?

The following diagram will help you carry out letter analysis:

• Write down the necessary word and say it out loud several times.
• Count how many vowels and consonants there are in it.
• Indicate the stressed syllable. (Stress, using intensity (energy), distinguishes a certain phoneme in speech from a number of homogeneous sound units.)
• Divide the phonetic word into syllables and indicate them total. Remember that syllable division in is different from the rules of transfer. The total number of syllables always matches the number of vowels.
• In the transcription, sort 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”, “ya”, “i” can represent 2 sounds at once.
• Analyze each phoneme separately and indicate its properties separated by commas:
  • for a vowel we indicate in the characteristic: vowel sound; stressed or unstressed;
  • in the characteristics of consonants we indicate: consonant sound; hard or soft, voiced or deaf, sonorant, paired/unpaired in hardness-softness and sonority-dullness.
• 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 analysis of a word

Here is a sample phonetic analysis of the composition for the word “phenomenon” → [yivl’e′n’ie]. IN in this example 4 vowels and 3 consonants. There are only 4 syllables: I-vle′-n-e. The emphasis falls on the second.

Sound characteristics of letters:

i [th] - acc., unpaired soft, unpaired voiced, sonorant [i] - vowel, unstressedv [v] - acc., paired hard, paired sound l [l'] - acc., paired soft., unpaired . sound, sonorant [e′] - vowel, stressed [n’] - consonant, paired soft, unpaired sound, sonorant and [i] - vowel, unstressed [th] - consonant, unpaired. soft, unpaired sound, sonorant [e] - vowel, unstressed________________________In total, the word phenomenon has 7 letters, 9 sounds. The first letter “I” and the last “E” each 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 relationships and transcription rules for sound-letter parsing.

Phonetics and sounds in Russian

What sounds are there?

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

How many sounds are there in Russian living speech?

The correct answer is 42.

Doing phonetic analysis online, you will find that 36 consonant sounds and 6 vowels are involved in word formation. Many people have a reasonable question: why is there such a strange inconsistency? Why does it vary? total number sounds and letters, 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, softness-hardness pairs:

• [b] - cheerful and [b’] - squirrel;
• or [d]-[d’]: home - to do.

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

Vowel sounds in Russian words

Vowel sounds Unlike consonants, they are melodic; they flow freely, as if in a chant, from the larynx, without barriers or 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 try to pronounce a consonant, the more energetically you will close your mouth. This is the most striking articulatory difference between these phoneme classes.

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

How many vowel sounds are there in Russian phonetics?

Russian speech uses fewer vowel phonemes than letters. There are only six shock sounds: [a], [i], [o], [e], [u], [s]. And let us remind you that there are ten letters: a, e, e, i, o, u, y, e, i, yu. The vowels E, E, Yu, I are not “pure” sounds in transcription are not used. Often, when parsing words by letter, the emphasis falls on the listed letters.

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 force of exhalation, increased duration of sound and are pronounced undistorted. Since they are pronounced clearly and expressively, sound analysis of syllables with stressed vowel phonemes is much easier to carry out. The position in which the sound does not undergo changes and retains its basic form is called strong position. This position can only be occupied by a stressed sound and a syllable. Unstressed phonemes and syllables remain in a weak position.

• The vowel in a stressed syllable is always in a strong position, that is, it is pronounced more clearly, with the greatest strength 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 the Russian language, only one phoneme “U” retains unchangeable phonetic properties: kuruza, tablet, u chus, u lov - in all positions it is pronounced clearly as [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 “U”: muesli [m’u ´sl’i], key [kl’u ´ch’], 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 the unstressed [o] is also pronounced clearly, are only some foreign words: cocoa [kaka "o], patio [pa"tio], radio [ra"dio], boa [bo a "] and a number of service units, for example, the conjunction but. The sound [o] in writing can be reflected by another letter “ё” - [o]: thorn [t’o´ rn], fire [kas’t’o´ r]. It will also not be difficult to analyze the sounds of the remaining four vowels in the stressed position.

Unstressed vowels and sounds in Russian words

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

• I'm home [ya do "ma].
• New houses [no "vye da ma"].

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

• mountains - mountain = [go "ry] - [ga ra"];
• he - online = [o "n] - [a nla"yn]
• witness line = [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 high-quality reduction, when the characteristics of the original sound change.

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

• primarily relative to the stressed syllable;
• at the absolute beginning or end of a word;
• in open syllables (consisting of only one vowel);
• on the influence of neighboring signs (ь, ъ) and consonant.

Yes, it varies 1st degree of reduction. It is subject to:

• vowels in the first pre-stressed syllable;
• naked 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’ii].

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

• vper-re -di [fp’ir’i d’i´];
• e -ste-ste-st-no [yi s’t’e´s’t’v’in:a];

Any other pre-stressed syllables and all post-stressed syllables during sound analysis are classified as reduction of the 2nd degree. It is also called a “weak position of the second degree.”

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

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

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

Sound-letter analysis: iotized sounds

Phonetically, the letters E - [ye], Yo - [yo], Yu - [yu], Ya - [ya] often mean 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 iotized. The meaning of the letters E, E, Yu, I is determined by their positional position.

When analyzed phonetically, the vowels e, e, yu, i form 2 sounds:

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

• At the beginning of the words “Yo” and “Yu” are always:
  • - shudder [yo´ zhyts:a], Christmas tree [yo´ lach’nyy], hedgehog [yo´ zhyk], container [yo´ mcast’];
  • - jeweler [yuv ’il’i´r], top [yu la´], skirt [yu´ pka], Jupiter [yu p’i´t’ir], nimbleness [yu ´rkas’t’];
• at the beginning of the words “E” and “I” only under stress*:
  • - spruce [ye´ l’], travel [ye´ w:u], huntsman [ye´ g’ir’], eunuch [ye´ vnukh];
  • - yacht [ya´ hta], anchor [ya´ kar’], yaki [ya´ ki], apple [ya´ blaka];
  • (*to perform sound-letter analysis of the 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” are in stressed and unstressed syllables, except in cases where these letters are located after a vowel in the 1st pre-stressed syllable or in the 1st, 2nd unstressed syllable in the middle of words. Phonetic analysis online and examples in specified cases:
  • - receiver [pr’iyo´mn’ik], sings t [payo´t], klyyo t [kl’uyo ´t];
  • -ayu rveda [ayu r’v’e´da], I sing t [payu ´t], melt [ta´yu t], cabin [kayu ´ta],
• after the dividing solid “Ъ” the sign “Ё” 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” the sign “Ё” and “Yu” is always, and “E” and “I” are 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´ ga], family [s'em'ya´ ]

As you can see, in the phonemic system of the Russian language, stress is of decisive importance. Vowels in unstressed syllables undergo the greatest reduction. Let's continue the sound-letter analysis of the remaining iotized ones and see how they can still change characteristics depending on the environment in the words.

◊ Unstressed vowels“E” and “I” designate two sounds and in phonetic transcription and are written as [YI]:

• at the very beginning of the word:
  • - unity [yi d'in'e´n'i'ye], spruce [yil´vyy], blackberry [yizhiv'i´ka], him [yivo´], fidget [yigaza´], Yenisei [yin'is 'e´y], Egypt [yig'i´p'it];
  • - January [yi nvarskiy], 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 vrap'io´idnaya], Evgeniy [ye] vgeny, European [ye vrap'e´yits], diocese [ye] pa´rkhiya, etc.).
• immediately after a vowel in the 1st pre-stressed syllable or in the 1st, 2nd post-stressed syllable, except for the location at the absolute end of the word.
  • in a timely manner [svai vr'e´m'ina], trains [payi zda´], let's eat [payi d'i´m], run into [nayi w:a´t'], Belgian [b'il'g'i´ yi c], students [uch'a´sh'iyi s'a], with sentences [pr'idlazhe´n'iyi m'i], vanity [suyi ta´],
  • bark [la´yi t'], pendulum [ma´yi tn'ik], hare [za´yi c], belt [po´yi s], declare [zayi v'i´t'], show [prayi in 'l'u´]
• after the dividing hard “Ъ” or soft “b” sign: - intoxicating [p'yi n'i´t], express [izyi v'i´t'], announcement [abyi vl'e´n'iye], edible [syi dobny].

Note: The St. Petersburg phonological school is characterized by “ecane”, and the Moscow school is characterized by “hiccup”. Previously, the iotrated “Yo” was pronounced with a more accented “Ye”. When changing capitals, performing sound-letter analysis, they adhere to Moscow norms in orthoepy.

Some people in fluent speech pronounce the vowel “I” 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 voiced 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 online sound-letter analysis: - nightingales [salav'yi´], on chicken legs [na ku´r'yi' x" no´shkah], rabbit [kro´l'ich'yi], no family [s'im 'yi´], judges [su´d'yi], draws [n'ich'yi´], streams [ruch'yi´], foxes [li´s'yi]. But: 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], pavilion n [pav'il'o´n], similarly: postman n , champignon n, chignon n, companion n, medallion n, battalion n, guillot tina, carmagno la, mignon n and others.

Phonetic analysis of words, when the vowels “Yu” “E” “E” “I” form 1 sound

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

• sound units “Yo” “Yu” “E” are under stress after an unpaired consonant in hardness: zh, sh, ts. Then they represent phonemes:
  • ё - [o],
  • e - [e],
  • yu - [y].
  Examples of online analysis by sounds: yellow [zho´ lty], silk [sho´ lk], whole [tse´ ly], recipe [r'itse´ pt], pearls [zhe´ mch'uk], six [she´ st '], hornet [she'rshen'], parachute [parashu't];
• The letters “I” “Yu” “E” “E” and “I” indicate the softness of the preceding consonant [’]. Exception only for: [f], [w], [c]. In such cases in a striking position they form one vowel sound:
  • ё – [o]: ticket [put'o´ fka], easy [l'o´ hk'iy], honey fungus [ap'o´ nak], actor [akt'o´ r], child [r'ib' o´nak];
  • e – [e]: seal [t’ul’e´ n’], mirror [z’e’ rkala], smarter [umn’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 a phonetic analysis of the composition, such a vowel sound is transcribed as [e] without a preceding apostrophe of softness: 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 [table´ t].
• Attention! After soft consonants in prestressed syllables the vowels “E” and “I” undergo qualitative reduction and are transformed into the sound [i] (except for [ts], [zh], [sh]). Examples of phonetic analysis of words with similar phonemes: - grain [z'i rno´], earth [z'i ml'a´], cheerful [v'i s'o´ly], ringing [z'v 'i n'i´t], forest [l'i sno´y], blizzard [m'i t'e´l'itsa], feather [p'i ro´], brought [pr' in'i sla´], knit [v'i za´t'], lie [l'i ga´t'], five grater [p'i t'o´rka]

Phonetic analysis: consonants of the Russian language

There is an absolute majority of consonants in the Russian language. 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 ringing appears in the voice.

How many consonants are there in Russian speech?

In the alphabet they are designated by 21 letters. However, when performing sound-letter analysis, you will find that in Russian phonetics consonant sounds more, namely 36.

Sound-letter analysis: what are the consonant sounds?

In our language there are consonants:

• hard - soft and form the corresponding pairs:
  • [b] - [b’]: b anan - b tree,
  • [in] - [in’]: in height - in yun,
  • [g] - [g’]: city - duke,
  • [d] - [d’]: dacha - dolphin,
  • [z] - [z’]: z von - z ether,
  • [k] - [k’]: k onfeta - to enguru,
  • [l] - [l’]: boat - l lux,
  • [m] - [m’]: magic - dreams,
  • [n] - [n’]: new - nectar,
  • [p] - [p’]: p alma- p yosik,
  • [r] - [r’]: daisy - row of poison,
  • [s] - [s’]: with uvenir - with urpriz,
  • [t] - [t’]: tuchka - t ulpan,
  • [f] - [f’]: f lag - f February,
  • [x] - [x’]: x orek - x seeker.
• Certain consonants do not have a hard-soft pair. Unpaired ones include:
  • sounds [zh], [ts], [sh] - always hard (zhzn, tsikl, mouse);
  • [ch’], [sch’] and [th’] are always soft (daughter, more often than not, yours).
• The sounds [zh], [ch’], [sh], [sh’] in our language are called hissing.

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

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

• Sonorant (l, m, n, r, y) are the most sonorous phonemes, in them a maximum of voices and a few noises are heard: l ev, rai, n o l.
• If, when pronouncing a word during sound parsing, both a voice and noise are formed, it means that you have a voiced consonant (g, b, z, etc.): plant, b people, life.
• When pronouncing voiceless consonants (p, s, t and others), the vocal cords do not tense, only noise is made: st opka, fishka, k ost yum, tsirk, sew up.

Note: In phonetics, consonant sound units also have a division according to the nature of formation: stop (b, p, d, t) - gap (zh, w, z, s) and method of articulation: labiolabial (b, p, m) , labiodental (f, v), anterior lingual (t, d, z, s, c, g, w, sch, h, n, l, r), midlingual (th), posterior lingual (k, g, x) . The names are given based on the organs of articulation that are involved in sound production.

Tip: If you're just starting to practice spelling words phonetically, try placing your hands on your ears and saying the phoneme. If you were able to hear a voice, then the sound being studied is a voiced consonant, but if noise is heard, then it is voiceless.

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

Positional changes of consonants in Russian

The consonant sound, just like the vowel, undergoes changes. The same letter phonetically can represent a different sound, depending on the position it occupies. In the flow of speech, the sound of one consonant is compared to the articulation of a consonant located next to it. This effect makes pronunciation easier and is called assimilation in phonetics.

Positional stun/voicing

In a certain position for consonants, the phonetic law of assimilation according to deafness and voicedness applies. The voiced paired consonant is replaced by a voiceless one:

• at the absolute end of a phonetic word: but [no´sh], snow [s’n’e´k], garden [agaro´t], club [klu´p];
• before voiceless consonants: forget-me-not a [n’izabu´t ka], obkh vatit [apkh vat’i´t’], Tuesday [ft o´rn’ik], tube a [corpse a].
• doing a sound-letter analysis online, you will notice that the voiceless paired consonant standing before the voiced one (except for [th'], [v] - [v'], [l] - [l'], [m] - [m'] , [n] - [n'], [r] - [r']) is also voiced, that 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 voiceless 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 [z] and [s] is equally acceptable.

When parsing 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 “-ого”, “-го” of adjectives, participles and pronouns, the consonant “G” is transcribed as the sound [в]: red [kra´snava], blue [s'i´n'iva] , white [b'e´lava], sharp, full, former, that, that, whom. If, after assimilation, two consonants of the same type are formed, they merge. In the school curriculum on phonetics, this process is called consonant contraction: separate [ad:'il'i´t'] → the letters “T” and “D” are reduced into sounds [d'd'], besh smart [b'ish: u ´much]. When analyzing the composition of a number of words in sound-letter analysis, dissimilation is observed - the opposite process to assimilation. In this case it changes common feature for two adjacent consonants: the combination “GK” sounds like [xk] (instead of the standard [kk]): light [l’o′kh’k’ii], soft [m’a′kh’k’ii].

Soft consonants in Russian

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

• Softening of paired hard consonants occurs before “b”;
• the softness of the consonant sound in a syllable in writing will help determine the vowel letter that follows it (e, ё, i, yu, i);
• [ш'], [ч'] and [й] are only soft by default;
• The sound [n] is always softened before soft consonants “Z”, “S”, “D”, “T”: claim [pr'iten'z 'iya], review [r'itseen'z 'iya], pension [pen 's' iya], ve[n'z'] el, licé[n'z'] iya, ka[n'd'] idat, ba[n'd'] it, i[n'd'] ivid , blo[n'd']in, stipe[n'd']iya, ba[n't']ik, vi[n't']ik, zo[n't']ik, ve[n' t'] il, a[n't'] ical, co[n't'] text, remo[n't'] edit;
• the letters “N”, “K”, “P” during phonetic analysis of their composition can be softened before the soft sounds [ch'], [sch']: glass ik [staka'n'ch'ik], smenschik ik [sm'e ′n'sch'ik], donch ik [po'n'ch'ik], mason ik [kam'e'n'sch'ik], boulevard [bul'va'r'sh'ina], borscht [ borsch'];
• often the sounds [з], [с], [р], [н] before 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-letter analysis, take into account the exception words when the consonant [p] before soft teeth and labials, as well as before [ch’], [sch’] is pronounced firmly: artel, feed, cornet, samovar;

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

Positional changes in paired voiced-voiceless consonants before hissing consonants and their transcription during sound-letter parsing

To determine the number of sounds in a word, you need to take them into account positional changes. Paired voiced-voiceless: [d-t] or [z-s] before sibilants (zh, sh, shch, h) are phonetically replaced by a sibilant consonant.

• Literal analysis and examples of words with hissing sounds: arrival [pr'ie'zhzh ii], ascend [vashsh e´st'iye], izzh elta [i´zh elta], take pity [zh a´l'its: A].

The phenomenon when two different letters pronounced as one, is called complete assimilation in all respects. When performing sound-letter analysis of a word, you must denote one of the repeated sounds in the transcription with the longitude symbol [:].

• Letter combinations with a hissing “szh” - “zzh” are pronounced like a double hard consonant [zh:], and “ssh” - “zsh” - like [sh:]: squeezed, sewed, without a splint, climbed in.
• The combinations “zzh”, “zhzh” inside the root, when parsed by letters and sounds, are written in transcription as a long consonant [zh:]: I ride, I squeal, later, reins, yeast, zhzhenka.
• The combinations “sch”, “zch” at the junction of a root and a suffix/prefix are pronounced as a long soft [sch’:]: account [sch’: o´t], scribe, customer.
• At the junction of the preposition with the following word in place of “sch”, “zch” is transcribed as [sch'ch']: without number [b'esh' ch' isla´], with something [sch'ch' e'mta] .
• During sound-letter analysis, the combinations “tch”, “dch” at the junction of morphemes are defined as double soft [ch':]: pilot [l'o´ch': ik], good fellow [little-ch': ik], report [ach': o´t].

Cheat sheet for comparing consonant sounds by place of formation

• sch → [sch':]: happiness [sch': a´s't'ye], sandstone [p'ish': a´n'ik], peddler [vari´sch': ik], paving stones, calculations, exhaust, clear;
• zch → [sch’:]: carver [r’e’sch’: ik], loader [gru’sch’: ik], storyteller [raska’sch’: ik];
• zhch → [sch’:]: defector [p’ir’ibe´ sch’: ik], man [musch’: i´na];
• shch → [sch’:]: freckled [in’isnu’sch’: ity];
• stch → [sch’:]: tougher [zho’sch’: e], biting, rigger;
• zdch → [sch’:]: roundabout [abye’sch’: ik], furrowed [baro’sch’: ity];
• ssch → [sch’:]: split [rasch’: ip’i′t’], became generous [rasch’: e’dr’ils’a];
• thsch → [ch'sch']: to split off [ach'sch' ip'i′t'], to snap off [ach'sch' o´lk'ivat'], in vain [ch'sch' etna], carefully [ch' sch' at'el'na];
• tch → [ch’:]: report [ach’: o′t], fatherland [ach’: i′zna], ciliated [r’is’n’i′ch’: i′ty];
• dch → [ch’:]: emphasize [pach’: o’rk’ivat’], stepdaughter [pach’: ir’itsa];
• szh → [zh:]: compress [zh: a´t’];
• zzh → [zh:]: get rid of [izh: y´t’], kindle [ro´zh: yk], leave [uyizh: a´t’];
• ssh → [sh:]: brought [pr’in’o′sh: y], embroidered [rash: y’ty];
• zsh → [sh:]: lower [n’ish: s′y]
• th → [pcs], in word forms with “what” and its derivatives, doing a sound-letter analysis, we write [pcs]: so that [pcs] , for nothing [n'e′ zasht a], something [ sht o n'ibut'], something;
• th → [h't] in other cases of letter parsing: dreamer [m'ich't a´t'il'], mail [po´ch't a], preference [pr'itpach't 'e´n' ie] etc;
• chn → [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, as well as in female patronymics ending in “-ichna”: Ilyinichna, Nikitichna, Kuzminichna, etc.;
• chn → [ch'n] - letter analysis for all other options: fabulous [ska´zach'n y], dacha [da´ch'n y], strawberry [z'im'l'in'i´ch'n y], wake up, cloudy, sunny, etc.;
• !zhd → in place of the letter combination “zhd”, double pronunciation and transcription [sch’] or [sht’] is allowed in the word rain and in the word forms derived from it: rainy, rainy.

Unpronounceable consonants in Russian words

During the pronunciation of an entire phonetic word with a chain of many different consonant letters, one or another sound may be lost. As a result, in the spelling 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´sn y], reed [tras’n ’i´k]. By analogy, one can perform a phonetic analysis of the words staircase, honest, famous, joyful, sad, participant, messenger, rainy, furious and others;
  • stl → [sl]: happy [sh':asl 'i´vyy"], happy, conscientious, boastful (exception words: bony and postlat, in them the letter “T” is pronounced);
  • ntsk → [nsk]: gigantic [g'iga´nsk 'ii], agency, presidential;
  • sts → [s:]: sixs from [shes: o´t], to eat up [take´s: a], to swear I [kl’a´s: a];
  • sts → [s:]: tourist [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]: x-ray en [r’eng ’e´n];
  • “–tsya”, “–tsya” → [ts:] in verb endings: smile [smile´ts: a], wash [my´ts: a], looks, will do, bow, shave, fit;
  • ts → [ts] for adjectives in combinations at the junction of a root and a suffix: childish [d’e´ts k’ii], bratskiy [bratskyi];
  • ts → [ts:] / [tss]: athlete [sparts: m’e´n], send [atss yla´t’];
  • tts → [ts:] at the junction of morphemes during phonetic analysis online is written as a long “ts”: bratz a [bra´ts: a], father epit [ats: yp'i´t'], to father u [k atz: y´];
• “D” - when parsing by sounds in the following letter combinations:
  • zdn → [zn]: late [z'n'y], star [z'v'ozn'y], holiday [pra'z'n'ik], free [b'izvazm' e′know];
  • ndsh → [nsh]: mundsh tuk [munsh tu´k], landsh aft [lansh a´ft];
  • NDsk → [NSK]: Dutch [Galansk ’ii], Thai [Thailansk ’ii], Norman [Narmansk ’ii];
  • zdts → [ss]: under the bridles [fall uss s´];
  • ndc → [nts]: Dutch [galans];
  • rdc → [rts]: heart [s’e´rts e], serdts evin [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 parsed soundly, the word is written as double [ts]: pick up [pats: yp'i´t'], twenty [dva´ts: yt'] ;
  • ds → [ts]: factory [zavac ko´y], rods tvo [rac tvo´], means [sr’e´ts tva], Kislovods k [k’islavo´ts k];
• “L” - in combinations:
  • sun → [nz]: sun [so´nts e], solar state;
• “B” - in combinations:
  • vstv → [stv] literal analysis of words: hello [hello, go away], feelings about [ch's'tva], sensuality [ch'us'tv 'inas't'], pampering about [pampering o´], virgin [d'e´stv 'in:y].

Note: In some words of the Russian language, when there is a cluster of consonant sounds “stk”, “ntk”, “zdk”, “ndk” the loss of the phoneme [t] is not allowed: trip [payestka], daughter-in-law, typist, summons, laboratory assistant, student , patient, bulky, Irish, Scottish.

• When parsing letters, two identical letters immediately after the stressed vowel are transcribed as a single sound and a longitude symbol [:]: 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 phonetic analysis of a word online according to the indicated rules, or you have an ambiguous analysis of the word being studied, use the help of a reference dictionary. 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: short theoretical course for schoolchildren. – MSU, M.: 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 Education Workers”, Tambov: 2012
• Rosenthal D.E., Dzhandzhakova E.V., Kabanova N.P. Handbook of 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.

Phonetics

Phonetics, as a branch of the science of language, studies the sound composition of speech: sounds, sound combinations, syllables, etc. The word "background" translated from Greek language- sound. The object of study of phonetics is not all sounds produced or reproduced by humans, but only those that are used for verbal communication, in dictionary specific language.

Sounds and letters

Firstly, you need to clearly understand that sounds are not the same thing. Sound is the smallest unit of speech; it is what people hear and say. And letters are signs that have been agreed upon to denote sounds. Written speech arose at a certain stage of development of the culture of a particular people for indirect communication. Alphabetic writing initially involved the image and transmission of speech sounds using a specific icon. Due to the fact that there are quite a lot of active sounds in human language, the correspondence of sounds and letters would make the alphabet too cumbersome. Therefore, certain rules for reading letters in different situations. In many world languages, the number of sounds and letters in words may not coincide, sometimes significantly. This is especially true for French.

Russian alphabet

In Russian, in a strong position (under stress) there are 6: A, O, U, Y, I, E and 36. In addition, consonant sounds in the Russian language form 11 pairs of / deafness and 15 pairs of hardness / softness. As for letters, there are currently 31 letters and 2 signs in the Russian alphabet: Ъ and ь.

Order of phonetic parsing

To spell words, it is necessary, firstly, to accurately write it on a line, breaking it into syllables, and indicate the stress. After this, the word is written letter by letter in a column. Next to each letter, it is given in square brackets. If a letter does not convey a sound (ъ, ь), it does not continue. If the letter in this situation is a diphthong and conveys two sounds, a transcription of both sounds is given (for example, these could be the letters: i, e, e, yu, i). Then, through a dash, each sound is characterized: for vowels, a stressed or unstressed position is indicated; Consonant sounds are distinguished by hardness/softness and dullness/voice. In conclusion, a line is drawn below, under which the number of letters and sounds in the word is signed.

Phonetic analysis of words is included in the compulsory school curriculum. This type of analysis often causes difficulties, since in this case it is not enough to learn the theory and know all the terms. It is imperative to develop phonetic and phonemic hearing. To do this you need to do it regularly practical tasks, and speak the words out loud. In higher educational institutions, phonetic analysis also pays a lot of attention. It is performed as part of the study of phonetics in the modern Russian language course. Students of philological faculties do the most detailed phonetic analysis of a word, use more terms and designations in the analysis. However, in general, the parsing rules are the same for everyone, with the exception of some additions.

The basic principle of phonetic parsing of a word
The main problem that arises when parsing a word phonetically is the influence of the letter form of the word. It is difficult to abstract from letter writing and not confuse letters with sounds.

The main principle of phonetic analysis is to concentrate all attention on the sound of the word. It needs to be transcribed so that it is as close to the sound as possible. Some simple tips will help you transcribe the word correctly.

1. Be sure to say the word out loud several times, think about the features of its sound
   
2. Transcribe the word as you hear it.
   
3. Do not make corrections to the transcription if the word becomes different from its letter designation. The sound “y” after “zh” and “sh”, the appearance of “y”, violation of spelling norms should not be the reasons for corrections: the transcription of the word does not correspond to the rules that are familiar to us.
   
4. After recording, try to pronounce the word again, pronouncing each sound separately. Then you will probably make additional adjustments.
   
5. If some sounds are in doubt, choose one option or record both. Often a word can be transcribed in different ways, since the pronunciation itself allows for an alternative. Some sounds occupy an intermediate position between the two options.
   

To perform phonetic analysis of a word correctly, it is very important to transcribe it accurately using the recommendations.
Characteristics of sounds in phonetic analysis

When performing a phonetic analysis of a word, you need to characterize each sound recorded in the transcription. All sounds are divided into vowels and consonants. Vowels can be stressed or unstressed. When describing consonant sounds, you should indicate following signs in this sequence:

• deafness/voice;
  
• paired/unpaired;
  
• hardness/softness.
  

You will need to learn voiced and voiceless consonants, always hard and always soft consonants, and also pay special attention to unpaired consonants. It is better to have a special memo that lists all consonant sounds by position:

• voiced pairs: b, c, d, d, g, h;
  
• voiced unpaired: j, l, m, r, n;
  
• voiceless pairs: p, f, k, t, sh, s;
  
• voiceless unpaired: x, c, h, sch;
  
• only hard ones: w, w, c;
  
• only soft ones: th, ch’, shch’.
  

The graphic symbol for softness is an apostrophe. You need to remember that you shouldn’t indicate softness in “th”.

When performing a phonetic analysis of a word, one must constantly take into account that the vowel sounds “e”, “e”, “yu” and “ya” do not exist. Try to pronounce them - you will see that they are two sounds: “th” and, accordingly, “e”, “o”, “u” and “a”.

When transcribed, letters have two sound options.

1. After consonants, the letters “e”, “e”, “yu”, “ya” correspond to the sounds “e”, “o”, “u”, “a”. They soften the consonant that comes in front (except for those that are always hard). It must be remembered that in borrowed words the consonant sound before “e” can also be hard. Before denoting softness and starting to characterize the sound, you need to listen to the sound of the word and, if necessary, consult a dictionary.
   
2. After a vowel, a soft and a hard sign, at the beginning of a word, the letters break up in transcription into two sounds: the “th” in front of it is added to the vowel.
   

The sound “th” can appear where it does not exist in the usual letter designation, as in the previous examples. It's connected with historical development language and its changes are discussed in detail in the course on the history of the Russian language at philological faculties. Most often, the phenomenon is observed in possessive adjectives, answering the question whose?:

canine [sabach'yi]

foxes [l’is’yi]

Listen carefully to the sound of the word when pronouncing it out loud: then you will definitely find the sound “th” in it, if it is there.

Phonetic processes
When analyzing a word as a phonetic unit, you need to know what phonetic processes exist. At school they study 4 basic phonetic processes.

1. Stunning consonants at the end of a word. Voiced consonants become deaf, which is reflected in the transcription of the word and the characteristics of the sound. Mushroom [flu].
   
2. Softening hard consonants before soft ones. It is important to remember that mitigation does not always occur. Most often, s, s, d, t, n are softened. Here [z'd'es'].
   
3. Assimilation (similarity) of voiced consonants to voiceless ones. Voiced ones are deafened. Sponges [gupk’i].
   
4. Assimilation of voiceless consonants before voiced ones. Deaf people make voice calls. Shoot down [zb’it’].
   

In specialized gymnasium classes with a language bias, as well as in philological faculties, the phenomena of accommodation, dissimilation and reduction are studied. They need to be learned, so that applicants can navigate them well. During accommodation, a partial adaptation of the articulation of a stressed vowel and consonant located nearby occurs: the beginning of the articulation of the vowel adapts to the end of the articulation of the preceding sound, the beginning of the articulation of the subsequent sound. Dissimilation is the dissimilarity of sounds. During the reduction process, the articulation of the vowel sound weakens and its sound changes. The reduction can be quantitative (the strength of the sound, longitude is reduced, the timbre is preserved, the vowels and and y are affected) and qualitative (signs of the timbre of the sound are lost, the vowels e, a, o are affected).

Algorithm for phonetic word parsing
Phonetic analysis of a word must be carried out in strict accordance with a given algorithm. At school the word is like phonetic unit should be analyzed as follows:

1. First, write down the word.
   
2. Say it and listen to the sound.
   
3. Then, in square brackets, write a transcription of the word, reflecting all the sounds in it and denoting the syllable division with a hyphen.
   
4. Write how many syllables there are in the word, which syllable is stressed.
   
5. Write down all the letters of the word in a column, and indicate the sounds next to the corresponding letters in square brackets.
   
6. Give a description of each sound, starting with whether it is a vowel or a consonant.
   
7. Vowels and consonants are characterized differently:
   • for vowels you need to indicate whether they are stressed;
     
   • for consonants, indicate deafness/voice, paired/unpaired, give a paired sound, indicate hardness/softness and pairedness according to this characteristic, write a hard or soft pair.
     
8. Draw a horizontal line under the columns of letters and sounds, count the number of letters and sounds, and indicate it.
   

Students of philological faculties give more detailed description sounds. Vowels are divided into rows (front, middle, back) and rise (upper, middle, lower), as well as into labialized and non-labialized. Consonants differ in the way they are formed and in the participation of the voice. There are noisy and sonorant, labial and lingual consonant sounds, which in turn fall into a number of groups.

Phonetic analysis of a word requires the development of phonetic hearing and knowledge of the basic characteristics of sounds. It is enough to follow the parsing principle and adhere to the algorithm to perform it correctly.

Let us list the rules that need to be taken into account when analyzing a word phonetically: compiling a transcription and phonetic characteristics. Let's consider the rules for soft and hard signs, for vowels and consonants. There are certain nuances from the list of rules that are paid attention to in middle classes and are not studied in primary school, we will give examples for them. The rules discussed on this page are correct and complete only for school curriculum.

Designations

Notations used in phonetic analysis:

1. The transcription of the word is enclosed in square brackets: family → [s"im"y"a]. Sometimes an accent mark is placed in the transcription: [s"im"y"a ́];
2. Each sound in phonetic analysis is enclosed in square brackets: s - [s], i - [i], m - [m"], etc. Opposite the soft and hard signs, put a dash or a dash in square brackets: b - [- ];
3. The softness of sound is marked with an apostrophe: m - [m"];
4. A long sound (long sound) is indicated by a colon: tennis → [t"en":is], loader → [grush':ik];
   instead of a colon, a long sound is also indicated by a horizontal line above the sound;
5. In most school programs, at the end of phonetic analysis, a line is drawn, under which the number of letters and sounds in the word is indicated.

A detailed plan, oral and written examples of phonetic analysis are presented on the page.

Rules for ь, ъ

1. The letters ь, ъ do not represent sounds. They cannot be present in the transcription of the word.
2. The letter ь softens the previous consonant.
3. The letter ъ is used only as a separator.

Vowel phonetics

1. There are no sounds [e], [ё], [yu], [ya]. They cannot be present in the transcription of the word.
2. The letters a, o, u, s, e make the previous consonant hard.
3. The letters i, ё, yu, and, e make the previous consonant soft. But in some foreign words the consonant before the letter e remains hard.
   Cafe → [cafe], compartment → [compartment], hotel → [atel"].
4. The letters i, yu, e, е after consonants indicate the following sounds: i → [a], yu → [y], e → [e], е → [o].
   Ball → [m"ach", chalk → [m"el].
5. Letters i, e, e, o after consonants no accent denote the following sounds: i → [e] or [i], e → [i], e → [e] or [i], o → [a].
   Rowan → [r"eb"ina], spot → [p"itno], fun → [v"es"ila], cow → [karova].
6. The letters е, я, ю, е after vowels, after ъ, ь and at the beginning of a word indicate the following sounds: я → [й "а], ю → [й "у], е → [й "е], ё → [ y"o] (under stress) and i → [y"i], e → [y"i] (without stress). They are called iotized. In some publications j is written instead of th.
7. The letter and after ь denotes the sound [th"i].
   Streams → [ruch "th"i].
8. The letter and after the consonants zh, sh, ts denotes the sound [s].

Let us summarize the rules for “converting” vowels into sounds with a table:

	A	O	And	e	at	Yu	e	I	uh	s
under stress	A	O	And	uh	at	at	O	A	uh	s
no accent	A	A	And	And	at	at	O	uh, and	uh, and	s
at the beginning of a word	A	O	And	y"e	at	th"y	th"o	y"a	uh	s
after vowels	A	O	And	y"e	at	th"y	th"o	y"a	uh	s
after ь, ъ	A	O	th"i	y"e	at	th"y	th"o	y"a	uh	s
after w, w, c	s	O	s	s	at	at	O	A	uh	s

Phonetics of consonants

1. In phonetic analysis, soft consonants are indicated by the apostrophe sign ": [l"], [s"], [h"], etc.
2. In phonetic analysis, a long sound (drawn out) is indicated by a colon [zh:], [ts:] or a dash above the sound [zh], [ts].
3. The letters th, ch, shch always denote soft sounds: [th"], [ch"], [shch"]. They remain soft even if they are followed by the vowels a, o, u, y, e.
4. The letters zh, ts, sh always denote hard sounds: [zh], [ts], [sh]. They remain hard even if they are followed by the vowels i, ё, yu, i, e.
5. The letter th always denotes a voiced and soft sound [th"].
6. The letters l, m, n, r, y always denote voiced sounds and are called sonorant.
7. The letters x, c, ch, shch always represent unvoiced sounds.
8. Paired consonants in terms of voicedness/voicelessness at the end of a word and before a voiceless consonant indicate a voiceless sound: b → [p], d → [t], g → [k], z → [s], v → [f]:
   pillar → [pillar], train → [sing"est].
9. Unpronounceable consonants v, d, l, t do not denote a sound at the root:
   feeling → [ch"sti", sun → [sonts"e].
10. Double consonants after a stressed vowel give a long sound:
    group → [group:a], tennis → [ten:is].
11. Double consonants before a stressed vowel produce a single consonant sound:
    million → [m"il"ion], alley → [al"ey"a].

In some cases:

1. The letter s at the beginning of a word means a voiced sound [z]:
   did → [z"d"elal].
2. The letter g before a voiceless consonant is pronounced as [k] or [x]:
   claws → [kokt"i], soft → [m"ah"k"iy"]
3. Consonants between the root and the suffix before a soft consonant are pronounced softly:
   umbrella → [zon"t"ik].
4. The letter n denotes a soft sound before the consonants ch, sh:
   glass → [glass "ch"ik], changer → [sm"en"sch"ik].
5. The combination -chn-, -cht- is pronounced like [sh]:
   of course → [kan"eshna], boring → [boring], what → [shto].

The combination of certain consonants in words produces a long or unpronounceable sound:

1. The combination of letters -зж- denotes one sound [zh:]:
   get rid of → [izh:yt"], leave → [uizh:at"].
2. The combination of letters -ts-, -ts- means one sound [ts:]:
   swim → [bapts:a].
3. The combination of letters -stn- is pronounced as [sn], -stl- - [sl], -zdn- - [zn]:
   starry → [stellar"], ladder → [l"es"n"itsa].
4. At the endings of adjectives -ogo, -its consonant G denotes the sound [v]:
   gold → [zalatova], blue → [sin "eva].
5. Combinations of letters -сч-, -зч-, -жч- indicate the sound [ш"]:
   happy → [sch"aslivy"], cab driver → [izvoshch"ik], defector → [p"ir"ib"esch"ik].

These are all the basic rules of phonetic analysis. To consolidate the topic within the school curriculum, the publication by E.I. Litnevskaya is suitable. "Russian language. A short theoretical course for schoolchildren."

There are a number of rules for the institute’s program and in-depth study of the phonetics of the Russian language. The rules take into account the subtleties of modern phonetic pronunciation and phonetic features over the past centuries. Such rules are not discussed in the school curriculum, so as not to complicate a topic that is already difficult for schoolchildren to understand. Thus, outside the school curriculum, options with a soft sound [zh’], including those characteristic of Old Moscow pronunciation, are considered. At the root of the word in the combinations -zh-, -zh- and -zh- in the word rain, instead of the hard sound [zh:] there is a soft [zh’:]. For example, yeast – [yeast’:i]. According to another rule: the letter u before a voiced consonant receives voicing and is marked with a voiced sound [zh’:]. For example, in the word material evidence – [v’izh’:dok].

Our site can do phonetic analysis of words automatically. Use the word search form.

Linguists call phonetic analysis an analysis from the standpoint of syllabic composition and the quality of the sounds that make up a word. This is roughly the definition given by online search engines, and it is quite true. Phonetic analysis is one of the main components of the school course in the Russian language.

Along with it, this course includes analysis of composition and morphological analysis . Each of these types has its own basic rules. Everyone who studied at school had to do a complete phonetic analysis of a word in class.

However, the one who left educational institution I might have long ago forgotten what phonetic analysis is and what its basic rules are. Of course, it won’t be difficult to find information about the phonetic analysis of a word online if you wish. Remember this task, which fell to the lot of everyone from the very beginning junior classes, it won't be difficult.

How to perform phonetic analysis?

The main characteristic of vowels is one - location under stress or not. Consonants have more of them: soft or hard, voiceless or voiced, whether they have a pair.

1. Speak out loud the subject of analysis.
2. Do not forget to check the accuracy of the written transmission.
3. Remember about spelling.
4. Special attention Pay attention to combinations of sounds of the same order (vowels or consonants, etc.).

What you need to know when doing phonetic analysis

Phonetic parsing will require some general information about the features of graphic transmission of a number of sounds. It will help to make a phonetic analysis of the word paired sounds correspondence table. There are a few of them: b - p, v - f, g - k, g - w, z - s.

Ъ (hard sign) and ь (soft sign) do not reflect independent sounds; they only appropriately illustrate the quality of the consonant before them.

Letters e, ё, yu, i in initial position or after a vowel mean two sounds - [th] and [e], [o], [u] or [a] respectively: box, galaxy, spinning top, fir tree, spruce.

But if they come after a consonant, it means it is soft.

An exception is e, which can be used in some cases after a hard word or to convey the sound [e] after a vowel (for example, project).

The sounds [o] and [e] are not stressed are subject to a phenomenon that in linguistics is called reduction: the letter o is in most cases read as [a], and [e] as [s].

Instead of a voiced consonant at the end of a word or before a voiceless consonant, a paired voiceless consonant is sounded.

So, “mushroom” is pronounced [gr’yp].

The sounds [ch’], [ts] and [sch’] do not have voiced pairs, while [l], [m], [n], [r], [y’] do not have paired voiceless ones.

Sample phonetic analysis

Let's give some examples.

ko-rA-bl, three syllables, drum second

[karab’l’]

K - [k] consonant, hard, voiceless, paired

O - [a] vowel, unstressed

R - [r] consonant, hard, voiced, unpaired

A - [a] vowel, stressed

B - [b’] consonant, soft, voiced, unpaired

L - [l’] consonant, soft, voiced, unpaired

Seven letters and six sounds.

mushroom, one syllable, stressed

G - [g] consonant, hard, voiced, paired

Р - [р’] consonant, soft, voiced, paired

I - [s] vowel, stressed

B - [n] consonant, hard, voiced, paired

Four letters and four sounds.

Hedgehog, one syllable, stressed

Yo - [th’] consonant, soft, voiced, unpaired

- [o] vowel, stressed

F - [w] consonant, hard, voiceless, paired.

Two letters and three sounds.

What else is useful to know?

Depending on the methodology and set of textbooks used by teachers in a particular school or class, the formal requirements for phonetic analysis of a word may vary slightly. However, the general recommendations are generally the same.

In some cases, questions may arise what to do with prepositions. Most often, in practice, their phonetic analysis is simply not done. Although, just in case, it will be useful to know that usually a preposition is, as it were, adjacent to the part of speech that follows it, and if there are vowels in it, they will most often be unstressed.

For example, in the combination of the preposition and the noun “on the field,” the first syllable in the word “field” is stressed, and the construction itself is pronounced [papOl’u]. Although the option [hit] is also possible. Cases when the emphasis falls on the preposition, and not on what follows it, are rare, but they do occur. A striking example can serve as the roughly colloquial “don’t care” [pOf’yk].

This phenomenon becomes possible because, from a phonetic point of view, nouns and prepositions are often perceived not as different words, and one word is pronounced exactly like that. In linguistics this is called a phonetic word. However, such in-depth information is usually taught in the course of phonetics to philology students, but at school they don’t go into such jungle. Well, anyone who is interested in this point can find necessary information and examples online.

At school, students are given tasks on phonetic analysis of words, primarily to reinforce basic theoretical knowledge which they receive from the teacher and from books. In its turn, basic knowledge of phonetics will serve them well in practical application language, that is, its correct use in writing and reading. Thus, an understanding of such linguistic phenomena as the peculiarities of the pronunciation of sounds depending on position allows us to understand why in some cases it is necessary to use a letter that conveys a different sound than is heard.

Phonetics and everything connected with it acquires particular importance in regions with pronounced dialect features. For example, in Upper Volga dialects the letter o in an unstressed position is read [o], and in South Russian dialects, due to the peculiarities of the local pronunciation of the sound [g], with aspiration, its pair actually becomes [x]. However, in Russian language lessons, phonetic analysis is required according to the rules literary language. This should help students master Russian literary speech. After all, using a dialect is considered a sign of illiteracy.