Introduction to the Russian language 9
Soft consonants (Audio 1.7)
The effect of a soft sign ь on the consonant that precedes it has already
been mentioned. Certain vowels have the same effect. They are e, ё,
и, ю, я. Consonants followed by these vowels are pronounced in the
same way as consonants followed by a soft sign, i.e. with the middle of
the tongue rising towards the roof of the mouth: билéт.
Most Russian consonants have both this soft form and a hard form
which is pronounced with the tongue lower in the mouth. The difference
in sound is most noticeable with the consonants л and т: журнáл
‘magazine’, стиль ‘style’, спорт ‘sport’, мать ‘mother’.
A small number of Russian consonants have only a hard or only a
soft form. Ж, ш and ц are always hard. After them и sounds like ы, е
sounds like э and a soft sign ь is ignored: цирк ‘circus’, центр ‘centre’.
Ч and щ are always soft and after them a sounds like я and y like
ю: чай ‘tea’.
Consonants at the ends of words (Audio 1.8)
At the end of a word
д is pronounced like т: шокола�д ‘chocolate’
(pronunciation шокола�т)
г is pronounced like к: друг ‘friend’
(pronunciation друк)
в is pronounced like ф: Горбачёв ‘Gorbachev’
(pronunciation Горбaчёф)
з is pronounced like c: джаз ‘jazz’
(pronunciation джас)
ж is pronounced like ш: бага�ж ‘luggage’
(pronunciation бага�ш)
б is pronounced like п: гриб ‘mushroom’
(pronunciation гpип).
This is because д, г, в, з, ж, б are voiced consonants, i.e. when they are
pronounced the vocal chords vibrate. T, к, ф, c, ш, п are voiceless con-
sonants. They are pronounced with exactly the same shaped mouth and
tongue position as their voiced partners but without the vibration of the
vocal chords. Consonants at the ends of words in Russian are always
pronounced as if they are voiceless, irrespective of how they are written.