Pronounce Russian Properly

Pronounce
Russian
Properly
Masterthe pronunciationandthe music
ofRussian!
Tatiana
Kharitonchik

Outline of the course
• Introduction
• InternationalPhonetic Alphabet
• Pronunciation
– Yourvocaltract
– Russianconsonants
– Russianvowels
• Lexicalstressand rhythm
• Intonationand prosodic stress
• Conclusion
• Additionalrecourses

Introduction
• Welcome to our training, designed specifically for you – a
person who wantsto speak Russian properly and be easily
understood!
• Our mainobjective is to get you familiar withthe sounds and
themanners of speakingthatexist in Russianbut do NOT
exist in English.

Introduction
The problem lies in thebad
habit to study languages
almost solely from texts
Problem ?
Solution !
The pronunciationof
Russiancannot be
guessed, it has to be
learned!

Introduction
Conventions:
• Every word is transcribed using the IPA symbols. Such transcriptions are put between
two slashes (//) ;
• The stress in a transcription is marked by the “ˈ” symbol;
• Palatalization is marked by the /ʲ/ superscript in transcriptions;
• The stress in a word is marked by underlining the stressed syllable;
• Words or parts of words, we want to draw your attention to, are indicated in bold.
For example:
абсолютно /ɐpsɐˈlʲʉtnə/ absolutely

International Phonetic Alphabet
• Russian is not a phoneticlanguage
Language Number of letters in the alphabet Number of sounds Phonetic language,
%
Hungarian 44 40 110%
Esperanto 28 33 85%
Russian 33 50 66%
English 26 44 59%
InternationalPhonetic Alphabetis indispensible
when learningtopronounce such languages

International Phonetic Alphabet
• You will notice that every example in our course is transcribed
phonetically. Since Russian is not a phonetic language, it is very useful to
have a tool to help us write down words thewaywepronounce them.
• That has become possible with the invention of theInternational
Phonetic Alphabet, also known as the IPA.The IPA lets us write any
language phonetically.
• IPA for English:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/wikipedia:IPA_for_English

Pronunciation
• Attitude. How should I approach learning Russian phonetics?
Simply keep an open and positive attitude and you will make rapid progress
in speaking Russian. Do not take things too seriously and just enjoy
discovering new things to improve your spoken Russian.
• Getting usedto new sounds.
The human ears and brain are fantastic “machines”, and believe us, with some
regular practice and thanks to this method, you are going to learn how to
distinguish all the sounds that exist in Russian even if they sound all the same
in the beginning.

Pronunciation. The method
For each sound that exists in Russian but not in English we are going to see in
detail how it functions.
1. We willexplain you how to succeed in hearing the sound more easily by
simply comparing it with the similar – yet different – English sounds.
2. We willprecisely explain you how to articulate the sound.
3. We willgive you lots of examples, which were not chosen at random, but
based on their frequency of use in the real, spoken, Russian language.

Pronunciation. Your vocal tract
Source: By Megsmith (Own
work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0
(http://creativecommons.o
rg/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via
Wikimedia Commons

Your vocal tract. The mouth and
the lips
work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0
Wikimedia Commons
Mouth

• The mouth and thelips
– Your mouth can be more or less opened or closed vertically – this
function iscontrolled by your jaw.
– Your mouth can also be more or less opened horizontally – thanks
to the muscles in your cheeks.
– Finally, your lips canbe rounded asin the diphthong /ou/ or rather
relaxed and loose.

Your vocal tract. The tongue
tipof thetongue
backofthe
tongue
work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0
Wikimedia Commons

• The tongue
– Forconsonants, we will mostly play with the placement of the tip of
the tongue;
– Forvowels, we will also pay attention to the placement of the tip of
the tongue, but besides, we will talkabout the top of the back of the
tongue.
There are two options: to position the tip of the tongue more to the front or
more to the back(i.e. on a horizontal axis)and to position the back of the
tongue more or less high in the mouth (i.e. on a verticalaxis).

• The tongue
For example, for the sound /i/ as in “seed” the tongue is more to the front and the top while
for the sound /u/ as in “food” it is also at the top but, as for the backness, more to the back of
the mouth. Compare the sensations: /i/, /u/.
The sound /ɪ/ as in “lid” is in between these two. Compare: /i/, /ɪ/, /u/. Your tongue goes back
step by step, all the while staying at the top of your mouth – /i/, /ɪ/, /u/.
In Russian, in order to pronounce the /ʉ/ sound we need to adopt a position of the tongue. As
for the backness, it should be in the middle between the /i/ as in “seed” and the /u/ as in
“food”: /i/, /ʉ/, /u/.
Basically, the difference between /ʉ/ and /ɪ/ as in “lid” is in the position of your lips: they are
rounded for the /ʉ/ sound and relaxed for the /ɪ/ sound.

Your vocal tract. the lips
work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0
Wikimedia Commons

• The lips
Good examples to practice this are the Englishsounds /ɔ/ asin “fall” and
/ʌ/ asin “mud”.
These two sounds are articulated exactlyat the same place in your mouth
with the tongue at the back and almost at the bottom of the mouth.
Their only difference is the form of your lips:/ɔ/, /ʌ/. For the /ɔ/sound
your lips are rounded, while for the /ʌ/sound they are quite relaxed.

Your vocal tract. The vocal
cords
work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0
Wikimedia Commons

• The vocal cords
Pronouncethe following twoseries ofsoundstofeel whetheryourvocal cordsvibrateor not:
It is bettertolet thesoundlastlonger toproperidentifyyoursensations.
Withoutthe vibrationofvocal cords:/ttt/ /ppp/ /fff/ /kkk/ /sss/ /ʃʃʃ/;
Withthe vibrationofvocal cords:/ddd/ /bbb/ /vvv/ /ggg/ /zzz/ /ʒʒʒ/.
Vocal cordsdo NOT
vibrate
/t/ (T as in “to”)
/p/ (P as in “people”)
/f/ (F as in “for”)
/k/ (K as in “can”)
/s/ (S as in “so”)
/ʃ/ (SH as in “she”)
Vocal cords vibrate
/d/ (D as in “do”)
/b/ (B as in “be”)
/v/ (V as in “have”)
/g/ (G as in “go”)
/z/ (Z as in “zoo”)
/dʒ/ (DG as in “badge”)

Your vocal tract. The glottis
Glottis
work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0
Wikimedia Commons

Your vocal tract. The alveolar
ridge
work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0
Wikimedia Commons

SECTION III
Russian
consonants

Pronunciation. Russian
consonants
• Russianhas 36 consonantsounds and only 14 vowel sounds.
Most consonantsounds come in hard–soft pairs.
HARD /b/ /v/ /g/ /d/ /z/ /k/ /l/ /m/
SOFT /bʲ/ /vʲ/ /gʲ/ /dʲ/ /zʲ/ /kʲ/ /lʲ/ /mʲ/
HARD /n/ /p/ /r/ /s/ /t/ /f/ /x/
/xʲ/
SOFT /pʲ/ /rʲ/ /sʲ/ /tʲ/ /fʲ/
/nʲ/

consonants
• Other 6consonants do notform pairs:
• Thesound /j/isjust thesameas in English.
• /ʐ/, /ʂ/, /ɕ/ arenew toyou.
• Sounds /ʦ/ and /ʨ/ are simplycombinationsofthesound /t/
and, respectively,/s/ and/ɕ/.
Always HARD /ʐ/ /ʂ/ /ʦ/
Always SOFT /ʨ/ /ɕ/ /j/
In termsofRussianconsonants,wehave5 new consonantsounds,2 combinationsof
soundsandpalatalizationtolearn.

Russian consonants.
Palatalization
• Palatalizationis theprocess thatcauses softeningofa consonant
sound by pushing themiddleofthetongue closer tothepalate.
Example:кино /kʲiˈno/movie
• Palatalizationmeansthatthe consonant ispronounced as if
followedvery closely by thesound /j/(likethe"y" in "yellow").
• In theIPAtranscription,palatalizedconsonants areindicatedwith
a superscript "j"(e.g.:шить/ʂɨtʲ/tosew).

• In Russian,pronouncing a sound clearly hard or clearlysoft iscritically
important because, often, the softness or hardness of the consonant is
the only difference between two words. It is like minimal pairs
(ship/sheep) but for consonants.
Кров /krof/ - this word refers to any kind of accommodation.
But кровь /krofʲ/ - means blood.
Russian consonants.
Palatalization

Russian consonants.
Palatalization
• Theeasiest palatalized soundfor Englishspeakingpeople is
/tʲ/.
/t/
/tʲ/
Produce the English /t/ sound and thenmove
the tip of your tongue from the alveolar ridge
right to the bottom of your two top front teeth,
and press it towards the teeth. Themiddle part of the tongue rightbehind
an alveolar ridge; the tip of the tongue is
close or on the lower teeth; the mouthis
narrowand smiling.

Russian consonants.
Palatalization
• This description applies to most Russiansoftconsonants:/gʲ/,
/dʲ/, /zʲ/, /kʲ/, /lʲ/, /nʲ/, /sʲ/, /tʲ/, /rʲ/, /xʲ/. For the rest of the
sounds, themechanismis different.
/bʲ/ /mʲ/ /pʲ/ /vʲ/ /fʲ/
Move yourlips a little bit forward and press them
one against the other. Both sides of a tongue are
pressed by uppermolars.
Combine the usual articulation of an English /v/ sound
and palatalization (i.e. tongue between upper molars
and tense inthe lips as if you were smiling).

Russian consonants.
Palatalization
балет/bɐˈlʲet/ ballet
BUT
болеть /bɐˈlʲetʲ/ to beill;
быть /bɨtʲ/ to be
BUT
бить /bʲitʲ/ tobeat;
вал /val/ rampart
BUT
вял /vʲæl/ sluggish.
/t/ and /tʲ/:
/b/ and /bʲ/:
/v/ and /vʲ/:

consonants
Consonant
sounds
found
in
both
languages
iden
Consonant sound you KNOW Example in English Example in Russian
/b/ buy брать /bratʲ/ to take
/v/ have вы /vɨ/ you (plural or polite singular)
/g/ guy гулять /guˈlʲætʲ/ to walk
/z/ zoo знать /znatʲ/ to know
/k/ sky как /kak/ how
/m/ my мы /mɨ/ we
/p/ pie потом /pɐˈtom/ later
/s/ so сейчас /sʲɪjˈʨas/ now
/f/ fan все /fsʲe/ everybody
/j/ yes я /jæ/ I

consonants
• Consonantsoundsthat exist in English but are slightly different in Russian
TheAmerican English /n/, /l/, /d/and /t/ sounds are formed by placing the tip of the
tongue behind your upperfront teeth, usually onthe alveolar ridge.Using just the tip of
the tongue makes the sounds “lighter”.
Thecorresponding Russian sounds arepronounced with the tongue tip flat and wide,
placed before the ridge, pushing against the upperfront teeth. This createsa “heavier”
sound.
• /l/ : look – лук /luk/ (onion)
• /d/ : data – дата /ˈdatə/ (date)
• /n/ : no – но /no/ (but)
• /t/ : talk – ток/tok/ (electric current)

consonants
• The/ʂ/ sound (что)
When pronouncing the /ʂ/ sound, ourspeechorgans take the following position:
 Lips are pushed forward;
 The mouth and teeth are slightly opened;
 The tongue is wide and placed up to the roof of a mouth, on the alveolar ridge. The tongue
does not touch the roof; there is a narrow slot between them;
 Both sides of the tongue are pressed by upper molars, so that an air stream is centralized.
As you breathe out, push forward your lips and at the same time hold your tongue between
the teeth. The middle part of the tongue sags;
 The vocal cords are relaxed, so that the sound is not voiced.
Consonant soundsthat do not exist in English

consonants
/ ʂ /
Type of an example Word 1 Word 2 Word 3 Word 4 Word 5
5 most frequent
words:
что
/ʂto/
what
ничто
/nʲɪʂˈto/
nothing
что-то
/ˈʂtotə/
something
конечно
/kɐˈnʲeʂnə/
of course
хорошо
/xərɐˈʂo/
good
Words with the
sound at the
beginning of a word
что-нибудь
/ˈʂtonʲɪbutʲ/
something
шесть
/ʂɛstʲ/
six
штука
/ˈʂtukə/
thing
шить
/ʂɨtʲ/
to sew
шоколад
/ʂəkɐˈlat/
chocolate
Words with the
sound in the middle
of a word
слушать
/ˈsluʂətʲ/
to listen
девушка
/ˈdʲevuʂkə/
adolescent girl
бабушка
/ˈbabuʂkə/
grandmother
лучше
/ˈluʨʂɪ/
better
книжка
/ˈknʲiʂkə/
book
Words with the
sound at the end of a
word
уж
/uʂ/
already
замуж
/ˈzamuʂ/
to marry
слышь
/slɨʂ/
listen
картридж
/ˈkartrʲɪtʂ/
cartridge
ваш
/vaʂ/
your/yours

consonants
• Tongue twisters for the /ʂ/ sound:
Шла Саша по шоссе и сосала сушку.
/ʂla ˈSaʂə pə ʂəsˈsɛ i sɐˈsalə ˈsuʂku/
Sasha was walking along the road and was eating (‘sucking’) a ‘sushka’. Sushka is a
traditional Russian tea bread. It is a small, crunchy, mildly sweet bread ring which can
be eaten for dessert.
Тише, мыши! Кот на крыше! Зашумите - он услышит!
/ˈtʲiʂɪ ˈmɨʂɨ ! kot nə ˈkrɨʂɪ ! zəʂuˈmʲitʲɪ - on usˈlɨʂɪt/
Hush, mice! Cat is on the roof! You will rustle - he will hear!
1
2

consonants
• The /ʐ/ sound (уже)
This sound is pronounced just the same as /ʂ/.
Your speech organs take that exact position. The only difference is that your vocal cords are
NOT relaxed;
The /ʐ/ sound is voiced.
If you are not sure that you pronounce it correctly (the voiced part), put the palm of your hand
to the front of your neck. If you do it right, you will feel a sort of the vibration.
As mentioned before, /ʐ/ and /ʂ/ are always hard, even when the spelling contains a
"softening" letter after them, as in жить /ʐitʲ/ to live.

consonants
/ ʐ /
5 most frequent
words:
уже
/uˈʐɛ/
already
тоже
/ˈtoʐe/
also
нужно
/ˈnuʐnə/
necessary
пожалуйста
/pɐˈʐɑləstə/
please
может
/ˈmoʐɪt/
may be
Words with the
sound at the
beginning of a word
жалко
/ˈʐɑlkə/
it’s a pity
жарко
/ˈʐarkə/
hot
жуть
/ʐutʲ/
horror
жёлтый
/ˈʐɵltɨj/
yellow
жизнь
/ˈʐɨzʲnʲ/
life
Words with the
sound in the middle
of a word
подождать
/pədɐˈʐdatʲ/
to wait
приезжать
/prʲɪjɪʐʐˈatʲ/
to arrive
мужик
/muˈʐɨk/
dude
ужасный
/uˈʐasnɨj/
horrible
мороженое
/mɐˈroʐɨnəjə/
ice-cream
Words with the
sound at the end of a
word
There are no words that end with this sound

consonants
• Tongue twisters for the /ʐ/ sound:
Жить - поживать, да добра наживать.
/ʐɨtʲ - pəʐɨ ˈvatʲ , dɐ dɐ ˈ bra nəʐɨ ˈ vatʲ/
Live happily ever after.
Дружба дружбой, а служба службой.
/ˈdruʐbə ˈdruʐbəj, a ˈsluʐbə ˈsluʐbəj/
Friends are O.K, when they do not get in the way.
1
2

consonants
• The /ɕ/ sound (вообще)
Articulation ofthis sound is also quite similar tothe /ʂ/ sound:
o The mouth andteeth are slightly opened;
o The tongue is wide andplaced up tothe roofof the mouth, on the alveolar ridge. The tongue does not touch the roof;
there is aslot between them;
o Both sides ofthe tongue arepressed byupper molars,sothat the airstream is centralized;
o The vocal cords arerelaxed, sothat the sound is not voiced.
Now, let us highlight the difference:
 Lips areNOTpushed forward.Imagine that you are smiling very widely.At the sametime, your mouth is
almost closed,so the smileis going to be pretty narrow;
 Unlikethe /ʂ/sound, your tongue is NOTsupposed to sag whenyou produce this sound. It is wideand flat;
 Another differenceis that your tongue is pressedby upper molars morestrongly and tenselythan for previous
ones.Moreoverinstead of sagging, the middle part of the tongue isgoing up and almost touches the hard
palate;
 Airstreamcomesoutwithsometension.If you hold thepalm in front of the mouth, you willfeelthe
differencewhenpronouncing eachsound in turn;
 This sound ispronounced longer (almost twicelonger)than previousones.

consonants
/ ɕ /
5 most frequent
words:
вообще
/vəɐpˈɕɕe/
generally
общий
/ˈobɕɕɪj/
common
ещё
/jɪˈɕɕɵ/
more
общаться
/ɐpˈɕɕaʦə/
communicate
насчёт
/nɐˈɕɕɵt/
concerning
Words with the
sound at the
beginning of a word
щас
/ɕɕas/
now
счет
/ɕɕɵt/
account/bill/score
счастье
/ˈɕɕæsʲtʲjə/
happiness
щенок
/ɕɕɪˈnok/
puppy
щит
/ɕɕit/
shield
Words with the
sound in the middle
of a word
общага
/ɐpˈɕɕæɡə/
dormitory
засчитать
/zəɕɕɪˈtatʲ/
to rule
вещи
/ˈvʲeɕɕɪ/
things/stuff
женщина
/ˈʐɛnʲɕɕɪnə/
woman
следующий
/ˈslʲedujuççɪj/
next
Words with the
sound at the end of
a word
борщ
/borɕɕ/
borscht
помощь
/ˈpoməɕɕ/
help
товарищ
/tɐˈvarʲɪɕɕ/
comrade
плащ
/plaɕɕ/
loak
овощ
/ˈovəɕɕ/
vegetable

consonants
• Tongue twisters for the / ɕ / sound:
Щуку и леща в роще не сыщешь.
/ˈççuku i lʲɪˈçça v ˈroççɪ nʲe ˈsɨççɪʂ/
You will not find both a pike and a bream in the grove.
Щёткой чищу я щенка - щекочу ему бока (С. Маршак).
/ˈççɵtkəj ˈʦiççu jæ ççɪnˈka - ççɪkɐˈʦu jɪˈmu bɐˈka/
I brush my puppy with the brush – tickle his sides (S.Marshak).
1
2

consonants
• The /x/ sound (хотеть)
WhenyoupronouncetheEnglish /h/ sound(asin “home”),yourmouthiswideopen. Thesound
appearsfarin thethroat,attheglottislevel. Itis like youblowonyourglasses (or sunglasses)to clean
andmakethem shine.
WhenyoupronouncetheRussian/x/ sound,yourmouthis almostclosed instead. Thesoundappears
notso farin thethroat,atthesoftpalatelevel.
Justlike before,the teethareslightlyopened.Imaginehaving a very broadsmile onyourface.Atthe
sametime,yourmouthis almostclosed, so the smile is going tobeprettynarrow.And finally,theback
ofyourtonguetouchesthe softpalate.The soundis notvoiced.

consonants
/ x /
5 most frequent
words:
хотеть
/xɐˈtʲetʲ/
to want
хорошо
/xərɐˈʂo/
good
ходить
/xɐˈdʲitʲ/
to walk
ехать
/ˈjexətʲ/
to go (by
transport)
хоть
/xotʲ/
at
least/though
Words with the
sound at the
beginning of a word
хватит
/ˈxvatʲɪt/
enough
хотя
/xɐˈtʲæ/
although
хуже
/ˈxuʐɪ/
worse
холодно
/ˈxolədnə/
cold
хозяин
/xɐˈzʲæɪn/
owner
Words with the
sound in the middle
of a word
похожий
/pɐˈxoʐɨj/
similar
происходить
/prəɪsxɐˈdʲitʲ/
to happen
плохо
/ˈploxə/
bad
тихо
/ˈtʲixə/
quiet
выход
/ˈvɨxət/
exit
Words with the
sound at the end of
a word
их
/ix/
their
ох
/ox/
oh
наверх
/nɐˈvʲerx/
up
воздух
/ˈvozdux/
air
страх
/strax/
fear

consonants
• Tongue twisters for the / x / sound:
Что сделано наспех, сделано насмех.
/ʂto ˈzʲdʲelənə ˈnaspʲɪx, ˈzʲdʲelənə ˈnasmʲɪx/
Haste makes waste.
Вставай, Архип, петух охрип!
/fstɐˈvaj, ɐrˈxʲip, pʲɪˈtux ɐxˈrʲip/
Get up, Arhip, the rooster has hoarsened!
1
2

consonants
• The /r/sound (говорить)
This sound isstatistically themost difficult one for English speakingpeople.
Thereisa specialword for it – “картавить”/kɐrˈtavʲɪtʲ/,whichmeans"to pronounce the/r/sound incorrectly".It's
analogous to English"lisp", meaning"to pronounce the /s/sound incorrectly.“
Thearticulation of the/r/those sounds iseasy enough to describe.Thetongue plays the most important role.
In English, to produce the /ɹ/sound, you curve a little your tongue, so that thetip of the tongue goesup to theroof of the
mouth further behind thealveolar ridge but yet does not touch it.
In Russian, the tongue doesnot curve;itisflat and wide.Now, the mostimportant part: Russian /r/sound is a trill, you
needto “roll” it. It meansthat you need to bend the tip of your tongue slightly up and place it just behind the top rowof your
teeth.As a result,the trillis produced due to thevibration of your tongue against thealveolar ridge.
Vibration is caused by a flow of airthat you breatheout as hard and as fast as you possibly can. The/r/sound isjust theflitter
of the tongue caused by the passing air stream.It is not somekindof a curl.It is also vital not to tense your tongue. Leavethe
tip of the tongue hanging freeto makeitpossible to vibrate.Thanks to this vibration, theRussian/r/is moreaudible than
an English one.

consonants
Method I “Eddy, Teddy, Freddy!”
1. First,say theword “Eddy”, thensaytheword “Teddy"and afterthatsay theword “Freddy”.
2. Thensaythesethree words one by onealittlebit faster:
“E d d y,T e d d y, F r e d d y”.
3. Afterthatrepeatthem faster:
“Eddy,Ted dy,Fred dy”.
4. Thenfaster:
“Eddy,Teddy, Freddy”.
5. And even faster:
“Eddyteddyfreddy”.

consonants
MethodII “Drum!”
Supposedly,thismethodis theone thathelpedVladimir Lenin,founderandleader ofthe SovietUnion (1917 –
1923).Leninwasunabletoproducethe trilled/r/. Thisis toobadwhen youarethecreatorofthe:
Российская Социал - Демократическая Рабочая Партия
/rɐsʲˈsʲijskəjæ səʦɪˈal - dʲɪməkrɐˈtʲiʨɪskəjæ rɐˈboʨəjæ ˈpartʲəjæ/
The Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party
The ideaof thismethodis toputthe /d/ soundin frontofthe/r/ sound.Wecall thistechnique “drum”because
the soundyouaregoingtoproduceisquite closeto thesoundofadrum tapping.Imagine thatyoutapa drum
witha veryhigh frequency– thatis exactlywhatweneed toget in theend.Youaregoing tobeprettyloud, so
when practicingthesoundwarnpeoplearoundyouin advance!

consonants
Method II “Drum!”
1. Tryto say "Drum"and see if it helps youroll the /r/by putting a /d/ infront of it. It is of the utmost importance that
whenyoupronouncethe /d/ sound youplace the tip of yourtongue to the bottom of yourtwo top front teeth (not
the alveolar ridge as youdo usually!)and press it towards the teeth. This wayyoublock an air flow and makeit very
intense.
2. Increasethe volume of yourvoice inthe beginningof the word (“dr”). The"um"of "drum"should only last a
fraction of a second. When you makethe /rrrrr/sound, tryto relax the tip of your tongue, makingit as loose as you
can. Let youtongue soar inyour mouth!
3. After youhavegot anidea of how this method works, practice using the /r/in suchcombinations as “dr-”, “tr-”, “br-
”, “pr-”.
4. If you are familiar with the Scottish accent or Spanish language, youcan use this knowledge. For example, to train
the “gr” combination, say "that's GReat"with a Scottish accent. Say "perro"as in Spanish for "dog" to exercise on
the “pr” combination.

consonants
/ r /
5 most frequent
words:
говорить
/ɡəvɐˈrʲitʲ/
to talk
просто
/ˈprostə/
simple
раз
/ras/
one
смотреть
/smɐtˈrʲetʲ/
to look
хорошо
/xərɐˈʂo/
good
Words with the
sound at the
beginning of a word
работать
/rɐˈbotətʲ/
to work
рассказывать
/rɐsˈskazɨvətʲ/
to tell
реально
/rʲɪˈalʲnə/
real/really
равно
/rɐvˈno/
equally
ругаться
/ruˈɡaʦə/
to swear/to
argue
Words with the
sound in the middle
of a word
прийти
/prʲɪjˈtʲi/
to come
три
/trʲi/
three
короткий
/kɐˈrotkʲɪj/
short
про
/pro/
about
наверное
/nɐˈvʲernəjə/
may be
Words with the
sound at the end of
a word
кошмар
/kɐʂˈmar/
nightmare
сыр
/sɨr/
cheese
плеер
/ˈplɛɛr/
player
супер
/ˈsupʲɪr/
super
семестр
/sʲɪˈmʲestr/
semester

consonants
Tongue twisters for the / r / sound:
Карл у Клары украл кораллы, Клара у Карла украла кларнет.
/ˈkarl u ˈklarᵻ ukˈral kɐˈralᵻ, ˈklarə u ˈkarlə ukˈralə klɐrˈnʲet/
Karl stole corals from Karla and Karla stole a clarinet from Karl.
Ехал Грека через реку, видит Грека в реке рак.
/ˈjexəl ˈɡrʲekə ˈʨerʲɪz ˈrʲeku, ˈvʲidʲɪt ˈɡrʲekə v ˈrʲekɪ ˈrak/
Greka was going across a river, and he saw a crayfish in the river.
Сунул Грека руку в реку, рак за руку Греку цап.
/ˈsunul ˈɡrʲekə ˈruku v ˈrʲeku, ˈrak zə ˈruku ˈɡrʲeku ˈʦap/
Greka put his hand in the river and the crayfish bit his hand.
1
2

consonants
• The /ʨ/ sound
/ʨ/ consists of two sounds: /tʲ/ and /ɕ/. Pay attention to the softness of /tʲ/ - that is because /ʨ/
is always soft.
I method
– First, wewantyoutopronouncethesound/tʲ/ manytimesin a row(withoutpauses)as fastas
youcan.Make surethe tipofyourtongue pushesagainsttheupperfrontteeth: /tʲtʲtʲtʲ tʲtʲtʲtʲ
tʲtʲ/;
– Now,dothe samebutstartmoving the tipslowly backtowardsthealveolar ridge.At thesame
time,yourlips arestretching intoasmile. Youshouldalreadyhearthe correct/ʨ/ sound;
– Finally, firstslowly, andthenfasterandfaster,so thatatsomepointyoudonotheareven a
slightestpausebetween them,pronouncethe sounds/tʲ/ and/ɕ/, oneafterthe other.Donot
forgettosmile!
/tʲ…….ɕ…tʲ….ɕ…tʲ...ɕ…tʲ..ɕ…tʲ.ɕ…tʲɕtʲɕtʲɕtʲɕtʲɕtʲɕtʲɕ/.

consonants
• The /ʨ/ sound
IImethod
Althoughthissoundbelongsto thegroupof hissing sounds,/ʨ/ hasits ownpeculiarities.First,let ussee
whatpositionthe speech organstake:
– Yourlips are roundedand a little bit pushed forward. Initially,push them forward as muchas you can;
– Themouth and teeth are slightly opened;
– Both sides of thetongue are pressed by uppermolars;
– At the beginningof the articulation, the tip of the tongue touches thealveolar ridge for just a second. Right
after that the tongue horizontally slides back into the mouthfor about one centimeter;
– Anair stream produced with this consonant is short, veryintense (and that is whywarm, incomparison with
a /ɕ/sound) and centralized;
– Thevocal cords are relaxed, so that the sound is not voiced.

consonants
• The/ʦ/ sound
/ʦ/ alsoconsistsoftwosounds:/t/ and/s/.Unlike /ʨ/, this soundis alwayshard,thatis whyits
component/t/is alsohardhere.The technique ofitspronunciationis very closetothe previous sound.
– First slowly,andthenfasterandfaster,sothatatsomepointyoudonotheareven a slightest
pausebetween them,pronouncethe sounds/t/ and/s/, oneby one.Do notforgettosmile!
/t…….s…t….s…t...s…t..s…t.s…tststststststs/.

Russian consonants
Identical Similar Different Palatalized
/b/ - брать /bratʲ/
/v/ - вы /vɨ/
/g/ - гулять /guˈlʲætʲ/
/z/ - знать /znatʲ/
/k/ - как /kak/
/m/ - мы /mɨ/
/p/ - потом /pɐˈtom/
/s/ - сейчас /sʲɪjˈʨas/
/f/ - все /fsʲe/
/j/ - я /jæ/
/n/ - но /no/
/l/ - лук /luk/
/t/ - ток /tok/
/d/ - дата /ˈdatə/
/ʂ/ - что /ʂto/
/ʐ/ - уже /uˈʐɛ/
/ɕ/ - вообще /vəɐpˈɕɕe/
/x/ - хотеть /xɐˈtʲetʲ/
/r/ - говорить /ɡəvɐˈrʲitʲ/
Group 1
/gʲ/, /dʲ/, /zʲ/, /kʲ/,
/lʲ/, /nʲ/, /sʲ/, /tʲ/,
/rʲ/, /xʲ/
Example: /tʲ/
болеть /bɐˈlʲetʲ/
Group 2
/bʲ/, /mʲ/, /pʲ/
Example: /bʲ/
бить /bʲitʲ/
Group 3
/vʲ/, /fʲ/
Example: /vʲ/
вял /vʲæl/

Pronunciation. Russian vowels
• Russianpossesses 14 vowel sounds, 10 of which you already know.
/æ/ /ɑ/ /ɛ/ /i/ /u/
/ə/ /ɪ/ /e/ /o/ /a/
/ɨ/ /ɵ/ /ʉ/ /ɐ/
Vowel sounds you
KNOW
Vowel sounds you
DO NOT KNOW

• Diphthongs
A diphthong refers to two adjacent vowel sounds occurringwithin the same syllable. UnlikeEnglish, Russian has
no diphthongs. Thoughsometimes, certain combinations of letters sound like diphthongs. Theonlycase when it
happens is before the so-called “semivowel” /j/. Even though suchcombinations as “ей” /ej/ in Russian sounds
exactly likean English diphthong “ai” /ei/, they aretransliterated differently. It contradicts the verydefinition of a
diphthong. Practice pronouncingsuch words with thehelp of these examples:
/oj/: такой /tɐˈkoj/ such
/ɪj/ : сейчас /sʲɪjˈʨas/ now
/ɐj/: пойти /pɐjˈtʲi/ togo
/ɨj/ : хороший/xɐˈroʂɨj/ good
/aj/ : давай/dɐˈvaj/ letus
/əj/ : наверное/nɐˈvʲernəjə/ may be
/uj/: уехать/uˈjexətʲ/ toleave(e.g. by car)
/ej/: копейка /kɐˈpʲejkə/ kopek
/æj/: чайник /ˈʨæjnʲɪk/ teapot

Vowel sound you KNOW Example in English Example in Russian
/æ/ pad взять /vzʲætʲ/ to take
/ɑ/ palm пожалуйста /pɐˈʐɑləstə/ please
/ɛ/ bed это /ˈɛtə/ this
/i/ seed они /ɐˈnʲi/ they
/u/ food уже /uˈʐɛ/ already
/ə/ comma говорить /ɡəvɐˈrʲitʲ/ to speak
/ɪ/ lid сейчас /sʲɪjˈʨas/ now
/e/ made /meid/ все /fsʲe/ everybody
/o/ code /koʊd/ что /ʂto/ what
/a/ ride /raɪd/ да /da/ yes
Vowel
sounds
common
to
both
English
and
Russian

• Vowel sounds that do notexist in GE
Duringthe following explanations, wewould likeyou to repeat everyexampleout loud. Itdoes not matter if it is an
English or Russian sound or example. Thegoal is for youto focus onyour sensations and the differences in sound
quality between thevarious examples. Thisis how youwill beable to tell the difference between them and become
more precise inyourpronunciation.
We will talk about these vowels interms of how deep they arelocated inyour mouth. Thatis, whetherthey are
closer to the front or to the back of the mouth – closer to yourlips orcloser to yourthroat. Thiswill help yourealize
that the sound quality is different, depending onwhether it is articulated, for example, close to the lips, or close to
the throat, or may besomewhere inbetween.
We will also draw yourattention to how high the vowels arelocated inyour mouth. Thatis to say: whether the
sound is articulated towards the bottom of your mouth with yourjaw open, or to the top of yourmouthwith your
jaw close, or anywherein-between.
To sumit up, all the examples youare going to see will help youfind the rightspot to articulatesounds in your
mouth. To do that, pay attention to sensations and vibrations.

Thetop of the back of the tongue is positioned between the /i/ in “seed” and the /u/in “food”.
Ifwe keepthetongue at the top of themouth and start moving it from the backto the front, wewill
havethe following series of sounds: /u/,/ɨ/, /i/. Pronouncethis series and after that pronouncethe
series of words that contains these sounds: food, ты, seed. Now, inversely: /i/, /ɨ/,/u/.Let us do the
same thing with the words: seed, ты, food.
Thetongue is positioned halfway between the front and the back of yourmouth, between the /ə/in
“comma” and the /a/ in “ride” /raɪd/.
Ifwe keepthetongue in the middle and start moving it from the bottom to the top, wewill havethe
following series of sounds: /a/,/ə/, /ɨ/.Pronouncethis series and after that pronouncetheseries of
words that contains these sounds: ride, comma,ты. Now, inversely: /ɨ/, /ə/, /a/. Let us do the same
thing with the words: ты, comma, ride.
Finally, the lips take the same position as for the /i/sound. Theyare not roundedbut tensed, narrow
and curvedin a smile. Toproduce the sound /ɨ/, try first to pronounce/i/ sound and then slowly move
yourtongue a little bit closer to the gorge: /i/…/ɨ/…/i/…/ɨ/…/ɨ/…/ɨɨ ɨ/.
Height
Backness
Lips
The/ɨ/ sound(ты)

/ ɨ /
5 most frequent
words:
ты
/tɨ/
you (singular)
мы
/mɨ/
we
вы
/vɨ/
you (plural
or polite
singular)
хороший
/xɐˈroʂɨj/
good
равный
/ˈravnɨj/
equal
Words with the
sound at the
beginning of a word
There are no words that begin with this sound
Words with the
sound in the middle
of a word
рассказывать
/rɐsˈskazɨvətʲ/
to tell (a story)
нормальный
/nɐrˈmalʲnɨj/
normal
четыре
/ʨɪˈtɨrʲɪ/
four
интересный
/ɪnʲtʲɪˈrʲesnɨj/
interesting
показывать
/pɐˈkazɨvətʲ/
to show
Words with the
sound at the end of
a word
макароны
/məkɐˈronɨ/
pasta
бы
/bɨ/
would
чтобы
/ˈʂtobɨ/
so that
дважды
/ˈdvaʐdɨ/
twice
штаны
/ʂtɐˈnɨ/
pants

Thetop of the back of the tongue is positioned the same wayas the /e/ in “made” /meid/ and the /o/ in
code /koʊd/.
Ifwe keepthetongue at the top of themouth and start moving it from the lips back to thegorge, we
will havethe following series of sounds: /e/, /ɵ/, /o/. Pronouncethis series and after that pronounce
the series of words that contains these sounds: made, ещё,code. Now, inversely: /o/, /ɵ/, /e/. Let us
do the same thing with the words: code, ещё, made.
Thetongue is positioned halfwaybetween thefrontand thebackof your mouth as the/a/in
“ride” /raɪd/andtheRussian/ɨ/sound in ты /tɨ/.So, if we keep thetongue in thecenterand
startmoving it from thebottom to themiddle, we will havethe following series of sounds: /a/,
/ɵ/, /ɨ/.Pronounce this seriesand afterthatpronounce theseries of words thatcontainsthese
sounds: ride, ещё, ты. Now, inversely: /ɨ/, /ɵ/, /a/.Letus do thesamethingwiththewords:
ты, ещё, ride.
Thelips arerounded, ratherthanspread or relaxed. Finally, it may be easierto pronounce the
sound /ɵ/ as acombination of the/j/asin “yellow” and the/o/sounds. Pronounce:
/j/…/o/…/j/…/o/…/j..o/…/joooo/.
Height
Backness
Lips
The/ɵ / sound(ещё)

/ ɵ /
Type of an
example
Word 1 Word 2 Word 3 Word 4 Word 5
5 most frequent
words:
ещё
/jɪˈɕɕɵ/
more
всё
/fsʲɵ/
that is it
всё-таки
/ˈfsʲɵtəkʲɪ/
nevertheless/
though
причём
/prʲɪˈʨɵm/
and besides/what is
more
тётя
/ˈtʲɵtʲə/
aunt
Words with the
sound at the
beginning of a
word
ёлка
/ˈjɵlkə/
fir-tree
ёж
/jɵʐ/
hedgehog
ёрш
/jɵrʂ/
ruff
ёмкость
/ˈjɵmkəsʲtʲ/
capacity/container
ёрзать
/ˈjɵrzətʲ/
to fidget
Words with the
sound in the
middle of a
word
четвёртый
/ʨɪtˈvʲɵrtɨj/
forth
насчёт
/nɐˈɕɕɵt/
about
учёба
/uˈʨɵbə/
studies
лён
/lʲɵn/
linen (flax)
клёвый
/ˈklʲɵvɨj/
cool
Words with the
sound at the end
of a word
её
/jɪˈjɵ/
her
моё
/mɐˈjɵ/
mine (neuter)
бельё
/bʲɪlʲjɵ/
linen (laundry)
ружьё
/ruˈʐjɵ/
gun
жильё
/ʐɨˈlʲjɵ/
housing

Thetop of thebackof thetongue is positioned the same wayasthe/i/ in “seed”, the /u/in food
andthe Russian/ɨ/sound in ты /tɨ/.
If weplace thetongueatthetop andbackof themouth and startmoving ittowardsthelips, we
willhavethe following series of sounds: /u/,/ɨ/, /ʉ/,/i/. Pronounce thisseries and afterthat
pronounce theseries of words thatcontainsthese sounds: food, ты, абсолютно, seed.
Now, inversely: /i/, /ʉ/, /ɨ/,/u/.Letus do thesamethingwiththewords: seed, абсолютно,
ты, food.
Thetongue is positioned halfwaybetween thefrontand thebackof your mouth as the/a/in
“ride”/raɪd/, /ə/ in“comma”, the Russian/ɵ/ sound in“ёж” /jɵʐ/ andtheRussian/ɨ/ sound in
ты /tɨ/.
So, if we placethetongue in themiddle andstartfrom thebottom to thetop, we will havethe
following series of sounds: /a/,/ə/, /ɵ/, /ʉ/,/ɨ/. Pronounce thisseries andafterthatpronounce
theseries of words thatcontainsthese sounds: ride,comma, ёж, абсолютно, ты. Now,
inversely: /ɨ/, /ʉ/, /ɵ/, /ə/,/a/.Letus do thesame thingwiththe words: ты, абсолютно,
ёж, comma, ride.
Thelips arerounded andpushed forward. Itmay beeasier to pronouncethe/ʉ/ sound as a
combination of the/j/asin “yellow” andthe /u/sounds. Pronounce:
/j/…/u/…/j/…/u/…/j..u/…/juuuu/.
Height
Backness
Lips
The/ʉ / sound(абсолютно)

/ ʉ /
Type of an
example
5 most
frequent
words:
абсолютно
/ɐpsɐˈlʲʉtnə/
absolutely
чуть-чуть
/ʨʉtʲˈʨʉtʲ/
just a little
люди
/ˈlʲʉdʲɪ/
people
по-любому
/pəlʲʉˈbomu/
anyhow
двоюродный (брат)
/dvɐˈjʉrədnɨj/
(/brat/)
cousin
Words with
the sound at
the beginning
of a word
юбка
/ˈjʉpkə/
skirt
юмор
/ˈjʉmər/
humor
юг
/jʉk/
south
юность
/ˈjʉnəsʲtʲ/
youth
юрист
/jʉˈrʲist/
jurist
Words with
the sound in
the middle of
a word
любой
/lʲʉˈboj/
any
следующий
/ˈslʲedujʉɕɕɪj/
next
любовь
/lʲʉˈbofʲ/
love
тюль
/tʲʉlʲ/
tulle
ключ
/klʲʉʨ/
key
Words with
the sound at
the end of a
word
полностью
/ˈpolnəsʲtʲʉ/
fully
ночью
/ˈnoʨʉ/
at night
благодарю
/bləɡədɐˈrʲʉ/
thank you
к сожалению
/ksəʐɨˈlʲenʲɪjʉ/
unfortunately
меню
/mʲɪˈnʲʉ/
menu

Basically,/ɐ/standshalfwaybetween low /æ/ asin “pad” andlow-mid /ʌ/ as in“love”. If we start
from the backandmiddle of the mouth withthe sound/ʌ/,move towardsthecenterand alittle
closer to thebottom, wherethe/ɐ/ soundis, andtheneven closer tothe lips, and lower to the
bottom to the/a/sound, we willhave thefollowing series of sounds: /ʌ/, /ɐ/,/æ/. Pronounce this
series andafterthatpronounce theseries of words thatcontainsthese sounds: love, она, pad.
Now, inversely: /æ/, /ɐ/, /ʌ/.Letus do thesamethingwiththewords: pad, она, love.
Thetongue is positioned halfwaybetween thefrontand thebackof your mouth as the/ə/ in
“comma” andthe /ɑ/in“palm”.
So, if we placethetonguein themiddle andstartfrom thebottom to thetop, we will havethe
following series of sounds: /ɑ/,/ɐ/, /ə/.Pronouncethisseries and afterthatpronounce the series
of words thatcontainsthesesounds: palm, она, comma. Now, inversely: /ə/, /ɐ/,/ɑ/.Letus do
thesamethingwiththewords: comma, она, palm.
Thelips arenotrounded, but theyarenot narrow.Essentially,theytakethe same position asfor
the/a/sound. The difference is thatthemouth is more closed whenyou pronounce the/ɐ/ sound
thanfor the/a/ sound.
Height
Backness
Lips
The/ɐ/ sound(она)

/ ɐ /
Type of an
example
5 most
frequent
words:
она
/ɐˈna/
she
они
/ɐˈnʲi/
they
такой
/tɐˈkoj/
such
говорить
/ɡəvɐˈrʲitʲ/
to speak
вообще
/vəɐpˈɕɕe/
in general/at all
Words with
the sound at
the beginning
of a word
опять
/ɐˈpʲætʲ/
again
отдать
/ɐdˈdatʲ/
to give away
обязательно
/ɐbʲɪˈzatʲɪlʲnə/
obligatory/
surely
абсолютно
/ɐpsɐˈlʲʉtnə/
absolutely
общаться
/ɐpˈɕɕaʦə/
to communicate
Words with
the sound in
the middle of
a word
какой
/kɐˈkoj/
what/which
потом
/pɐˈtom/
later
хотеть
/xɐˈtʲetʲ/
to want
конечно
/kɐˈnʲeʂnə/
of course
смотреть
/smɐtˈrʲetʲ/
to look/to watch
Words with
the sound at
the end of a
word
There are no words that end with this sound

• IPA chart for Russian vowels

SECTION V
Lexical stress
and rhythm

Lexical stress
• Lexicalstress refersto the emphasisput on certainsyllablesin words.Thereare
languagesin whichthe positionof thestressisalmost fixed.Forexample,in Czech, the
stressnearly alwayscomeson the firstsyllableof a word. In other languages,thestress
can beplaced on almostany syllablein a word.They havethe so-calledvariablestress.
• In thisregard,Russianand Englisharequite similar:in both languagesstressistruly
lexical–ithas to belearnedas part of thepronunciation of an individualword.
• The bottom line,alwayspayattention to the stress when learninga new wordand
respect the stress whenspeakingRussian.

Lexical stress. Mobile and variable
lexical stress
Thebeginningofaword:
Themiddleofaword:
Theendofaword:
• Variability
Russian stress is said to be variable. It simply means that any syllable in a word can be stressed
– first, second, last, etc.
очень/ˈoʨɪnʲ/very,
тоже/ˈtoʐe/ also;
конечно/kɐˈnʲeʂnə/ofcourse,
работать/rɐˈbotətʲ/ towork;
она/ɐˈna/ she,
такой/tɐˈkoj/ such.

Lexical stress. Mobile and variable
lexical stress
• Mobility
It meansthatthe stresscanmovefreely fromone syllabletoanotherwithin differentformsof the same
word.ScientistscalculatedthatmostRussianwords(about96%) havefixedstress.Unfortunately,the
other4% arethe mostfrequentlyusedin everydaylife.
– Говорить/ɡəvɐˈrʲitʲ/ to speak она говорила /ɐˈna ɡəvɐˈrʲilə/ she spoke
BUT
Ждать/ʐdatʲ/towait она ждала/ɐˈna ʐdɐˈla/shewaited
– Красивый /krɐˈsʲivɨj/ beautiful она красива / ɐˈna krɐˈsʲivə/ she isbeautiful
BUT
Правый/ˈpravɨj/ right она права/ ɐˈna prɐˈva/sheis right

Lexical stress. Advantages of
using stress
• Creating a contrast
Lexicalstresscreatesacontrastbetween syllablesthatarestressedandsyllablesthatarenoе.On
average,stressedvowels last1,5-2timeslongerthanunstressedones.In addition,stressedsyllables
haveatendencytobepronouncedwithmoreintensityor energy, whichcausestheunstressedsyllables
toweaken.This meansthat:
 We hearand pronounceunstressed syllables less clearly than others;
 Unstressed vowels are subject to a phenomenoncalled vowel reduction. For example, the vowel /a/
(as in “да”), ina unstressed syllable, will become either /ɐ/(as in “она” /ɐˈna/ she) or /ə/(as in
“говорить” /ɡəvɐˈrʲitʲ/ to talk);
 Finally, when we speak fast and do not articulatemuch, theses sounds are likely to disappear
completely.
Bearthis in mind,while getting used tospokenRussian,in ordertohearit better,topronounceitbetter
andalso,tomemorizeit better:whenyoulisten toRussianpay,attentionto thosesyllablesthatare
stressedAND tothosethatarenot.

using stress
• Speaking fast
In Russian,for a long time in writingwords were writtenwithanyspace atall,whichis totallynormal if we
wanttextto reflect whatwe hear:
Thus,the existenceof lexical stresshelps us speak fasterby almost omitting non-stressedsyllables and
highlightingstressedones. Often time, we recognize a word simply byits stressedsyllable, even if other
syllables are more or less swallowed.
Russianhas many simple andquite frequentwords thatarefastto pronounce but atthe same time lots of
long words withmany consonantsthataredifficult to pronounce atthesamespeed asshortwords.
If you tryto pronounce all thelettersandall thesyllables inwords, you willhavedifficulties in articulation,in
speed and people aregoing to havehardtime understandingyou.
Ifyouwanttospeak RussianfastANDfluently,respectthelexicalstress!

using stress
• Changing the meaning ofwords
1
му́ка /ˈmukə/
anguish
мука́ /muˈka/
flour
2
а́тлас /ˈatləs/
atlas
атла́с /ɐtˈlas/
satin
3
за́мок /ˈzamək/
castle
замо́к /zɐˈmok/
a lock

Lexical stress. Primary and
secondary stress
• Compound words
In Russian, you can meet quite often compound words. A compound word consists of more
than one word. Since it is a combination of two separate words, each one with its own stress,
the compound word has two stresses –primary and secondary.
In the IPA, primary stress has stronger degree of stress and marked by the “ˈ ” symbol, while
secondary stress is weaker and has the “ˌ” sign (e.g. proˌnunciˈation).
Example:
высоко /vɨsɐˈkо/ highly + одарённый /ədɐˈrʲɵnnɨj/ gifted
 высокоодарённый /vɨˌsokəədɐˈrʲɵnnɨj/ highly gifted

Lexical stress. Primary and
secondary stress
• Prepositions and particles
Each word, if pronouncedseparately, has a stress.
However, often time ina speech flow we tend to mergesome words, makingthem unstressed in the process. It can
only happen to prepositions and particles because they do not carryanyimportant meaning; they are auxiliary
parts of speech.
For example:
cо мнoй /səˈmnoj/withme,
нa зиму /ˈnazʲɪmu/ for winter;
какoй-то /kɐˈkojtə/some,
чтo-то /ˈʂtotə/ something.
Itdoes not happen all thetime, though. So, once again, listen to various recordings and native speakers as often as
possible and pay attention, so as to notice this phenomenonfor yourself.
Prepositions:
Particles:

Rhythm
• The rhythmofa languageis theperception of thespeedatwhich wepass fromonesyllable tothe
next. Russian,aswell as English, has astressed-timed rhythm.Opposedtoit is the syllable-timed
rhythm,typicalof French orItalian,for example.
• Ifwewereto explain this phenomenonwith the helpofa metronome,theimage is the following:
inFrench, with each tick ofthe metronome,wemove on toa newsyllable;while,inRussian,with
each tick wepass toa newstressed syllable.Thus, in French, each syllablecreates the rhythm,but
inRussian only stressedsyllablescreate the rhythm.Tocontinuethe metronome comparison,in
Russian,non-stressedsyllableswouldbelocatedbetween twoticks.Evidently, it makes the
rhythmsofthese twotypesoflanguagesquitedifferent.
• To sum up,lexical stress andrhythmareclosely linked. Respecting thestress of syllables lets us
respect therhythmof thelanguage.Itworksthe otherwayaroundtoa certain level: tryingto
respect theRussian rhythmlets us develop anintuition forstress patternsmoreeasily and,
consequently,helps us memorize them moreeasily too.

SECTION Vi
Intonation and
prosodic stress

Intonation
Intonationisthevariationofthepitchofthevoiceina sentence.Itisthefactthatthe
voicegoesupanddownduringcertainparts ofa sentence.
Statement Close-endedquestion
Open-endedquestion Order
In
English

Intonation
TheintonationsofEnglishandRussianhave somesimilarities.Still,theyare quite
different.Seeforyourself.
Statement Close-endedquestion
Open-endedquestion Order
In
Russian

Intonation
• Application and utility
Intonationis somethingthatwedonaturallyin ournativelanguagesince childhood.Thatonly goes to
showthatif wesimply get used tonew patternsin alanguage welearn,it will feel naturalaswell.
Thelastremarkon thistopicis actuallyapointofgrammarbutwe thinkit is importanttomentionit here.
InRussian,theintonationof asentence is sufficientto askaquestion.
In English, it isnecessarytoinverse thesubjectandtheverb even if youalreadyusethe correctintonation.
Peoplewouldnotunderstandatfirstthesentence“He is athome”asaquestion,even if youusetheright
intonation.In Russian,onthe contrary,wecansayboth“Ондома” (statement) and“Ондома?”
(question).Theintonationis enoughto conveythatit isanaffirmationin the firstcaseanda questionin the
second one.

Prosodic stress
• Prosodic stress is a stress placed on wordswithin sentences.
In the previous chapterwesaw that, in a word with more than one syllable, there is
always one syllable that is stressed. This syllable helps us recognizethe word more
easily. That was at the level of syllables in word.
Now, wewould like to make you aware ofa similar phenomenon at the level of words
in sentences. It is called prosodic stress. This concept is used in English as well.

Prosodic stress
• Which word to stress
Wemainly stress the words in a sentence that provides important information or convey
feelings.
Forexample:
“Я обожаю шоколад!”/jæ ɐbɐˈʐajʉ ʂəkɐˈlat/ I lovechocolate!
Theword “обожаю” will be typically stressed because it is a wordassociated with an
emotion. This word is pronounced with more energy, wemake it last longer and we say
it with a higherpitch than the others: “Я обожаю шоколад!”

Prosodic stress
• Even when we providesome general information, weuse prosodic stress. If we give
instructions tosomeone, wewill insist on themost important words:
Сначала открой эту папку, теперь найди файл, который называется “Проект”
/snɐˈʨælə ɐtˈkroj ˈɛtu ˈpapku tʲɪˈpʲerʲ nɐjˈdʲi fajl kɐˈtorɨj nəzɨˈvaɪʦə prɐˈɛkt/
First, open this folder, now find thefile, that is called “Project”
• Always stress those words that bring the meaning to the conversation. Basically, highlight
words that you would write in a telegraph message: “открой - папку - файл -
проект”.

Prosodic stress
• Changing themeaning of a phrase
Я не ходил в кино вчера
/jæ nɪ xɐdʲl f kʲɪno fʨɪra/
I didn’t go to the movies yesterday
Now, depending on which word we stress, wearegoing to get sentences with different
meanings:
 Я не ходил в кино вчера.(Somebody elsedid.)
 Я не ходил в кино вчера.(I did notgo there.)
 Я не ходил в кино вчера.(I went somewhere else.)
 Я не ходил в кино вчера.(I went there some otherday.)

Table of comparison: English-Russian
Mode of comparison English Russian
Pronunciation 44 sounds you know from childhood 11 new sounds + 15 soft consonants:
 7 new consonant sounds
/ʂ/, /ʐ/, /ɕ/, /x/, /r/, /ʦ/, /ʨ/
 4 new vowel sounds
/ɨ/, /ɵ/, /ʉ/, /ɐ/
Lexical stress Lexical stress: each word with more than one
syllable has at least one stressed syllable that
varies from word to word and that we
pronounce longer, and with more energy.
Lexical stress: each word with more than one syllable has at
least one stressed syllable that varies from word to word and
that we pronounce longer, and with more energy.
+
Lexical stress varies not only among different words, but also
within different forms of the same word
Prosodic stress In a sentence, different words can be stressed
to underline the meaning or convey an
emotion.
In a sentence, different words can be stressed to underline the
meaning or convey an emotion.
+
Words are emphasized more often than in English.
Rhythm Stress-timed rhythm: only stressed syllables
create the rhythm.
Stress-timed rhythm: only stressed syllables create the
rhythm.
Intonation Intonation insists on the words that bring
information and convey meaning to the
sentence.
BUT
Intonation patters differs from Russian ones.
Intonation insists on the words that bring information and
convey meaning to the sentence.
BUT
Intonation patters differs from English ones.
+
Intonation is sufficient to ask a question.

Conclusion
• Applying it
Inorder to be able to express yourthoughts and be understood by native Russian speakers, it is essential to
understand the phonetics of the languageverywell.
So, what can youdo to preservethe knowledgeyouhavejust acquired? Thefirst step is to haveaccess to spoken
Russian. Yourfirst goal is not to regress and returnto anold “do everythingwith text” bad habit. Next step is to
monitor yourown progress.
Itis worth workingin two following directions to maintain yourprogress:
– Tolearn: gofrom small tolarge. Work again,first, on the sounds (pronunciation), then on words (stress +
pronunciation), andon phrases (intonation +stress +pronunciation);
– Toexpress yourself: go from large tosmall. First, payattention tothe intonation, then towords you want tostress,
then syllables you should stress and, finally, tothe pronunciation of sounds. This willhelp you develop an overall vision
andget goodintuition on how the Russian language works.

Conclusion
• Organization
Thebestthing todo,if youwanttoget organizedandtomakethe very mostofthis book,is,firstofall, to
alwayskeep it atyourfingertips.
Next,it is essential thatyouhavesomeRussianaudiocontentyoucanlisten toatyourdisposal.Create
yourown “goldmine” forthispurpose:take,say,threehoursover thenext fewdays,togathermaterialyou
will enjoy:Russianmusic,audiobooksor TVshows.
• Practice every day
Ifyouwanttoreinforceyournew skills in phoneticseven more, itis importanttoinclude Russianas partof
yourdailylife. It shouldnotbejusta“project”youtacklefromtime to time.Thereis nosecret tomakeit
possible–yousimply need topracticeRussianeverysingleday.

PDF and audio tracks
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Additional resources
 Internationalphoneticalphabet(IPA) for English:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English
 Internationalphoneticalphabet(IPA) for Russian:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPA_for_Russian
 Interactivechartofthe Internationalphoneticalphabet(IPA):
http://www.ipachart.com
 The IPAtranscriptionconverter:
http://learn-foreign-language-phonetics.com/russian-
phonetic-transcription-converter.php?site_language=english
 The tooltotranscribewordsinthe IPA byyourself:
http://westonruter.github.io/ipa-chart/keyboard/
 Wiktionary to gettranscriptionofseparatewords:
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/
 The toolthat helpstostressRussianwords:
http://learn-foreign-language-phonetics.com/add-stress-marks-to-
russian-text.php?site_language=english
 Moretechniquesonthe “rollingR”
http://www.wikihow.com/Roll-Your-%22R%22s
 A web-sitewherenativespeakerscanrecordaudio foryouforfree
andyoucandothe sameforthem:
https://rhinospike.com/
Sites andWebpages:

Epilogue
We would like tothank you verymuch for choosing this book. We hope itdid serve
you wellin discovering and successfully applying Russian phonetics, toworkon
your pronunciation. We wishyou everysuccess and joyinimplementingthe ideas
you have found inour book.
Please,letusknow about anyremarksor questions you have and, especially,about
your Success Stories–thesearethe messages we read first.You can contact usatthe
followingaddress:
We wishyou a good timepracticing spoken Russian andmany enjoyable adventures
in that language!
road2russian@gmail.com

Pronounce Russian Properly

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