Questions tagged [произношение]

Questions about the pronunciation of words, as they are uttered by both native and non-native speakers.

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Difference of pronunciations of музей and музеи

I thought that the pronunciations of й and и were virtually the same, but the plural form of музей (museum) is музеи (museums). When I hear one of these words and can't distinguish them by context, or ...
user67275's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
116 views

"я цирюльник-с" and "помните-с?" from Anton Chekhov's "В бане"... what is that -c? [duplicate]

Love Anton Chekhov. In his story "В бане" a character says: "— Я, ваше высокородие, не банщик, я цирюльник-с." "Помните-с? Тогда же вы изволили меня насчет невест ...
pilothale's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
116 views

preposition attached to noun

In English, you could imagine or invent some situations where you enunciate every single word and leave a space between words. For example: "This - is - a - sentence. Do you understand?" In ...
Sam's user avatar
  • 432
3 votes
1 answer
260 views

In the word "скорого" why is the "г" pronounced as a "V"?

I thought the letter "г" was supposed to be for the sound "G"?
Mike Delta's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
465 views

Pronunciation of Г in regional accents

Watching a video with Russian speakers, I noticed two people who pronounced "г" as in Ukrainian, i.e. like a hard English "h". They also used аканье. As far as I know, they were ...
Richard Close's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
364 views

Can you still pronounce “щ” as “ш + ч”?

I know that pronouncing “щ” as “ш + ч” is outdated, but can I still pronounce it like that? Will people understand me?
M M's user avatar
  • 41
-3 votes
1 answer
232 views

Произношение йэ, йы

Почему в произношении буква 'е' слышится скорее как йы, а не как йэ? Или это только я так слышу? Йысть/Йэсть (Есть), Йыль/Йэль (Ель) Добавляю запись с обеими вариантами произношения dropbox
Алексей Ковецкий's user avatar
1 vote
4 answers
340 views

How do you pronounce время?

I've been studying Russian for like 3-4 years and I still don't know how to pronounce this word. I see the я and I want to say ya but the more I listen to people speak the more it sounds like vremeh ...
22878's user avatar
  • 41
0 votes
4 answers
312 views

How is the slash verbalized in Russian?

How is the slash (when it is used in English to connect non-contrasting items) verbalized in Russian? I'm a native Russian speaker and nothing really comes to mind. «Тире» or «слеш», perhaps? For ...
Alex's user avatar
  • 17
5 votes
2 answers
214 views

Do hard vowels after ч and щ really become their 'iotated' equivalents?

I was reading a reputable textbook (A Comprehensive Russian Grammar) to revisit my fairly shaky knowledge of pronunciation, and the book claimed that: The vowels а, о, and у are in practice ...
ermatveit's user avatar
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-1 votes
1 answer
244 views

How is the Russian /b/ really pronounced? Бб

Is it just me or is the Russian b not pronounced the same as in English. Both have the same ipa character but my ears hear the Russian b differently - like a slight buildup of air at the front of the ...
user71207's user avatar
  • 103
-3 votes
3 answers
304 views

What is the point of the "dipthong" ий?

I believe the diphthong would be /ɪ͜j/ but it just sounds like an /ɪ/ when native speakers pronounce it. For example, the word зданий has this ending and it just sounds like a one vowel finish. I'm ...
user71207's user avatar
  • 103
7 votes
1 answer
1k views

History of /f/ sound in Russian

My wife is Russian and I am learning it. One thing I seem to see is that no "native" or "elementary" words seem to start with the letter ф (other than the name Fedor perhaps, and I ...
Oliver Williams's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
250 views

Proper way to pronounce в and ф

в and ф are considered a voiced-voiceless pair, but in English there is surely a difference between the 'v' and 'f' sound that is not limited to voicedness, for example, the mouth positioning is ...
Pacerier's user avatar
  • 121
1 vote
2 answers
321 views

Pronunciation of "поздно" (late)

The word поздно (late) is pronounced as [ˈpoznə]. So the д is not spoken. I do not understand why the д vanishes here in this case. Which grammar rule tells me this?
BertHobe's user avatar
  • 335
0 votes
1 answer
238 views

Pronunciation of "подъезд" if it would be "подьезд"?

I came across the word подъезд [pɐdˈjest]. I am aware of the fact that there is a j added, as the e comes after the ъ. However, I wondered why it is a ъ and not a ь here. How would the word be ...
BertHobe's user avatar
  • 335
3 votes
2 answers
240 views

Pronunciation and IPA transcription of "Нева"

I learned different grammar rules. Regarding vowels I learned the rule that there is an "j" added / vowels are spoken with a j if: in the beginning of a word (like яблоко [jáblaka]) after a ...
BertHobe's user avatar
  • 335
-1 votes
1 answer
175 views

Kaliningrad ... may it be referred to as Kalinograd?

Kaliningrad is the Russian exclave sandwiched in between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic coast. Every time I think of it I find myself saying "Kalinograd" because in English usage ...
Bill Stremmel's user avatar
0 votes
4 answers
270 views

How exactly do we pronounce soft vowels (е, ё, ю, я)

I do not understand the exact way of choosing between the following pronunciations : е : "yè" or "è" Ё: "yo" or "o" Я: "ya" or "a" Ю: "...
Wheatley's user avatar
  • 109
1 vote
1 answer
427 views

How to pronounce "hard consonants" correctly?

In Russian, the consonants that are not soft (except к, г, х) are harder than in English. What makes them harder is that the back of the tongue is kept high and back. Another exception is "l"...
MCCCS's user avatar
  • 113
2 votes
2 answers
247 views

Произношение слова «случай» - это принцип или исключение?

Произношение слова «случай» звучит как «случий». Если я бы знал как его написать, я бы написал «случий» или «случьяй», потому что знаю, что безударное «я» звучит как «и». Но безударное «а» звучит как «...
musialmi's user avatar
  • 175
4 votes
2 answers
306 views

Which one is correct: За нас/Про нас/Для нас

I find the use of ‘for’ in Russian a bit confusing as there are several possible options. So I’d like know the appropriate use of the following: За/Про/Для, with some examples of possible. Which one ...
Ghose Bishwajit's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
299 views

The pronunciation of а vowel followed by "я"?

I am a newbie using Memrise (memrise.com - a Russian language app) to build a vocabulary and my pronunciation, so please forgive me if this is a stupid question. Тhe word, бояться, is pronounced in ...
kial's user avatar
  • 11
2 votes
2 answers
363 views

Do Russians pronounce "Арбатская" and "Орбацкая" the same?

A Russian language exchange partner of mine boasted that unlike words in the English language, Russian words are spelt and pronounced basically the same. In response, I asked him about Арбатская and ...
Mitsuko's user avatar
  • 11.3k
0 votes
1 answer
139 views

Pronunciation of е in different words

So from what I have learnt so far, нет is pronounced "nyet" and Привет is "privyet". But in телефон it is "telefon", why is е used in this case and not э and why is it ...
undergrad2020's user avatar
11 votes
3 answers
662 views

What is Smerdyakov complaining about in the following passage of The Brothers Karamazov?

I'm reading The Brothers Karamazov in the standard French translation of the novel and Henri Mongault, the translator, mentions in one of his notes that he left out the following bit of dialogue (the ...
grandtout's user avatar
  • 517
3 votes
2 answers
257 views

How should the final "о" in "эхо" be pronounced?

In Wiktionary I see [ə] (in full: [ˈɛxə]), but what I hear in various samples is not fully a fully reduced schwa but something more like the semi-reduced pronunciation [ɐ] of <а> and <о>, or ...
PJTraill's user avatar
  • 410
5 votes
3 answers
279 views

Pronunciation of цель (and stressed -е- as /e/ in general)

What is the proper pronunciation of цель? For context, my choir is working on a Russian piece, and the transliteration we have is inconsistent and unreliable. I have been reading through Russian ...
Théophile's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
478 views

Pronunciation of "дождь"

My dictionary (Большой универсальный словарь русского языка) indicates that дождь can be pronounced in two ways /doʂtʲ/ as it is written or /doɕ:/ as if it were written дощ. Does that hold true for ...
grandtout's user avatar
  • 517
1 vote
1 answer
669 views

Pronunciation of ж

According to my good old Russian learning textbooks, the sound ж in Russian is retroflex (/ʐ/), that is to say it should be pronounced with the tip of the tongue pushed against the palate. Now, in my ...
Stéven Morand's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
686 views

How prevalent is the sound /ʑ:/ in Russian?

The sound /ʑ:/ is known as the voiced alveolo-palatal sibilant fricative and, roughly speaking, is the average of /z/ as in zebra and /ʒ/ as in vision. Russian speakers can understand /ʑ:/ as the ...
Mitsuko's user avatar
  • 11.3k
2 votes
2 answers
208 views

Pronunciation of /a/ after soft consonant or /j/

According to the Russian phonology wiki (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_phonology) : The pronunciation of unstressed /o ~ a/ is as follows: (...) When a soft consonant or /j/ precedes, ...
Alan Evangelista's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
225 views

Homophones after vowel reduction

I tried to learn some Russian some 30 years ago and it's super rusty now but I'm trying to help my son who's taking it at school and is getting a bit discouraged by how daunting it is. While revising ...
grandtout's user avatar
  • 517
8 votes
4 answers
783 views

Why is the 'г' in "мягкий" pronounced like a 'х'?

According to these consonant assimilation rules, the letters г and к form a voiced/voiceless pair, and the final consonant in the cluster voices or devoices the preceding consonant. If these rules ...
Orion's user avatar
  • 303
12 votes
8 answers
5k views

Why do Russians sometimes spell "жирный" (fatty) as "жырный"?

I noticed that Russians sometimes incorrectly spell жирный as жырный, even despite that the rule "spell жи and ши with и" is one of the most basic Russian orthography rules. I also see that ...
Mitsuko's user avatar
  • 11.3k
2 votes
0 answers
53 views

How do I tell if a 'г' sounds like a 'g' or a 'v' [duplicate]

г normally sounds like a g, such as где. Sometimes though it can sound like a v, such as нового. How do I tell which one is the correct one?
David says Reinstate Monica's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
40 views

Pronunciation of существительное [duplicate]

In Google Translate, in the Wiktionary audio recording and in some Forvo audio recordings of the word "существительное", I am unable to hear the ending E (/iə/ in unstressed syllables like the last ...
Alan Evangelista's user avatar
-1 votes
2 answers
267 views

Pronunciation of unstressed ю ( /jʊ/ )

I have learned that an unstressed ю is pronounced /jʊ/. However, I cannot hear the /j/ in "Я читаю" (ref: Google Translate) as clearly as I hear in the English word "yes" (https://en.m.wiktionary.org/...
Alan Evangelista's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
921 views

Pronunciation of "солнце"

Why isn't the consonant л pronounced in "солнце" ( it is pronounced ['sont͡sə]] instead of [ˈsolnt͡sə] ) ? Is that a result of a pronunciation rule or is it an exception?
Alan Evangelista's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
520 views

Pronunciation of "мужчина"

Why is мужчи́на pronounced /mʊɕːˈinə/ instead of /mʊʂtɕˈinə/ ? I am already considering that ж is pronounced ш because it is voiced and it is followed by an unvoiced consonant (ч), also known as ...
Alan Evangelista's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
175 views

Pronunciation of кафе

Why the consonant "ф" in "кафе" is not soft (= palatalized), given that it is before the soft vowel "e"? Do loanwords usually break pronunciation rules?
Alan Evangelista's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
525 views

Pronunciation of /ʂ/, /ʐ/ and/ɕ/

I am trying to correctly pronounce ш (/ʂ/), ж (/ʐ/) and щ (/ɕɕ/), so I must learn the 3 related phonems: /ʂ/, /ʐ/ and /ɕ/. I am familiar with the phonems /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ from English and, as all these ...
Alan Evangelista's user avatar
8 votes
3 answers
2k views

Can Russians naturally pronounce "попал в бесперспективняк"?

Let's suppose you are having a casual conversation with a friend and talking quickly and want to say, "Попал в бесперспективняк." Will you be able to pronounce this flawlessly and without changing the ...
Mitsuko's user avatar
  • 11.3k
12 votes
6 answers
4k views

Russian pronunciation of /etc (a directory)

Abstracting from the fact that it is usually pronounced as in English, how should the /etc directory be pronounced in Russian? I was under the impression that since it transliterates to /етц, it ...
Damian's user avatar
  • 123
0 votes
3 answers
159 views

Is the word "вечер" pronounced like "ˈvʲet͡ɕɨr" even though the IPA for it is "ˈvʲet͡ɕɪr"?

Is the word "вечер" pronounced like "ˈvʲet͡ɕɨr" or "ˈvʲet͡ɕər" even though the IPA for it is "ˈvʲet͡ɕɪr"?
Edinburgh1's user avatar
-1 votes
2 answers
127 views

What is the IPA for the Russian word “разные”?

Do you know what the IPA for the Russian word “разные” is?
Edinburgh1's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
321 views

Why is the IPA for the Russian word "здание" is /ˈzdanʲɪje/ although people pronounce it like /ˈzdanʲɪjə/?

Why is the IPA for the Russian word "здание" is /ˈzdanʲɪje/ although people pronounce it like /ˈzdanʲɪjə/? Do Russians pronounce the IPA letter "e" like "ə" if it is at the end of the words?
Edinburgh1's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
258 views

Pronunciation with the endings ие and ия

Example: эпидемия If you listen to everything on forvo.com and the voice they left on wiki they all sound like эпидемя like the й is not even there, is there a reduction rule for this? Even in the ...
Almonds812's user avatar
  • 1,053
2 votes
2 answers
384 views

Difference in pronunciation of "ə" versus "ɐ"

The following is an extract from a table on the Wikipedia page on the Russian IPA (link below): IPA Examples English approximation ə ко́жа; о́блако; се́рдце; собира́ть about ɐ облака́; како́й; ...
Almonds812's user avatar
  • 1,053
2 votes
2 answers
151 views

Effect of palatalization on a consonant before и

I have been studying the different effects that happen to vowels when a preceding consonant becomes palatalized and i am having trouble figuring out the exact sound of и when there is a palatalized ...
Almonds812's user avatar
  • 1,053