Classification of vowels and consonants. Strong and weak positions of sounds

Lesson design

Subject: Strong and weak positions of vowel sounds

Project group: Kuzina A.V., Fetisova S.N., Shiryaeva G.V.

Consultant: Vostorgova E.V.

Target: identify fundamental differences between two detected positions of vowel sounds (in one of them all known vowel sounds can work - this is a strong position, in the other - only part of them, this is a weak position)

Result: Students must understand the basis for distinguishing between strong and weak positions of sounds (the possibility of the appearance of all sounds - not all sounds) and distinguish between strong and weak positions of vowel sounds (know the sign of a strong and weak position of vowel sounds: under stress - a strong position, without stress - weak).

Introductory comment: This lesson is key to two sections of the 2nd grade curriculum devoted to the study of strong and weak positions of vowels and consonants. It is in this lesson that the general concept of strong and weak positions of sounds should be introduced, as positions (places in a word) where any sounds can occur (from sounds known to children) - this is a strong position of sounds, and positions where there are some or restrictions, and some sounds cannot work, is a weak position. So, for example, in an unstressed position, according to the laws of Russian literary pronunciation, the sounds [o] and [e] cannot appear (with the exception of some borrowed words - emulsion, boa etc.) Together with these sounds, other sounds work in an unstressed position: instead of the sound [o] after a hard consonant, the sound [a] usually appears ( d[o]m – d[a]ma), after a soft consonant – [and] ([v’ol] - [v’ila]); instead of the sound [e] after a hard consonant, the sound [s] ( pole - sh[y]stas), and after the soft one – [and] ( [l’es] – [l’isa]). It is precisely because there are restrictions in the unstressed position that it is considered a weak position of sounds. A stressed position in which any of the six vowel sounds known to second-graders can occur is considered a strong position of sounds. This concept of strong and weak positions in the future, when studying strong and weak positions for consonant sounds, should become a tool for their detection: if any sound from the voiced-voiceless pair works ( teeth - soups) - this is a strong position if there are restrictions and only one sound from a pair works (for example, only a voiceless sound at the end of a word - zu[p]-su[p]) – this is a weak position. Thus, the success of studying the next section - strong and weak positions of consonant sounds - largely depends on how correctly and deeply the general concept of strong and weak positions is developed using the example of vowel sounds in this lesson.

Projected course of the lesson

Analysis of the project and its implementation:

Stage 2. Preparatory stage for setting a learning task

At this stage, the teacher actually repeats everything that was done in the previous lesson. Moreover, this stage is carried out in the most ineffective form - frontal (children answer one at a time, mostly the teacher records the material being discussed on the board, most children are passive).

As you know, the first 7-10 minutes are the most valuable time in a lesson; students are not yet tired, their concentration is maximum. This time is the most productive time for active work, setting or solving a new problem - in this lesson, unfortunately, it is almost wasted. After all, all those conclusions, the repetition of which took about 12 minutes at this stage, could be restored using the words that the children completed in the task at the next stage of the lesson ( elephant - elephants, bream - bream). Apparently unnecessary in this lesson was a discussion of the number of vowels and syllables in a word September, which the children wrote down in notebooks for class work. A lesson of this type should be extremely monolithic and contain only the material that is necessary to solve its problems. Otherwise, there is a big risk of “eroding” the main task being solved in this lesson, an unjustified loss of time, which is subsequently not enough at the end of the key lesson for the most important conclusions.

Stage 3. Formulation of the educational task and its solution

Despite the indication of the formulation of the lesson's objectives in the project, in the implementation of this lesson it was not clear enough why, for what purpose children need to write down such a number of words and analyze them. The task of this stage is to check which sounds can work in unstressed syllables (after all, in the last lesson, the children discovered that some sounds cannot work in this position).

It is good that the children do the work to a certain extent independently (1 student on the board, the rest in the notebook and check each other). However, it is a shame that a very significant part of the work - lists of vowel sounds working under and without stress - was not recorded on the board during the lesson. But this is precisely the material on the basis of which children must come to the conclusion that in some positions all sounds work (the entire list of vowel sounds known to children is presented), but not all in other positions. It was precisely because all the vowel sounds were not listed on the board that the main conclusion was not obvious to the children.

Regarding the main conclusion, the project itself did not clearly define the main points:

“Now let’s take a closer look and answer the following question: “In what position do all the sounds meet (“work”)? (under emphasis).

In what position do not all sounds occur (“work”)? (in position without accents).

People agreed to call one of these positions strong and the other weak.

What position do you think is called strong? (strong is the position in which any sounds can occur).

What about a weak position? (positions in which not all sounds are possible).”

In fact, it was assumed that children would notice that all sounds work under stress, but not all sounds without stress. Here is the text from the textbook:

“What vowel sounds are stressed in these words? And what vowels work in the same words without stress? Write down in one column all the vowel sounds that can occur under stress, and in the second column - the vowel sounds that occur in the unstressed position.

Such positions in which any sounds can occur are called strong positions. Positions in which not all sounds are possible are called weak positions.»

Thus, in the implementation of the lesson it turned out to be primary that a strong position is a position under stress, and a weak position is without stress. This is, of course, true when it comes to the sign of strong and weak positions for vowel sounds. However, it is clear that such a criterion is not applicable to the concept of strong and weak positions for consonants. The very concept of strong and weak positions (see the definition in the textbook) turned out to be secondary in the lesson, and due to insufficient fixation, not very understandable for children.

Stage 4. Reflection stage.

This stage was the last in the implementation of the lesson, it was carried out in accordance with the project and is only a fixation of the sign of strong and weak positions for vowel sounds.

Brief summary:

Of course, this lesson is one of the most difficult in the 2nd grade course. It must be admitted that the difficulties in designing and implementing this lesson are quite typical. And the main difficulty lies in the placement of accents. Naturally, for students (and for the teacher), the foreground is the sign of strong and weak positions for vowel sounds (stress) as a practical guide for further writing (with omission), and the general concept of strong and weak positions, which is a tool for their detection - on the second. The lesson introduces the general concept of strong and weak positions and the sign of these positions for vowels, however, the emphasis is still shifted. Hence the feeling that the main conclusion is being introduced as if in a ready-made form.

It is positive that the lesson as a whole is conducted in a fairly active form, students do most of the work independently, check the student’s work at the board, object and ask questions to each other, and formulate their observations.

Redesigned course of the lesson based on the results of the discussion of its video recording:

The composition of vowel phonemes in the Russian language system is determined on the basis of their semantic distinctive role in a strong position. For vowel phonemes of the Russian language, the position under stress not between soft consonants is absolutely strong (both perceptually and significatively).<и>However, in a perceptually weak position, a phoneme does not enter into neutralization with other phonemes, therefore, to determine the composition of vowel phonemes, it is enough to take into account which position is significatively strong. For vowel phonemes of the Russian language, this is the position under stress. In this position, six vowels are distinguished: [a] – [o] – [i] – [s] – [e] – [y]. But two vowel sounds alternate positionally: [and]/[ы]. Positionally alternating sounds are representatives of the same phoneme. In a perceptually strong position - after and between hard consonants [s] appears, however, at the beginning of a word only [and] occurs, therefore it is considered to be the main variant of the phoneme, and [s] is only a variation of the phoneme<а>– <о>–< . So, the composition of vowel phonemes in the Russian language is as follows: –< and> –< e> – y> (she [ʌн A – y> (she ], it O ], they [ʌn’ And ], those – [t’ uh ], here ]).

at<у>Significatively weak for Russian phonemes is the position not under stress. However, this is individual for each phoneme. Yes, phoneme<а>, <о>does not enter into neutralization with any other phoneme. For<а> –< All unstressed positions are weak. In the position of the first prestressed syllable after soft consonants, four vowel phonemes enter into neutralization – < o> – < e> i>: h[i e ]sy, m[i e ]doc, r[i e ]ka, l[i e ]sa. Perceptually weak positions for Russian vowels are: after soft consonants mint [m’ˑat], before soft consonants mother

[maˑt’] and between soft consonants crumple [m’ät’].

STRONG AND WEAK POSITIONS OF CONSONANTS AND COMPOSITION OF CONSONANT PHONEMS IN THE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE

The composition of voiced and voiceless consonant phonemes is determined by strong positions for voiced and voiceless consonants. Strong positions are:<з> – <с>);

1) Before vowels: ko[z]a – ko[s]a (<з’> – <’с>);

2) Before sonorant consonants: [z’l’]it – [s’l’]it (<з’>– <’с>).

3) Before /v/, /v’/: v[z’v’]it – [s’v’]it (

Weak positions for voiced and voiceless noisy consonants:<д>neutralized with<т>in option [t]);

2) Before a voiced consonant: ko[s’]it – ko[z’b]a (<с’>neutralized with<з’>in option [z’]);

3) Before voiceless consonants: lo[d]ochka – lo[tk]a (<д>neutralized with<т>option [t]).

Sonorant consonants do not enter into neutralization with any other consonant phonemes on the basis of voicedness/voicelessness, therefore all positions for them are strong on this basis.

In terms of hardness and softness, the strong positions for consonant phonemes of the Russian language are:

1) Before vowels<а>, <о>, <и>, <у>, <э>: in the garden - I will sit (<д> – <д’>), nose – carried (<н> – <н’>), bow – hatch (<л> – <л’>), soap – mil (<м> – <м’>), pole – gap (<ш> –<ш’:>);

2) At the end of the word: horse - horse (<н> – <н’>), angle – coal (<л> – <л’>);

3) Before back-lingual consonants: gorka - bitterly (<р> – <р’>), shelf – polka (<л> – <л’>).

However, weak positions in terms of hardness and softness are “individual”:

1) For dental consonants - before soft dental consonants: evil - to anger (<з>neutralized with<з’>in variant [z’]), chant – song (<с>neutralized with<с’>in option [s’]);

2) For dental consonants - before soft labial consonants: story - dawn (<с>neutralized with<с’>in option [s’]);

3) For labial consonants - before soft labial consonants: again - together (<в>neutralized with<в’>in option [c’]);

4) For dental<н>- in front of the anterior palatines<ч’>And<ш’:>: boar - boar (<н>neutralized with<н’>in the variant [n’]), deception – deceiver (<н’>neutralized with<н’>in version [n’]).

Requires special comments position before vowel<э>. For centuries, a law has been in effect in the Russian language: a consonant, falling into a position before<э>, softened. Indeed, in native Russian words before<э>the consonant is always soft: forest, river, light, summer, wind. The exception is the hard hissing ones (rustle, gesture), but they were originally soft. Therefore, the position in front<э>for consonants it was weak in hardness-softness. In 20-30 In the 20th century, changes occurred in the phonetic system of the Russian language. On the one hand, abbreviations are actively formed, which become commonly used words: NEP, DNEPRO HPP, Power lines. On the other hand, many borrowings, becoming mastered, bypass the stage of phonetic adaptation. Thus, the commonly used words, without a doubt, include: antenna, atelier, stand, tennis, muffler. Consonant before<э>these words are pronounced firmly. Thus, before<э>In modern Russian, hard and soft consonants are possible. This means that the position has turned from weak to strong.

In fact, all positions except the weak ones listed above are strong in terms of hardness and softness. The range of weak positions in terms of hardness and softness has narrowed over the past 50-80 years. “Destroyed” positional patterns include:

1) Softening consonants before : family [s’i e m’ja], blizzard [v’jug’], nightingales [sjlʌv’ji], but entrance [pʌdjest];

2) Softening of the labials before the soft posterior linguals: paws [lap’k’i], rags [tr’ap’k’i].

In fact, the positional patterns of softening the labials before the soft labials and the teeth before the soft labials are also in the stage of destruction. The “Russian Grammar” indicates possible pronunciation options in these positions: [s'v'et] and [sv'et], [v'm'es't''] and [vm'es't'']. The reasons for such changes in the phonetic system of the Russian language will be discussed in the next paragraph.

Back-lingual consonants have a special position in the system. Hard and soft back-lingual consonants alternate positionally: soft back-lingual consonants are possible only before front vowels<и>, <э>. In these positions there are no hard back-lingual ones: ru[k]a – ru[k’]i, ru[k’]e; but[g]a – but[g’]i, but[g’]e; sti[x]a – sti[x’]i, about sti[x’]e. Consequently, hard and soft velars are representatives of the same phonemes. Since hard back-linguals are possible in most positions, they are considered the main variants of consonant phonemes -<г>, <к>, <х..

Thus, the composition of consonant phonemes in the Russian language is as follows:<б> – <б’> – <п> – <п’> –<в> – <в’> – <ф> – <ф’> – <д> – <д’> – <т> – <т’> – <з> – <з’> – <с> – <с’> – <м> –<м’> – <н> – <н’> – <л> – <л’> – <р> – <р’> – <ж> – <ж’:> – <ш> – <ш’:> – <ч’> – <ц> – – <г> – <к> – <х>(pipe – [true b a], trumpeting - [true b’ a], stupid – [tu P a], stupid - [tu P' a], grass – [trʌ V a], grass – [trʌ V' a], column – [grʌ f a], count – [grʌ f' a], water – [vʌ d a], driving [vʌ d' a], cool – [cru T a], twisting – [cru T' a], thunderstorm – [grʌ h a], threatening [grʌ z' a], braid – [kʌ With a], mowing [kʌ With' a], volumes – [tʌ m a], Tomya – [tʌ m' a], guilt – [v’i e n a], blaming – [v’i e n’ a], white – [b’i e l a], white - [b’i e l’ a], mountain – [gʌ R a], grief – [gʌ R' a], trembling – [drʌ and a], buzzing – [zhu and' :a], in a hurry – [s’p’i e w a], cracking – [tr’i e w' :a], candle – [s’v’i e h' a], mine – [mʌ j a], hand – [ru To a], leg – [нʌ G a], verse – [s’t’i e X A]).

PHONEMIC TRANSCRIPTION

Phonetic transcription serves to accurately record spoken speech. Phonemic transcription reflects the composition of phonemes. This is a recording of abstract units of language, not intended for reading.

Procedure for performing phonemic transcription:

1) Perform phonetic transcription;

2) Perform a morpheme analysis of the word (to establish which morpheme a particular phoneme belongs to);

3) Determine the nature of the position for each sound unit (a strong position is indicated by “+”, a weak position by “-”);

4) Select checks for all phonemes that are in weak positions: a) for phonemes in the root of the word - cognate words of the same root; b) for phonemes in prefixes – words of any part of speech with the same prefix (with the same meaning); c) for phonemes in suffixes – words with the same suffixes (checks “automatically” will belong to the same part of speech and the same grammatical category); d) for phonemes in endings - words of the same part of speech, the same grammatical category, in the same grammatical form.

5) Transfer the recording to phonemic transcription.

Note. Remember that it is necessary to check the positions of consonants according to two parameters - sonority-voicelessness and hardness-softness.

Sample.

1) correspondence [p'yr'i e p'isk];

2) [p’yr’i e -p’is-k-b];

3) [p’ p’ and e -p’ and s-k-b];

+ – + – + + – + – (for consonants according to voicedness/voicelessness)

+ + + + + (for consonants of hardness/softness)

4) Check for vowels in the prefix: P e registration, translation e abusive; for the root consonant [s], which is in a weak position in terms of voicedness/voicelessness: rewrite; for the unstressed vowel [ъ] at the end: spring(the ending of a feminine noun in the singular form, nominative case).

5) After checking, we transfer the recording to phonemic transcription:<п’эр’эп’иска>.

When performing phonemic transcription of different words, remember checks for various prefixes, suffixes, endings of different parts of speech in different grammatical forms.

Since Russian graphics and spelling are based on the phonemic principle, the recording of a word in phonemic transcription largely coincides with the orthographic appearance of the word.

1) What does phonology study? Why is it also called functional phonetics?

2) Define phoneme. Explain why the phoneme is considered the minimal sound unit of language. What is the function of a phoneme? Illustrate your answer with examples.

3) What alternations are classified as phonetic positional? Give examples of phonetic positional alternations of vowels and consonants. What are the differences between phonetic non-positional (grammatical positional) alternations? In which case are alternating sounds representatives of one phoneme, in which case are they representatives of different phonemes? How can a phoneme be defined in terms of positional alternations?

4) Define the strong and weak position of phonemes from the perceptual and significative points of view. In which case is a phoneme represented by its basic variant? With your variations? Options? What are allophones?

5) Define hyperphoneme and illustrate your answer with examples.

6) Name the strong and weak positions for Russian vowels. What is the composition of vowel phonemes in the Russian language?

7) Name the strong and weak positions of consonant phonemes of the Russian language according to voicedness - deafness.

8) Name the strong and weak positions of consonant phonemes of the Russian language according to hardness and softness.

9) What is the composition of consonant phonemes in the Russian language?

Practical tasks

№1 . Write down the definition of phoneme in your workbook. Justify each word in this definition.

№2 . Select rows of words in which vowels, voiced and voiceless consonants, hard and soft consonants perform a meaningful function. Prove that the order of sound units in a word can perform a semantic distinguishing function.

№3. Determine what alternations are observed in the following cases: a) house - house [ʌн- house-elf; b) traces - trace; c) play along - signature d) graze - pasture; e) evil - to anger; f) honor - honest; g) walk – I’m walking; h) frost - freeze; i) table - about the table. Which of these alternations are phonetic positional? Find similar examples of phonetic positional and phonetic non-positional alternations.

№4. Transcribe the text. Establish possible phonetic positional and non-positional alternations: The snow fell until midnight, the darkness fell over the gorges, and then it became quiet, and the new moon rose... This world, it is moved and alive from time immemorial by transformations, sometimes invisible, sometimes obvious, their countless succession(Yu. Levitansky).

№6 . Prove that for alternations [s’]/[w] and [d’]/[g] in pairs wear - wear, walk - go there are exceptions and, therefore, these alternations are classified as phonetic non-positional.

№7 . Show what different sounds the phoneme /z/ can be represented by (in the preposition without). Indicate the main variant of this phoneme, its variations, variants.

№8. Transcribe the words and determine which series of positionally alternating sounds represent the Phonemes<э>, <о>, <а>: running, running, running; move, walked, walkers; thunderstorms, thunderstorm, thunderstorm; anger, wisdom; record, record, record.

№9. What phonemes and in what positions are neutralized in the examples of task 3?

№10. Select examples illustrating the neutralization of phonemes:<б> – <п>; <и> – <э>; <э> – <о>; <д> – <д’>.

№11. Transcribe the words. Indicate strong and weak positions for vowel phonemes: brownie, honey plant, golden, groovy, subscription, story, kindness, youth, copier, cotton wool, field, strict. Select checks for vowel sounds in weak position. What vowel phonemes are they representatives of?

№12 . Transcribe the words. Indicate the strong and weak positions of consonant phonemes according to their voicedness and voicelessness. Select phoneme checks: crab, trail, thunderstorm, long, hawk, scythe (short adjective), dexterous, cat, piece of wood, mowing, carving, interspersed, signature, echo, jump away, heartless, silent, make you laugh, break.

№13 . Write down the words in phonetic transcription, indicating strong and weak positions for consonant phonemes according to hardness and softness: elephant, horse, slide, bitterly, goat, song, together, with Vitya, racer, hog, cog, difference, removable, branching. Select checks for phonemes in weak position.

№14 . What hyperphonemes are there in the words listed below: watercolor, crimson, gesso, turquoise, wife, bow, suddenly, wax, becoming, light, everywhere?

№15. Give examples of words that have hyperphonemes:<а/о>; <и/э>; <а/о/э>; <а/о/э/и>; <с/з>; <г/к>; <с’/з’>; <т’/д’>; <с/c’/з/з’>.

№16. Perform phonemic transcription of the words: young, flying, show, prose writer, stay, riddle, quiet, chair, sea, play along, wash, kerosene, blind, supply, closet, delight, asphalt, here.

№19. Using the materials from the paragraph and the completed exercises, write down in your notebook and remember the checks for morphemes: a) prefixes on-, for-, under-, pere-, rose-; b) suffixes

-ost-, -chick-, -from-, -from-; c) endings of nouns of different types of declension, adjectives, personal endings of verbs; d) infinitive suffix -th and postfix -s reflexive verbs.

In unstressed syllables, vowels are pronounced less clearly, shorter, therefore the position of the vowel in an unstressed syllable is called weak position. Let's compare the pronunciation of root vowels in words run, run, run out. In the first case, the vowel [e] is in a strong position, in a stressed syllable, and therefore is heard clearly. It cannot be confused with any other. In words run And run out vowels in the root are in a weak position, because the stress shifted to other syllables. We can no longer say that in this case we hear the vowel [e], because its sound weakens, decreases in duration, and its pronunciation approaches [and]. And in the word run out the vowel is pronounced even shorter, losing its main features. This positional change of vowels is called reduction .

^ Reduction is a weakening of the pronunciation of a vowel, associated with a change in its length and sound quality in a weak position. All vowels in unstressed syllables are subject to reduction, but the degree of reduction and its nature are different for different vowels. There are reductions quantitative and qualitative .

At quantitative reduction Although the vowels are not pronounced so clearly, losing part of their length (i.e. changing quantitatively), they do not lose their basic quality and do not become completely unclear: P], here t - p], here yoú - P], here tevó th; lAnd tsa – l], they [ʌn’ tsó – l], they [ʌn’ tsevó th; etcy bend - prs jó k – yoú etcs bend. High vowels [i], [ы], [у] are subject to quantitative reduction. In any position they are pronounced quite recognizable.

At quality reduction The very nature of the sound of vowels changes: they lose their basic quality, becoming practically unrecognizable. Yes, in words get sick And enemies there are no vowels [o] and [a] found in a strong position ([bol`], [vrak]). Instead, a sound similar to a weakened [a] is pronounced, and therefore, it needs its own designation - [] (a-tent). In a word price the vowel sound in a weak position is similar to both [s] and [e]. In transcription it is designated [ы е] ([ы] with the overtone [е]). If you compare the words painful,quarrel, price, it turns out that the vowels in the roots, being quite far from the stressed syllables, become very short and indistinguishable. In transcription, such a vowel is designated [ъ] (er). (By the way, changes in weak positions depend not only on the distance from the stressed syllable, but also on the position of the vowel after a hard or soft consonant. So, in the same position as hurt, enemies, in a word watch a sound is pronounced, middle between [and] and [e] - [and e], and in the word hourly- sound denoted [ь] (er)).

Thus, depending on the position of the vowel in relation to the stressed syllable, 2 types of qualitative reduction are distinguished: they are called the 1st degree of reduction (or 1st weak position) and the 2nd degree of reduction (2nd weak position).

1st degree reduction vowels in the following positions are affected:

a) 1st pre-stressed syllable: [пл`а́] (fields), [trava] (grass), [p`i so] (nickel), [shy e stand] (sixth);

b) 1st open syllable, regardless of distance from the stressed syllable: [d`in] (one), [d`inok`iy`] (lonely), [y e tash] (floor), [s tzhy] (floors);

c) adjacent identical vowels (the so-called “gap” of vowels): [zl`et`] (become pale), [ngmouth] (to the garden).

2nd degree reduction vowels are exposed in other cases:

a) 2nd, 3rd, etc. pre-stressed syllable: [karndash] (pencil), [karndshy] (pencils), [s`d`ina] (gray hair), [t`l`i e fon] (telephone);

b) all overstressed syllables: [mа́мъ] (Mother), [lozh'k] (spoon), [sea] (sea), [fighting] (we are fighting).

The designation in phonetic transcription of vowels subject to qualitative reduction can be schematically represented as follows:

Let us recall that the vowels [i], [s], [y] are not subject to qualitative reduction, therefore in phonetic transcription they will be designated in any position as [i], [s], [y]: [l`is`itsъ] (fox), [k`irp`ich`i] (bricks), [s`in`i`] (blue), [roar] (lever arm), [growl e zhok] (lever), [bald`] (bald), [corn] (corn).
Questions and tasks

1. 
   What causes positional alternation of vowels?
2. 
   What is reduction? What is it connected with?
3. 
   Name the types of reduction. What is the difference?
4. 
   Which vowels undergo quantitative reduction?
5. 
   What is the essence of quality reduction?
6. 
   What is the reason for the existence of two degrees of qualitative reduction?
7. 
   How are vowels of the 1st degree of reduction changed and indicated? vowels of the 2nd degree of reduction?
8. 
   Change the words or select words with the same root so that the vowels in the strong position first end up in the 1st weak position, and then in the 2nd weak position: house, six, king, stretches, whole, dark.
9. 
   Determine the positions of vowel sounds. Transcribe the words. Divide them into syllables: watery, carefree, gear, phenomenon, frozen, holiday, language, happiness, station, forget-me-not.
10. 
    What phonetic phenomenon underlies the appearance of homophones: company - campaign, dedicate - dedicate, awl - awl, caress - rinse, purity - frequency? Transcribe the words.
11. 
    Read the words. Write them down in letters: [l`ú l`k], [y`i ], those – [t’ ntá p`], [p`i ], those – [t’ shé n`i`y], [b`i ], those – [t’ p`ó skъ], [y`i ], those – [t’ w`:ó ], [razr`i ], those – [t’ d`í t`], [tsy ], those – [t’ Bý ch'k], [padr ladý t`]. Is only one type of letter writing possible in all cases?
12. 
    Transcribe text 1. Indicate cases of quantitative and qualitative reduction. Give a complete description of the vowel sounds in the underlined words.

(N. Nosov)

§eleven. Positional changes of consonants
Positional alternations of consonants are associated with the position of the sound in a word, as well as with the influence of sounds on each other. As with vowel sounds, consonants also have strong and weak positions. However, consonants can coincide or differ in sound according to two characteristics: sonority-dullness and hardness-softness. The position in which paired consonants differ is called strong.

Usually, strong positions in terms of voicedness-voicelessness and hardness-softness do not coincide, however, in the position before a vowel sound, the consonants differ in both characteristics. This position is called absolutely strong . The following consonants can be distinguished in it: [d] – [house] (house), [d`] – [id`om] (let's go), [t] – [current] (current), [t`] – [t`ok] (tek), [z] – [umbrella] (umbrella), [з`] – [з`ornъ] (grains), [s] – [som] (som), [s`] – [s`ol] (villages), [b] – [cheerful] (cheerfully), [b`] – [b`odr] (hips), [p] – [sweat] (sweat), [p`] – [p`neg] (Peter), [v] – [ox] (ox), [v`] – [v`ol] (led), [f] – [background] (background), [f`] – [f`odar] (Fedor), [g] – [goal] (Goal), [g`] – [g`en`iy`] (genius), [k] – [cat] (cat), [k`] – [tk`ot] (weaves), [m] – [mol] (they say), [m`] – [m`ol] (chalk), [n] – [nose] (nose), [n`]- [n`os] (carried), [r] – [rof] (moat), [р`] – [р`of] (roar), [l] – [lot] (lot), [l`] – [l`ot] (ice), [x] – [hot] (move), [x`] – [x`itry`] (cunning), [f] – [zhok] (burned), [zh`:] – [zh`:from] (burns), [w] – [shock] (wOK), [w`:] – [sh`:ok`i] (cheeks), [ch`] – [ch`olk] (bang), [ts] – [tsokt] (clatter), [y`] – [y`ok] (yogi).

In addition to an absolutely strong position, there are strong positions for different groups of paired consonants. So, for noisy consonants, paired in voicedness-voicelessness, the following positions are also strong:

• 
  before a sonorant consonant: [s`l`it`] – [z`l`it`] (to drain - to anger), [pros`it] – [throws`it] (asks - leaves), [sm`i e y`as`] – [zm`i e y`as`] (laughing - snaking), [whip] – [bend] (whip - bend);
• 
  before [v], [v`]: [dvr`ets] – [tvr`ets] (the palace is the creator), [zv`er`] – [sv`er`] (beast - check).

• 
  at the end of the word: [con] (con)– [kon`] (horse), [m'el] (chalk)– [m`el`] (stranded), [throne] (throne)– [throne`] (touch);
• 
  before a hard consonant: [l`ink] (Linka)– [l`in`k] (molting), [bridge] (bridge), [proz`b] (request). For dental consonants - also before soft labials, which is due to the variability allowed by orthoepic norms: [s`m`at`] – [sm`at`] (crumple), [t`v`ordy`] – [tv`ordy`] (solid);
• 
  for [l] and [l`] – all positions are strong: [mal`v] (mallow)– [mlva] (rumor), [pl`a] (crawl)– [n`i e l`z`a] (it is forbidden).

Stun due to the fact that in Russian a voiced consonant cannot be pronounced at the end of a word: [gr`ip] (flu or mushroom) , [l'es] ( forest or climbed), [stock] ( drain or stack), [nosh] ( knife or burden– R.p. plural), [p`at`] ( five or span) etc. When a word changes, when the corresponding consonant falls into a strong position, it becomes clear whether there is positional alternation in this word: [gr`ip] – [gr`iby] (mushroom – mushrooms)– [p] // [b], [l`es] – [l`ezu] (climb - climb)– [s] // [z], [stock] – [stga] (stack - haystack) – [k] // [g] etc.

Assimilation - this is the likening of sounds to each other within one phonetic word. Assimilation occurs as a result of the fact that the articulation of one of the adjacent consonants extends to the other. The interaction of sounds, as a result of which they become the same, is called complete assimilation ([zh:at`] – compress, [b`i e s:na] – without sleep, [uch'its:b] – study). Typically, as a result of such assimilation, so-called long sounds are formed.

The interaction of sounds, as a result of which they become similar only in one articulatory feature, is called incomplete (or partial) assimilation : [loshk] (spoon)– assimilation by deafness, [kos`t`] (bone)– assimilation by softness.

The following types of assimilation are distinguished:

a) assimilation by softness [z], [s], [n] before [d`], [t`], [n`]: [tail`t`ik] (tail), [pl`ez`n`y`y] (more useful), [in`d`i`y] (India), [kan`t`ik] (piping);

b) assimilation by softness [n] before [ch`], [sh`:]: [n`an`ch`it`] (babysit), [gon`sh`:ik] (racer);

c) assimilation by hardness: [y`i e nvarsk`iy`] (January)(cf. [y`i e nvar`] (January)), [s`t`i e pnoy`] (steppe)(cf. [s`t`ep`] (steppe)).

In general, if difficulties arise related to the presence or absence of assimilation in terms of hardness and softness, it is best to turn to the relevant reference literature, for example, the Orthoepic Dictionary of the Russian Language.

• 
  by place and method of education . With such assimilation, the articulation of the previous consonant adapts to the articulation of the subsequent one: [sh:yt`] (sew), [z:ad`i] (behind), [knight:b] (rummage)– complete assimilation; [ch`sh`:etn] (in vain), [best`] (best)– partial assimilation.

1. 
   What causes positional alternations of consonants?
2. 
   Why are different strong positions allocated for different groups of consonants?
3. 
   What is an absolutely strong position for consonants?
4. 
   Name the strong positions in terms of voicedness and deafness.
5. 
   Name the main strong positions in terms of hardness and softness.
6. 
   Why are all voiced-voiceless positions for sonorant consonants strong? Why for [h`], [sh`:], [zh`:], [y`], [ts] all positions in terms of hardness and softness are strong?
7. 
   What is the reason for stun? Give your own examples.
8. 
   From the listed consonants, indicate those that can be found at the absolute end of the word: [th`], [w], [f], [m], [m`], [z], [z`], [t], [t`], [s], [s`], [ d], [d`], [g], [g`], [k], [k`]. Justify your answer with examples.
9. 
   One of the school textbooks on the Russian language gives the following rule: “At the end of a word, voiced and voiceless paired consonants are pronounced equally dull.” Evaluate this statement. How can I correct it?
10. 
    What is assimilation? Describe assimilation by its sonority-voicelessness, by hardness-softness, by place and method of formation. Give your examples of different types of assimilation.
11. 
    Read the text. Indicate: a) consonants in an absolutely strong position; b) consonants in a strong position in terms of voicedness-voicelessness, c) consonants in a strong position in terms of hardness-softness:

1. 
   Is it possible to find out the meaning of these words in transcription without context: [cat], [poppy], [voice], [tinder], [l`es`t`], [v`i ], those – [t’ s`t`í ], [sy'est]? What options are possible? What phonetic phenomenon creates homophones in this case?
2. 
   Transcribe the words. Identify all cases of assimilation: rain, rare, guess, pilot, burn, get naughty, surrender, plant, grow, homeland, here, pick up, fairy tale, disease, babysit, sandy, install, remove, shortchange, cog, man, milk mushroom, childhood, general.
3. 
   Transcribe the text. Identify cases of assimilation. Describe the syllables and sounds in the underlined words:

Feeling that beautyher begins to fade and wanting to somehow prolong its summer, the Birch tree is painted yellowcolor - the most fashionable in autumnage .

And then everyone saw that autumn had come... (F.Krivin)

Russian language is a difficult subject. We write words completely differently from how they are actually pronounced. In speech, the same phonemes manifest themselves in different sound forms. Compare, for example, the words “honey” - [m"ot] and "honey" - [m"idok]. It all depends on whether phonemes occupy strong positions or weak positions within a word. Let's talk about this in more detail.

Speech is a continuous stream of phonemes in which the pronunciation of a sound is largely determined by its place in the word, neighboring vowels and consonants. IN weak position articulation undergoes significant changes. Phonemes lose some of their characteristics and begin to appear in other variants. For example, [o] in an unstressed position begins to sound like [a]: [vada], [sava]. The final [g] is pronounced like [k]: [druk], [kruk]. It is in such places that we make mistakes in writing.

IN strong position the phoneme, on the contrary, is heard clearly and stands in its basic form. It does not depend on its position in a word; its quality is not affected by neighboring sounds. This is, for example, the phoneme [o] in the words “water”, “owl”. Or the sound [g] in the words “to a friend”, “around”.

Morphological principle of spelling

Why does an ordinary person, far from linguistics, need to know the strong and weak positions of phonemes? The fact is that the spelling of 90% of Russian words is regulated by the so-called morphological principle. According to him, we should not take into account phonetic alternations when we pick up a pen or type on a keyboard. Roots, suffixes, prefixes, endings are always written the same way. Reduction of vowels, softening of consonants before certain sounds, their voicing or deafening are not taken into account.

From this follows the conclusion: when writing, you cannot rely on hearing. Only sounds in strong positions are written as they are heard. All others need to be verified. Having determined that the phoneme is in a weak position, we begin to select a test word with the same morpheme. For example, tooth - dental, linden - pine, hike - train, to the lamp - to the water. In the test word, the phoneme must be in a strong position, and be in the same morpheme. Otherwise you might make a mistake.

Strong and weak positions of vowel sounds

Already in elementary school, children know: the sound under stress is heard for a long time, clearly and does not need to be checked. We can safely write the words “catfish”, “sam” in the notebook. This is a strong vowel position.

The unstressed position is a completely different matter. Such a vowel is in a weak position; we pronounce it briefly, with less force, indistinctly. Compare the words "soma" and "sama". They sound almost the same. In order not to make mistakes when writing them, schoolchildren are taught to select test words.

The Russian language is characterized by:

• “akanye”, when unstressed [a] and [o] are pronounced the same after hard consonants (for example, the words “at home”, “dala”);
• “hiccup”, in which unstressed [a] and [e] are indistinguishable after soft consonants (for example, in the words “ball” and “sword”).

The vowels [i], [u] and [s] in a weak position are pronounced shorter, but do not change their quality sound. However, it is better to exercise caution here too. Unstressed [i], for example, can easily be confused with the phonemes [a] and [e] that come after soft consonants.

Positions of consonants: voiceless and voiced

Consonant sounds form pairs according to such characteristics as “voiceless-voiced” and “hard-soft”. Accordingly, strong and weak positions of consonants are also determined by these two characteristics.

A strong position on the basis of “voiceless-voiced” for consonants is the position:

• before a vowel: tom-house, fence-cathedral;
• before sonorants: firewood - grass, layer - evil;
• before the letter "v": the creator is the palace.

In the listed cases, the consonants are heard clearly and do not require verification. It is hardly possible to make a mistake in spellings that do not have a pair for deafness. These include [l], [l"], [n], [n"], [p], [r"], [m], [m"], [th"]. Phonemes [x], [ ts], [x"], [sch"] and [ch"], on the contrary, do not have a voiced paired sound. They can occupy different positions in words, maintaining their basic characteristics and not coinciding with other consonants during pronunciation.

When can consonants be voiced or devoiced?

Now we will learn to distinguish between strong positions and weak positions of paired phonemes based on the voiced-voicedness of phonemes. In what cases are we at risk of making a mistake in writing? This position:

• at the end of a word, where both voiced and voiceless phonemes coincide in their sound: eye - voice, oak - dull, bough - meadow;
• before a paired voiced sound, when the adjacent consonant is also pronounced voiced: shave - [zb]rit, give - o[dd]at;
• before a voiceless consonant, when the adjacent sound is deafened: spoon - lo[shk]a, entrance - [fh]od.

To avoid mistakes, we must understand which morpheme contains the dubious sound. Then find a test word where the required phoneme is in a strong position. So that this does not take much time, you need training. Let's select test words for the examples given above: eye - eyes, voice - glasa, oak - oak, stupid - stupid, bough - bough, meadow - meadows; shave - fold, give - drive away; spoon - apply, entrance - left.

Consonant positions: hardness and softness

The time has come to consider the strong and weak positions of consonant sounds on such a basis as “hard-soft”. There are many dangers awaiting us here. The morphological principle does not always save. For example, the sounds [zh] and [sh] are always hard, but we know that in some cases a soft sign is written after them (rye, hear). After the hard [ts] there can be the letter “y” (chicken) or “i” (circus).

The sounds [ch"] and [sch"] are always pronounced softly, but from the first grade we remember the spelling of the syllables "cha-sha" and "chu-schu". There is another principle at work here, called traditional or historical. Only a clear knowledge of the rules of the Russian language will save you from making mistakes.

Nevertheless, let's return to theory. In what case do consonants that have a pair of hardness and softness do not change their qualitative characteristics? This position:

• before a vowel: [mal] - [m "al", [ox] - [v "ol", [bow] - [l "uk", [life"] - [b "it"];
• at the end of the word: [kon] - [kon"], [brother] - [brother"];
• absolutely any for phonemes [l], [l"]: vo[l]a - vo[l"n]a, po[l"z]a - po[l]at;
• before back-lingual [g], [k], [x], [g"], [k"], [x"] and hard labial [b], [m], [n] for front-lingual sounds: go [rk] a - go[r"k]o, i[zb]a - re[z"b]a;
• before hard teeth [s], [z], [ts], [d], [t], [l], [n] for teeth: ko[ns]ky - yu[n"s]ky;
• before hard front-linguals [s], [z], [t], [d], [ts], [l], [r], [n], [sh], [z] for sonorant front-linguals: jan [rs] cue - September[r"s]kiy, ma[nzh]eta - de[n"zh]ata.

Weak positions according to the characteristic "softness - hardness"

There are positions in which hard consonants soften under the influence of neighboring sounds. They are considered weak. This position:

• Before [th"]: raven - vor[n"y"o]. The exception is the consonants at the end of the prefix before [th"]: [vy"est] - entry.
• Before soft dental sounds for sounds [c], [n], [z]: together [s"t"]e, [z"d"]es.
• Before the phonemes [ch"] and [sch"] for the sound [n]: drum [n"sch"]ik, roll [n"ch"]ik.

In general, it is very difficult to distinguish between strong positions and weak positions on the basis of “hard-soft consonant”. The fact is that it is not possible to select examples for all cases. So, in the Russian language before [n] we find only solid [m]: compote, shampoo, etc. Not a single word has the sound [m"] in this position. Consequently, we cannot be completely sure whether it is realized here phoneme [m] or [m"].

Absolute positions for consonants

Let's summarize. Everything is clear with vowel sounds. If they are stressed, the position is considered strong. If the stress falls on another phoneme in the word, then the position is weak. It's more complicated with consonants.

For example, in the word “tooth” the sound at the end is deafened. The position on the basis of “voice-voicelessness” will be weak. But it is also strong on the soft-hard scale. When the weak positions for both characteristics coincide, the phoneme is considered absolutely weak. It realizes itself in various variations and requires the use of spelling rules.

It happens that a consonant is in a strong position both according to the “voiced-voiceless” characteristic and according to the “soft-hard” characteristic. This is often observed in the position before a vowel sound. This position is called absolutely strong.

Knowing the strong positions and weak positions of phonemes is necessary for every person who wants to write correctly. This will allow you to quickly identify the “mistaken” place in the word and remember the corresponding rule.

In a word, consonants can occupy different positions. In some positions, consonants are contrasted with each other in terms of sonority-dullness and hardness-softness; such positions are called strong. The positions of the consonant before vowels and before sonorants are strong in voiced-voicelessness (i.e., voiced and voiceless consonants are always different here): d am – T um, b silt – P silt, h loy – With loy, d rel – T rel. Consonant positions before vowels (except [e]) are also strong in terms of hardness and softness: m al – m yal, l uk – l yuk, b yt – b it, V ol – V ate(but before [e] both a soft and a hard consonant sound are possible: sir – sir; meter(unit of measurement; pronounced with a soft [m"]) -meter(teacher, master; pronounced with [m] hard).

Positions in which consonants are not contrasted in terms of voicedness and deafness and in terms of hardness and softness are called weak. Thus, the position of the consonant at the end of a word is weak in terms of voiced-voicelessness: voiced and voiceless consonants are pronounced the same way here - voiceless (cf. one hundred To And one hundred G, pr T And prue d). Before voiced consonants, all consonants paired according to voiced-voicelessness are pronounced as voiced (cf. h here And With do: in both words, in the position before the voiced [d"] the voiced [z"] is pronounced, and in front of the deaf ones - like deaf ones (cf. true b ka And sha P ka: in both words, in the position before the deaf [k], the deaf [p] is pronounced).

Position in front of the soft lips and teeth, as well as in front of is weak for consonants paired with hardness and softness: in this position the consonant is often pronounced softly. Compare: [With" n"]eg, co [ n"s"] ervy, bo[ m"beat. [d"v"]believe, ha(hard consonants<с>, <н>, <м>, <д>, <в>these words are pronounced softly).

In the same word, but in its different forms, consonants can alternate with each other - depending on what position they find themselves in: voiced consonants before vowels alternate with voiceless ones at the end of the word, voiceless consonants alternate with voiced ones in the position before voiced ones , hard ones alternate with soft ones in position before soft consonants. Such alternations of sounds are called positional. They do not violate the morphological integrity of the word and are not reflected in the writing. Compare: true b a-tru b (pronounced [true P]), mow T b–mow b[ʌн(pronounced [ka h"ba]), tra V a–tra V ka(pronounced [tra fкъ]), bo[ m b]a–o bo[ m"b]e, [ d"v"]e– [dv]umya.

Some alternations characterize not the modern phonetic system, but its state in the past; such alternations are called historical. They are assigned to certain morphological forms and are reflected in writing in the form of different letters. Compare: sve T it - light h uh, boo d it - boo and y, stereo G and – stereo and yes and under. Such alternations are not determined by the position of the sound: and before<и>, and before<у>both [t"], [d"], [g"], and [h], [zh] are possible (compare: shine and sharpen, guard and awaken and so on.). (For more on historical alternations, see below, §94–97.)