Ÿ a ï ķ
1
The Alphabet
ï
Letter English
spelling
Approximate
sound
Letter English
spelling
Approximate
sound
A a а father P p r pero (Spanish)
¾ ¾ b bad s sad
v very t stain
g gun u boom
Þ Þ d door ï ï f far
e, ye yet X kh loch
yo New York ts cats
zh measure ch child
z zoo sh shine
i eel shch fresh cheese
y boy (hard sign) (no sound)
k ski i hill
l lock (soft sign) (no sound)
m man e set
n noise yu university
o or ya yard
p spin
The Russian alphabet was devised by a monk, St. Cyril, who was born
in Thessaloniki, Greece, around a.d. 827. The Russian alphabet is now
called Cyrillic in honor of St. Cyril.
Ÿ a ï ķ
2 Ÿ a ï ķ
1. The Cyrillic alphabet is relatively easy to read. Try to read the following
list of American states in Russian.
1. 5. ¾ 8. Þ
2. 6. 9. ï
3. Þ 7. 10. ï ķÞ
4.
There are 33 characters in the Cyrillic alphabet, some of which are the same
as in English.
SAME AS ENGLISH
Russian letter A a E e
English equivalent a e k m o t
2. Read the following Russian words.
1. 3. 5.
2. 4.
FAMILIAR LOOKING, BUT DIFFERENT SOUNDING
Russian letter P p C X x
English equivalent v n r s u kh
3. Read the following American first names.
1. 3. 5.
2. 4. 6.
DIFFERENT LOOKING, BUT FAMILIAR SOUNDING
Russian letter ¾ ¾ Þ Þ
English equivalent b g d z
Russian letter ï ï
English equivalent i l p f
4. Read some more American first names.
1. ¾ 5. Þ 8.
2. 6. 9.
3. 7. ķ Þ 10. ķïï
4.
Note: Unstressed о is
pronounced [a] or [ә].
See the section Notes
on Pronunciation for
details.
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5. The following Russian words sound very much like English.
1. At home children have a and .
2. In your room you have a and Þ .
3. A teenager’s best friend is the ï .
4. To get money you go to a ¾ .
5. When your car is broken you may need to take a ķ.
6. At the zoo you can see a ï ķ , a тигр, and a ¾ .
6. Can you recognize the following musical instruments?
1. 4.
2. ¾ - 5. ¾
3. ï
INTERESTING S-SOUNDS
zh
has the approximate sound of s in pleasure, usually. is
a girl’s name. ï is an animal you might see at the zoo.
You can read a . The person who writes in one is a
ķ .
ts
sounds like the last two letters in cats. An African insect that
causes sleeping disease is called a fly. When Russian
children want to see clowns they go to the .
ch
looks like the number 4. It is pronounced like ch in child. The
Russian spelling of the name Charlie is .
sh
is pronounced like sh in shine. All Russian children over six
years of age go to a .
shch
looks like the previous letter with a tail. It is pronounced like
the combination of sh and ch in fresh cheese. The famous
Russian red beet soup is called ¾ .
7. Russians spell English names the way they are pronounced. For instance,
Chelsea would be spelled š in Russian. Try to match the English
names with the corresponding Russian spellings.
1. Jim
2. Þ Sean
3. Michelle
4. Charlotte
5. Þ Charles
6. Þ ï John
7. Sharon
8. Jeff
4 Ÿ a ï ķ
THE YO-, YU-, YA- GROUP
yo
looks like the letter e with dots on. It is pronounced like yo
in New York. The two dots on top are optional and are used
mainly in language textbooks. The syllable with ё is always
stressed. A Russian Christmas tree is a .
yu
looks like the number 10. It is pronounced yu, as in yule.
Russians also have a sense of (humor).
ya
looks like a backwards r. It has the sound of ya, as in yard.
is a large cat and also a make of car.
8. When the letters , , or are not at the beginning of the word, the
sound resembles o, u, and a, respectively. Listen to the recording and
imitate the speaker’s pronunciation of the following Russian names in
which these letters appear in different positions.
1. 6. Þ
2. ï Þ 7.
3. 8.
4. 9.
5. 10.
ADDITIONAL SOUNDS
у
, short i, looks like with a hat on. It is pronounced
like the letter у in boy. In you can often see a ¾
(cowboy). is often used in combination with other
vowels, for example:
, , , , ,
The hat on top of the letter is not optional, unlike the dots on
the letter .
i
looks as though it is formed of two parts. It sounds like the
letter i in hill. This letter never starts a word.
ķ televisions ï telephones
e
¾ , the “backwards e” is pronounced like the e in set.
It is used mostly at the beginning of a word. If your first name
starts with an [e] sound, you should use this letter.
ķ ¾
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9. Listen to the recording and imitate the speaker’s pronunciation of the
following Russian words.
T-shirt famous
canary ķ televisions
museum ï Ÿ fruit
Ÿ Russian ¾ fish
bad this
perhaps Estonia
SPELLING SIGNS
¿ (soft sign) does not have a sound of its own. It is
a spelling sign indicating that the preceding consonant is soft,
or palatalized (more about this in the Notes on Pronunciation).
is a common first name for women. Do not confuse the
soft sign with the letters , ¾, and .
Þ (hard sign) is sometimes used as a separating sign between
the prefix and the stem of a word. Very few words have this sign.
10. Listen to the recording and imitate the speaker’s pronunciation of the
following Russian words.
Olga
writer
letter
¾ big
Þ entrance (hard sign)
Notes on Pronunciation
Word Stress
The stress may fall on any syllable in a word. To help students pronounce
Russian correctly, the stressed syllable is marked with an accent on the
vowel. You can see the accent marks in textbooks, but not in materials
intended for native speakers. Russians do not normally write the accents. In
this textbook, the stress is marked except in monosyllabic words, and when
the stress falls on a capital letter.
(stress on the first syllable)
ķ (stress on the second syllable)
ï (stress on the third syllable)
6 Ÿ a ï ķ
The syllable with is always stressed, and therefore no accent mark is needed.
(stress on the first syllable)
¾ (stress on the second syllable)
Note: Do not confuse the accent mark on with the letter . The hat is
part of and should always be written, whereas the accent on is optional.
Compare the following:
Þ ķ (optional accent mark on the letter )
( in a stressed syllable preceded by another vowel.
The stress mark on е is optional, but the hat on is
required)
The stressed syllable is pronounced with greater emphasis than the unstressed
syllable(s). The vowel in the stressed syllable is slightly longer and more
distinct than in unstressed syllables.
Pronunciation of , , , and in Stressed and
Unstressed Positions
о in a stressed syllable о in an unstressed syllable
[o]*
Þ
[a] in a position right before a stressed syllable
Ÿ
[ә] in other unstressed positions
ï
* Notice that the Russian letter o does not have the u-glide, as in the English
word home.
а in a stressed syllable а in an unstressed syllable
[a] [a] in a position right before a stressed syllable
ķ
[ә] in other unstressed positions
Ÿ
1. Listen to the recording and imitate the speaker’s pronunciation of the
following words.
о in the stressed syllable о in the unstressed syllable
Þ nature mountain
mountains bye
ï marathon Þ Þ good-bye
¾ dog
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о in different positions
badly
bad
well
Þ weather
Þ breed
Þ cities
¾ Þ beard
voices
e in a stressed syllable e in an unstressed syllable
[e] [i]
2. Listen and repeat.
e in the stressed syllable e in the unstressed syllable
Þ student Texas
c athlete f. subway
ï professor American
in stressed syllables in unstressed syllables
[ya]
¿
[yә] at the end of the word
Ÿ
[yi] at the beginning of a word
[i] in other unstressed positions
Þ
3. Listen and repeat.
in the stressed syllable unstressed at the beginning
¿¾ apple egg
¿ lighthouse January
¿ clearly
unstressed at the end of a word unstressed in other positions
England Þ nine
good five-year plan
bad
8 Ÿ a ï ķ
Hard and Soft Consonants
MostRussianconsonantshaveasoft(palatalized)andahard(nonpalatalized)
variant and, therefore, two different pronunciations. The palatalized
consonants are pronounced with tongue high and forward in the mouth.
A consonant is
hard before the
following:
a ø (before another
consonant)
A consonant is
soft before the
following:
4. Listen to the recording and repeat the following words.
(soft l)
(hard l)
(hard s)
(soft s)
(hard r)
(soft r)
5. Listen to the pronunciation of the hard and soft variants of the following
consonants. Repeat after the recording.
consonant hard soft
c
A
Ÿ
Ÿ
Þ
ķ
ķ
ķ
(e follows)
( follows)
( follows)
( follows)
( follows)
(soft sign follows)
Ÿ a ï ķ
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The Letters , , , and at the Beginning of Words
or After Another Vowel
The letters e, , , and start with a distinct y-sound at the beginning of a
word and after another vowel.
6. Listen and repeat.
Beginning of word
a
¿
After another vowel
ķ
Ÿ
Ÿ
7. Listen and repeat. After a consonant, the letters е, ё, я, and ю have a
vowel sound only.
8. Listen and repeat. Notice the difference between the letters and .
If your name is Eric, Elizabeth, Elinor, or the like, the Russian spelling
should start with an ; otherwise, your name will be mispronounced.
10 Ÿ a ï ķ
Voiced and Voiceless Consonants
The distinction between voiced and voiceless consonants exists in many
languages, including English (b/p, v/f, d/t, etc.). Twelve Russian consonants
can be arranged into voiced and voiceless pairs.
voiced ¾ Þ
voiceless ï
Words ending in a voiced consonant are pronounced with the corresponding
voiceless consonant. A native Russian with a typical Russian accept might
say in English
I’m goink to a meetink.
or: I’m hungry. I want some foot.
9. Listen to the devoicing of consonants in the following words. The actual
pronunciation is given in brackets. Repeat after the recording.
¾ [… ]
[…ï]
Þ [… ]
Þ [… ]
[… ]
[…c]
Consonant assimilation takes places in consonant clusters containing both
voiced and voiceless consonants. The second consonant in the cluster
determines the quality of the first one.
10. Listen and repeat. If the second consonant is voiced, the first one is
pronounced voiced.
Þ [ ÞÞ ]
[ ]
If the second consonant is voiceless, the first one is pronounced
voiceless.
[ ï ]
[ ]
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Cursive Writing Chart
Printed Italics Cursive
A a А а
¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ Б б
В b Lowercase в is а tall letter.
Г г Lowercase г has rounded corners.
Þ Þ Þ Þ Д д
Е е
Ё ё
Ж ж
З з Uppercase 3 looks like the number 3.
И и
Й й The “hat” is required.
К к Lowercase к is a short letter.
Л л This letter has a hook in front.
М м This letter has a hook in front.
Н н
О о
П п
Р р Lowercase р is not closed.
С с
Т т Lowercase т often has a line on top to distinguish it from ш.
У у Uppercase У does not extend below the line.
ï ï ï ï Ф ф
X X X х
Ц ц The tail on this letter is very small.
Ч ч Lowercase ч has sharp corners.
Ш ш Lowercase ш often has a line under it to distinguish it from т.
Щ щ The tail on this letter is very small.
ъ This letter has a square top.
ы
ь Do not confuse the soft sign with the letter в.
Э э Do not confuse with 3.
Ю ю
Я я This letter has a hook in front.
12 Ÿ a ï ķ
Notes on Cursive Writing
1. Letters н, п, т,and кare connected to the top. The left-side
downward stroke needs to stay intact.
папа, панда, нет, спорт, как, актриса,
артист
2. The Russian letter Þ looks like this in cursive: д да, куда
3. Notice the difference between the letters г(rounded corners) and
ч(sharp corners).
друг, город чек, конечно
4. The upper case Уdoes not extend below the line, unlike the lower
case у.
Университет тут, студент
5. The letter цhas a very small tail: цеце, пицца
6. вand бare the only tall letters.
август, вас банан, зебра
7. The soft sign is a small letter that looks like the number “six.” Do
not confuse it with the letter в.
ь день, писатель, очень
8. The letter ыlooks like the soft sign with an extra line.
мы, bы, рыба, макароны
9. has a circular shape with a line in the middle, whereas the uppercase
3 looks like the number “three.” 3ина
is connected to the next letter from the middle: это
Since the word is one of the first words you will learn, make
sure that you learn to write it correctly.
это, это, это
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10. The letters л, м,and яhave a “hook” in the front only.
или, если, балерина, мама, спортсмен,
композитор, русская, американская, Оля,
меня
Меня зовут Таня.
11. Do not confuse the letter with . The ( ) often appears
after another vowel: , , , , . The “hat” on the letter is
required.
майка, канарейка, русский, ковбой,
здравствуй, добрый, известный
Pay special attention to words with one :
по-русски(no “hat”)
but: русский
Also, do not confuse a stress mark on (used in your textbook)
with the letter .
Þķ
Leave the stress marks out in cursive. крокодил
12. The letter шends with a downward stroke. Do not confuse it with
the English “w.”
ш шапка, карандаш