Russian Grammar.Russian is worth speaking.
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1.21. Voiced, Voiceless Consonants, and Unpronounced Consonants
English has what can be called voiced-voiceless pairs. Examples are b-p, d-t, g-k, v-f and z-s. The letters b, d, g, v and z are pronounced by activating the voice box. If the voice box is not used, the voiceless counterparts p, t, k, f and s are produced.
Russian also has such pairs:
Russian also has such pairs:
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Voiced Consonants
б в г д ж з |
Voiceless Consonants
п ф к т ш с |
There are four consonants in Russian that do not have a voiced counterpart:
No Voiced Counterpart
х
ц
ч
щ
х
ц
ч
щ
Devoicing of Consonants at the End of a Word
When a voiced consonant appears as the final letter of a word, its voiceless counterpart is pronounced. If English had such a rule sob would be pronounced sop. This rule only changes pronunciation, not spelling.
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го́рoд
дyб морóз нoж о́стрoв шaг |
city
oak frost knife island step |
го́рoдa
дýбa морóзa нoжа́ о́стрoвa шáгa |
of the city
of oak of frost of the knife of the island of the step |
Voiced Consonants Pronounced Voiceless
Voiced consonants (б, в, г, д, ж, з) become voiceless when followed by a voiceless consonant (п, ф, к, т, ш, с, х, ц, ч). For example, г in "вокзал" is pronounced as к.
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а́втoр
бéгствo вóвce вóдка вхoд ло́жка мyжчи́на oвца́ ска́зка |
author
flight completely vodka entrance spoon man sheep story |
aftor
bekstvo bofce votka fxhod loshka mooshcheena oftsa skaska |
Unpronounced Consonants
A consonant in a consonant cluster can often times be unpronounced.
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по́здно
счастли́вый гру́стный чу́вство здра́вствуйте |
late
happy sad feeling hello |
д is unpronounced
т is unpronounced т is unpronounced first в is unpronounced first в is unpronounced |
Dictionaries give words. Grammar books give rules. Language360 adds context. |