All consonant sounds in the Russian language are divided according to several criteria, including the principle of voicedness and deafness. This pronunciation characteristic influences whether the voice is used when pronouncing a sound or not. Studying this topic is very important for understanding the basic principles of the phonetic system, because voiceless consonants are a very important part of it.

What is a voiceless consonant?

Voiceless consonant sounds are produced only by noise, without the participation of the voice. When pronouncing them, the vocal cords are completely relaxed, the larynx does not vibrate.

Paired and unpaired voiceless consonants

Most sounds that fall into this category have a voiced pair. What sounds these are, you can find out from the table “Voiceless consonant sounds in the Russian language.”

Thus, in the Russian language there are 11 voiceless consonants that have a voiced pair. But there are also unpaired ones - these are sounds such as [x], [x’], [h’] and [sch’].

They cannot become voiced regardless of position.

A special mnemonic phrase helps to remember all the voiceless consonants that exist in the Russian language: “Styopka, do you want shchetc?” - Ugh!". But it will not help to remember their pairing by hardness-softness, since voiceless consonants that have a pair are presented in it only in one variety - either hard or soft.

Consonant devoicing rule

In the Russian language, there are often cases when a voiced consonant is written in writing, but in speech it turns into a dull consonant. This happens, for example, when a voiced letter appears at the very end of a word, as in the word mushroom, the transcription of which will look like [flu].

Due to the fact that voiced consonants are deafened at the end, difficulties often arise when reproducing such words in writing. However, there is an easy way to check which letter to use: you need to change the word so that the consonant appears before the vowel, for example, mushroom - mushroom. Then it will immediately become clear what needs to be written. The same applies to cases when there is a voiceless consonant at the end, and in writing it is voiced “by general rule" You can check which letter is written in the same way: krik - krik, lot - lota.

Voiced consonants located in positions at the beginning and in the middle of a word can also be deafened if they are followed by a voiceless consonant. This is easy to understand using an example: booth [booth].

What have we learned?

Voiceless consonant sounds are those sounds in the formation of which the larynx does not vibrate, that is, the voice does not participate. They consist only of noise. Most voiceless consonants have a voiced pair, but there are four unpaired sounds of this type - these are [х], [х'], [ч'] and [ш']. Due to the rule of deafening consonants during pronunciation, those consonants that are voiced in writing go into their voiceless pair. This happens if they appear at the end of a word, and also when another voiceless consonant precedes them.

In the Russian language, voiceless and voiced consonants are distinguished. The rules for writing letters denoting them begin to be studied already in the first grade. But even after graduating from school, many still cannot write words containing voiceless and voiced consonants without errors. This is sad.

Why do you need to write voiceless and voiced consonants correctly in Russian?

Some people treat writing culture superficially. They justify their ignorance in this area with such a common phrase: “What difference does it make how it’s written, it’s still clear what it’s about!”

In fact, errors in spelling words indicate a low level of personal culture. You can't consider yourself developed person, not knowing how to write correctly in their native language.

There is one more fact that testifies in favor of the rule of error-free writing. After all, voiceless and voiced consonants are sometimes found in words that are homophones in oral speech. That is, they sound the same, but are written differently. Incorrect use of a letter in them is fraught with loss or change in the meaning of the context.

For example, the words “pond” - “rod”, “cat” - “code”, “horn” - “rock” are included in this list.

Shameful loss

During your Russian language lesson, you can tell schoolchildren a funny episode from your life. It should be based on the fact that several children did not know how to correctly write in words the letters denoting voiced and voiceless consonant sounds.

And this happened during school team game"Treasure Hunters". In its rules it was noted that it was necessary to move along the route indicated in the notes. Moreover, the place where it was hidden next letter, was not specified precisely. The note contained only a hint of him.

The teams received the first letters with the following text: “Road, meadow, stone.” One group of guys immediately ran towards the lawn and found a stone there, under which the letter was hidden. The second one, having mixed up the homophone words “meadow” and “onion”, ran to the garden bed. But, naturally, they did not find any stone among the bright green rows.

You can change history in such a way that the notes were written by an illiterate scribbler. It was he who, when giving instructions to his team members, used “bow” instead of the word “meadow”. Not knowing how to write paired voiced and voiceless consonants, the “literate” misled the children. As a result, the competition was canceled.

The rule for writing dubious paired consonants according to deafness and voicedness

In fact, checking which letter should be written in a particular case is quite simple. Paired voiced and voiceless consonants raise doubts about the spelling only when they are at the end of a word or are followed by another consonant voiceless sound. If one of these cases occurs, you need to choose a cognate or change the form of the word so that the dubious consonant is followed by a vowel sound. You can also use the option where the letter being tested is followed by a voiced consonant.

Mug - mug, snow - snow, bread - bread; carving - carved, sweat - sweaty.

Didactic game “Connect the word being tested with the test word”

To get more done during class, you can play a game that reinforces skills without recording. Its condition will be a task in which children are asked only to connect test words with the trait being tested. It takes less time, and the work done will be extremely effective.

The game will become more interesting if it is played in the form of a competition. To do this, three variants of tasks are made, where two columns are used. One contains test words. In the other, you need to include those in which voiced and voiceless consonants are in a dubious position. Examples of words could be like this.

First column: bread, ponds, snow, onion, meadows, twig. Second column: onion, bread, meadow, twig, snow, pond.

To complicate the task, you can include in the column with test words those that are not suitable for verification, that is, they are not the same root as those whose spelling there are doubts: snacks, servant, octopus.

Table of consonants according to voicedness and voicelessness

All consonant sounds are divided according to several parameters. During the phonetic analysis of a word in school, characteristics such as softness-hardness, sonority or deafness are indicated. For example, the sound [n] is a consonant, hard, sonorous. And the sound [p] differs from it in only one characteristic: it is not voiced, but dull. The difference between the sounds [р] and [р’] lies only in softness and hardness.

Based on these characteristics, a table is compiled, thanks to which you can determine whether the sound has a softness-hardness pair. After all, some consonants are only soft or only hard.

They also separate voiced and voiceless consonants. The table presented here shows that some sounds do not have a pair on this basis. For example, these are

• y, l, m, n, r;
• x, c, h, sch.

Moreover, the sounds of the first row are voiced, and the sounds of the second are unvoiced. The remaining consonants are paired. It is they that make writing difficult, since a dull sound is often heard where the letter denoting a voiced consonant is written.

Only paired consonants - voiced and voiceless - require verification. The table reflects this point. For example, the sound “b”, falling into the final position or being in front of another voiceless consonant, is itself “deafened”, turning into “p”. That is, the word “hornbeam” (wood species) is pronounced and heard as [grap].

The table shows that these sounds are paired in terms of voicedness and deafness. The same can be called “v” - “f”, “g” - “k”, “d” - “t”, “g” - “w” and “z” - “s”. Although you can add the sound “x” to the “g”-“k” pair, which often sounds in a deafened position in place of “g”: soft - soft[m'ahk'ii], easy - light[l’ohk’ii].

Didactic lotto game “Doubtful consonants”

So that classes in which the spelling of voiced and voiceless consonants is studied do not turn into a tedious routine, they should be diversified. For a didactic game, teachers and parents can prepare special small cards with pictures and words that contain dubious consonant sounds. A dubious consonant can be replaced with dots or asterisks.

Additionally, larger cards should be made, which will contain only letters indicating paired consonants in terms of voicedness and deafness. Cards with pictures are laid out on the table.

At the leader’s signal, the players take them from the table and cover with them the letters on the large card that they think are missing. Whoever closes all the windows before others and without mistakes is considered the winner.

Extracurricular activities in Russian language

Advantageous options for developing interest in this area of ​​science are evenings, competitions, and KVNs. They are held outside school hours for everyone.

It is very important to create an exciting scenario for such an event. Particular attention should be paid to designing activities that are both rewarding and fun. Such activities can be carried out with students of all ages.

Interesting tasks can also be those that contain an element of literary creativity. For example, it is useful to offer the guys:

Make up a story about how the sounds “t” and “d” quarreled;

Come up with as many words with the same root as possible for the word “horn” in one minute;

Write a short quatrain with rhymes: meadow-onion, twig-pond.

Alternation of consonants in Russian

Sometimes, contrary to the laws of spelling, some letters in words are replaced by others. For example, “spirit” and “soul”. Historically (etymologically) they are the same root, but have different letters the roots are “x” and “w”. The same process of alternation of consonants is observed in the words “burden” and “to wear.” But in the latter case, the sound “sh” alternates with the consonant “s”.

However, it should be noted that this is not an alternation of voiced and voiceless consonants making up a pair. This special kind the replacement of one sound by another, which occurred in ancient times, at the dawn of the formation of the Russian language.

The following consonant sounds alternate:

• z - f - g (example: friends - to be friends - friend);
• t - h (example: fly - flying);
• ts - ch - k (example: face - personal - face);
• s - w - x (examples: forester - goblin, arable land - to plow);
• w - d - railway (example: leader - driver - driving);
• z - st (example: fantasy - fantastic);
• shch - sk (example: polished - gloss);
• sh - st (example: paved - paved).

Alternation is often referred to as the appearance of the “l” sound in verbs, which in this case has the beautiful name “el epentheticum”. Examples could be pairs of words “love - love”, “feed - feed”, “buy - buy”, “graph - graph”, “catch - catch”, “ruin - ruin”.

The Russian language is so rich, the processes occurring in it are so diverse, that if a teacher tries to find exciting options for working in the classroom, both in the classroom and outside of class, then many teenagers will plunge into the world of knowledge and discovery, and will become truly interested in this school subject.

Rules of Russian spelling and punctuation. Complete academic reference book Lopatin Vladimir Vladimirovich

Voiceless and voiced consonants

Voiceless and voiced consonants

§ 79. General rule. Paired voiceless consonants p, f, t, s(and corresponding soft ones), k, w at the end of words and before voiceless consonants can be represented by letters, respectively P or b, f or V, T or d, With or h, To or G, w or and . The same letters can convey paired voiced consonants b, c, d, h(and corresponding soft ones), g, f before paired voiced consonants (except V). To correctly write a consonant letter in these cases, you need to choose another form of the same word or another word, where in the same significant part of the word (same root, prefix, suffix) the consonant being tested is located before the vowel or before the consonants r, l, m, n, v(and corresponding soft ones), as well as before j(in writing - before separators ъ And b , see § 27-28). Examples:

Consonants in roots and suffixes:

1) at the end of a word: du b (cf. oak, oak), glu P (stupid, stupid), gra be (rob), sy drink (sprinkle), But With (noses), in h (carts), th d (of the year), kro T (mole), wife T (married), hand V (sleeves), kro ve (blood, blood), shtra f (fines, fine, penalty), vymo To (get wet, wet, wet), blue To (bruises), mo G (maybe, could), small w (baby, baby), monta and (installation, assembly), draw yeah (tremble, tremble); Wed starved s (frost, frost, freeze) And starved s (drizzle, drizzle);

2) before consonants:

a) in front of the deaf: du b ki(cf. oaks, oak tree), shaking P ka (rag, rag, rag, rag), ku P tsa (merchant), O V tsa (sheep), lo V cue (dexterous), hand V chick (sleeves), shka f chick (cabinets), neither h cue (low), mi With ka (bowls), Va s ka (Vasya), Ku s ka (Kuzya, Kuzma), ka d ka (tub), meh T cue (marks), co G you (claw), lo To you (elbow), be G quality (running, fugitive), lo and ka (spoon, spoon), room w ka (little rooms), wings w co (wings); Wed back and forth and ku (alternate) And back and forth w ku (mix), su P chick (soups) And su b chick (subject);

b) before paired voiced ones (except V): molo t ba (thresh), matchmaker yeah ba (weddings, bridal; don't check with words woo), xo yeah ba (walk), about s ba (ask), re s ba (cut), ox w ba (magic), bo and ba (swear), lies and Yes (hostile), and gu (burned, burn), and give (wait).

Exceptions: in words holed And gaping is written With , although there are verbs open(Xia), open(Xia) And open up(Xia), open up(Xia). In words abstraction, reaction, correction is written To (Although abstract, react, correct), in a word transcription is written P (Although transcribe); in these cases, the letter reflects the alternations of consonants in the source language (Latin). About relations of type prognosis - prognostic, diagnosis - diagnostics see § 81, paragraph 2, Note 1.

Note. In some words the letter G sound is transmitted X: God (gods, gods), light, lighter (easy), soft, softer (soft, soft). Words soft, softer, soften etc. should not be checked with words like pulp, soften, soften.

Consonants in prefixes (before a voiceless or paired voiced consonant, except V): V walk, V beat(cf. enter, get in), on d prick (cut, tear), O b hew, oh b fry (cut off, cut off, go around), O T talk about T call, oh T advise (wean off), By d throw, by d quit, by d send (bring, send), With do, With be cunning (be able to, be able to, get rid of), Pre d Carpathia (Cis-Urals).

Note. About the spelling of prefixes ending in h , see § 82.

§ 80. The spelling of unverified consonants in roots is determined in dictionary order, for example: A b Sep, a b salty, ane To DotA P theca, and P Sida, and With best, but f Ghanaians, V friend, in To hall, V second, G de, zi G zag, cosmona V That b oh P that, oh f set, ryu To zach, With Bruya, then G Yes, f thor, ugh T bol, uh To replacements.

Consonants in the following prefixes, suffixes, and endings are unverifiable.

Consoles. Letter To written in prefixes the ex- And extra-: ex-champion, ex-president, extraterritorial, extraordinary, extra-class. Letter With is written in the prefix dis-: disqualification, discomfort, disproportion, disharmony, imbalance; cf., however, disassociation, disjunction, where before the vowel and before j pronounced and written h .

Suffixes. Letter V written in suffixes of participles and gerunds ?vsh(th), ?lice, ?in: having taken away, having read, having taken, having taken, having read; letter and - in the suffix of adverbs ?times: twice, once, four times; letter d before ts - in numerals ending in ?twenty, ?eleven: twenty, thirty, eleven, sixteen.

Endings. Letter V written at the end of the forms gender. p.m. including nouns like houses, cities, chairs; letter T - at the end of the 3rd person forms units. and many more including verbs: knows, sleeps, writes, draws, walks, grumbles; letters sew - at the end of the 2nd person form. hours present - bud. time: you know, you write, you go, you give.

§ 81. Words with combinations of consonants sk, st, zg, zd. In these combinations the first consonant is usually unverifiable. When writing words containing these very common groups of consonants, you need to be guided by the following patterns of letter combinations.

1. There are no stems in the Russian language that end in letter combinations sg, sd , but there are only basics on zg, zh (b ); are written: brain (brain), clang, squeal, small fry; thrush, gorazd, nail, nest, star, train, passage etc. At the beginning of the roots they write zg, zh: no way (can not see), here, health, building; exception: muffin, rich.

2. Letter combinations predominate at the end of stems sk, st (b ); are written: start (launch), search, risk, melancholy, gloss, arabesque, Bryansk, Kursk, adjectives with suffix ?sk- (royal, seaside, factory); tail, leaf, cross, bush, place, for now, simple, pure, revenge, envy, hatred, words with suffixes ?ist (guitarist, football player), ?awn (courage, greed), ?ist(th) (hilly, intermittent), ?ast(th) (big-eyed, toothy). Same combination st - in suffixes ?stv(O) (wealth, witchcraft, Cossacks), ?stvenn(th) (feminine), ?stvova(t) (to be angry, to be awake), in the attachment fast- (postmodernism, post-Soviet), at the end ?st (yes, I'll get bored).

At the beginning of the bases and roots of letter combinations zk, zz are missing, but are written sk, st , eg: scratch, creak, cheekbone, wall, groan, step, country.

Note 1. Letter combination st as part of the stems of nouns and adjectives it is also written in those words where in place st in other related words there is a combination zm , eg: sarcastic(cf. sarcasm), spastic, spasticity (spasm), atavistic (atavism), aphoristic, aphoristic (aphorism), snobbish (snobbery), Bolshevik (Bolshevism), enthusiast (enthusiasm); in several words (foreign borrowings) combination st corresponds in words with the same root consonant h: prognostic, prognostication (forecast), diagnostic, diagnosis, diagnostician (diagnosis), paraphrastic (paraphrase), periphrastic (paraphrase).

Note 2. Letter combination zt occurs only at the junction of the root and the suffix indeterminate form(infinitive) verb: climb, gnaw, crawl, carry; letter combination zk - only at the junction of root and suffix ?To-, eg: close, vile, grease, cart, dragonfly. In all these cases the consonant h is checked according to the general rule § 79.

§ 82. Prefixes ending in salary. Consoles without-, from-, from-, from-, from-, from- (rose-), through- (through) are written according to a special rule: before letters representing voiceless consonants ( k, p, s, t, f, x, c, h, w, sch), the letter is written in them With , and in other cases - the letter h , eg: useless, plow, use, bite, wither, count, overthrow, trample, package, common, price, stir, splitting, painting, striped; but: mediocre, weak-willed, tasteless, trouble-free, take a nap, excite, beat, wear out, bring down, chop, wanted, through the grain, excessive.

Note. In a compound console under- letter is written With: from under the brows, on the sly, from below.