Introduction to Russian phonology and word structure Ch 4: Stressed vowels

Q&A 1. So what IS the difference between consonants and vowels?

Q&A 1. So what IS the difference between consonants and vowels? –Consonants are associated with particular interactions of articulators; vowels are relative positions in space. Acoustically, vowels are a combination of two frequency bands What sounds don’t fit neatly into one group or the other?

Q&A 1. So what IS the difference between consonants and vowels? –Consonants are associated with particular interactions of articulators; vowels are relative positions in space. Acoustically, vowels are a combination of two frequency bands What sounds don’t fit neatly into one group or the other? –Voiceless vowels and all sonorants (glides, nasals, laterals, trills, etc.)

Q&A 2. Do you understand the formalism used in this set of rules?

Q&A 2. Do you understand the formalism used in this set of rules? – x > [y] ‘x is realized as [y]’ – / _ ‘in the environment of…’ where _ symbolizes the place where the rule is in effect – … ‘everywhere else’ –C’ ‘a soft consonant’ –C° ‘a hard consonant’

Q&A 3. What do the first three vowels represented in the rules in 2. have in common?

Q&A 3. What do the first three vowels represented in the rules in 2. have in common? –They are all back vowels

Q&A 4. Why are there two pronunciations for each of the five vowels?

Q&A 4. Why are there two pronunciations for each of the five vowels? –Vowels can be affected by the tongue position of contiguous consonants; back vowels are fronted and raised if surrounded by soft consonants

Q&A 5. Why do é and í behave differently from á, ó, and ú?

Q&A 5. Why do é and í behave differently from á, ó, and ú? –The presence of surrounding soft consonants “fronts” back vowels, but the front vowels (é and í) are already front, so they will not get fronted by surrounding soft consonants, but can be further back in the presence of back consonants; note also some restrictions on the occurrence of front vowels in initial position…

Q&A 6. So why are *[bíţ] and *[b  ţ] impossible in Russian?

Q&A 6. So why are *[bíţ] and *[b  ţ] impossible in Russian? –The occurrence of both [i] and [  ] is restricted; [i] occurs only after soft consonants, and [  ] occurs only after hard consonants

Why should you believe it? Let’s pronounce the words on page 31 together and see if we can produce and hear the differences in the vowels: –мать – мять –тот – тётя –тут – чуть –быть – бить –это – эти

7. Write the phonetic transcriptions: пятькласклятбрать счётполжёнчёлн чейчемчутьчур суйпыльжитьчин сычсырсыпь

7. Write the phonetic transcriptions: пять [p  æ  ţ] клас [klás]клят [kļát]брáть [braţ] счёт [š  :o  t] пол [po  l]жён [žo  n]чёлн [č  o  ln] чей [č  éj]чем [č  m] чуть [čü  ţ] чур [č  u  r] суй [su  j]пыль [p  ļ] жить [ž  ţ] чин [č  ín] сыч [s  č  ] сыр [s  r]сыпь [s  p  ]