Clear and accessible. English letters and their transcription

In modern Russian there are two variants of pronunciation of the sound [j]. The first (and main) meaning of the sound [j] appears in the position before the vowel: fir-tree - lka, understand - understand. But at the end of a word or at the end of a syllable, the sound [j] is reduced, becomes short, approaching in sound the vowel sound [i]. We must remember that [j] does not coincide with e [i]: loaf, wait.
In writing, the letter y denotes only the second variant of pronunciation of the sound [j]. In some borrowed words, the initial syllable [j] is indicated by this letter y: iod, yogi, etc.
The phoneme [j] is not indicated by an independent letter when it is before a vowel. Since in this position (at the beginning of the word between vowels, before the vowel) in writing, the combination of sound [j] and vowel is conveyed by one letter i -ma; e -l; Christmas tree; yu --la.
When the phoneme [j] comes after a consonant sound before a vowel, then the letters b and b are written before the letters e, e, yu, i: six, drinks, otzd. You should not think that in this case the letters ъ and ь indicate the sound [j]. The letters ъ and ь are only indicators that the following letters e, ё, yu, i should be read not as [e, o, y, a], but as .

Although in classical phonetics the sound combinations [ j ] with other vowels are not considered diphthongs; the pronunciation of such combinations of sounds is similar to the pronunciation of diphthongs, only the main sound in them is in second place. The main sound can be either short or long, for example [ je ], [ju: ].

The sounds in such combinations, as in diphthongs, are unequal. The first sound sounds weak and short, and the second (main) sounds longer and stronger. Sound [ j ] pronounced very very short [ ɪ ] .

So, the combination [ je ] could be depicted as follows: [ j e] . Both sounds are pronounced together, without a pause. Yes, the sound [ je ] similar to Russian sound ( e) at the beginning of the words if, ate, and the sound [ ju: ] similar to the sound ( Yu ) at the beginning of the words spinning top, skirt.

In addition, the sound [ j ] can be combined with diphthongs [ ɪə ] , [ʊə ] And [ u:ə ], forming combinations [ jɪə] ], [jʊə ] And [ ju:ə ]. Oddly enough, but [ j ] refers to consonant sounds, therefore nouns starting with this sound attach the indefinite article a, not an. For example: a year, a yacht.

Anyone who begins to learn English must, at the first stage of their journey, encounter the alphabet and the pronunciation of its letters. It is very important not only to know what the letters are called, but also to know Russian pronunciation in general.

For correct pronunciation of the alphabet Below is a table of all letters with both English and Russian transcriptions. Of course, you need to know English transcription - it is used in any dictionary, it is as important as knowledge of the alphabet itself.

zed, zi

As for the letter Z, the British version is “zed”, the American version is “zi”.

It may seem that the English alphabet is more complex than the Russian one. But actually it is not. It has only 26 letters (for comparison in Russian - 33), and only 6 of them (A, E, I, O, U, Y) are vowels. Unfortunately, these vowel letters do not always correspond to alphabetic pronunciation. For example, Aa - in the alphabet is read as [hey]: “cake” - cake, “later” - later, but not in the words “bag” - luggage, “flag” - flag and many others.

Here it must be said that in English there is a distinction between stressed and unstressed syllables. Let's look at the case of a stressed syllable. Here you can also observe division - the stressed syllable can be open and closed. Open syllables end with a vowel, and closed syllables end with a consonant. Here are examples of stressed open syllables: “la-bel” - inscription, “ta-ke” - to receive, and so on. Here are examples of stressed closed syllables: “rab-bit” - rabbit, “dog” - dog, “win-dow” - window, and so on. Please note that in the first case, the stressed vowels are read exactly the same as they sound in the alphabet.

Let's look at all the vowels:

Vowel A

Open syllable: “la-ter” [’leitə] – later

Closed syllable: “cat” - cat

Vowel E

Open syllable: “he” - he

Closed syllable: “bend” - bend

Vowel I

Open syllable: “li-lac” [’lailək] - lilac

Closed syllable: “lift” - lift

Vowel O [?u]

Open syllable: “pho-to” [’fəutəu] - photograph

Closed syllable: “got” - received

Vowel U

Open syllable: “cu-te” - cute

Closed syllable: “numb” - numb

Vowel Y

Open syllable: “type” - type on a typewriter

Fine. Now, continuing to answer the question of how the English alphabet is read, we need to talk about unstressed vowels. The vowels a, o, u, when not under stress, turn into the sound [ə], and the vowels e, i, y in the same case become the sound [i]. In this case, as soon as the letters r appear after them, they all become [ə]. You can easily see this for yourself: “pre-fer” - to prefer, “pla-yer” [’pleiə:] - player, “doctor” [’dɔktə:] - doctor.

It is also worth paying attention to the consonant letters: B, D, F, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, T, V, W, X, Z - also read accordingly [b], [d], [ f], [h], , [k], [l], [m], [n], [p], [t], [v], [w], [x], [z]. Things are more complicated with the remaining consonants.

So, for example, the letter C will be before e, i, y, and in all other cases – [k]. See: “cinema” [’sinəmə] – cinema, “cure” – treatment.

The letter G - before e, i, y goes into , and in other cases as [g]: “ginger” [’dʒindʒə] - ginger, “goat” - goat, goat.

And S at the beginning of a word and after voiceless words consonants K, F, P and T is read as the sound [s], and, on the contrary, after voiced and other cases - [z]: “Simon” ['saimən] - Simon, “books” - books, “finds” - finds, “wise” - wise .

The letters R and Q are also tricky. So R is often simply dropped, lengthening the sound (“car” - car), but a word with R will be read with R (“Riko” - Rico). The letter Q can give two options - or - compare “quick” - quickly and “queue” - queue.

The English alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet and consists of 26 letters. Of these, 6 are vowels: A, E, I, O, U, Y.
20 consonants: B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Z

The letter "Y" can convey both a vowel and a consonant. In combination with a vowel, the pronunciation is very close to Russian [th] and denotes the sounds [j] or [y]

yellow, yes, you, yard, young, yoga, yogurt
day, they, boy, toy, buy, eye

Forming syllables and being paired with a consonant, the letter “Y” conveys the vowel sound [i]

baby, mystery, system, funny

and sound [ai] in words

my, cry, analyze, cycle, sky, reply

In the alphabet, each letter has its own sound name, i.e. alphabetical reading.

Transcription signs are used to convey sounds in writing. Each sign corresponds to only one sound inherent to it. Transcription signs are written in square brackets: for example, the letter A and its alphabetical name (sound) is [ei].

In the alphabet, the letters are read unambiguously, one letter - one sound.

The letters Z and R are read differently in the British and American versions.
The British version of Z is (zed), the American version of Z is (zi).
The British version of R is (a), the American version of R is (ar).

Knowledge of the English alphabet is also necessary due to the discrepancy between the pronunciation of words and their spelling. Therefore, you may often be asked to repeat a word by letter - Can you spell that, please?

English alphabet with pronunciation and transcription

* In the column " Pronunciation"Given in Russian letters the approximate sound of the letter names. And in the column " Transcription" a more accurate pronunciation is given using phonetic transcription.

Sound [ ah] resembles the Russian sound [th], but weaker than it. The back of the tongue rises to the palate less than in the Russian sound [th], so less noise is heard. The English sound [j] always comes before a vowel.

Consonant sound [r] is a little similar to the Russian sound [r], but the English sound [r] is not booming and is pronounced without vibration. To find the correct tongue position, pronounce the Russian sound [zh], as in the word “zhat”. Extend the sound [zh], now pull the tip of the tongue away from the alveoli a little back, without lifting it from the palate, and you will hear how the sound [zh] turns into English [r].

The sound [r] is weak, the tip of the tongue only momentarily approaches the palate behind the alveoli and immediately moves away from it.

Vowel- long, pronounced in the back oral cavity, with some tension. The tongue is lowered and pulled back a little. The tip of the tongue is pulled away from the lower teeth. The lower jaw is lowered. The lips are neutral, that is, they are not stretched or pushed forward. This is a more posterior sound than the Russian sound [a].

Before a voiced consonant, the sound is slightly shortened, and before a voiceless consonant, it is significantly shortened.

Consonant- nasal, only the back of the tongue touches the palate, closing the passage for air, so the air exits through the nose. The tip of the tongue is lowered and touches the lower teeth, mouth slightly open.

To pronounce an English sound, try closing your mouth and “mooing” through your nose, then, maintaining the nasal character of the sound, open your mouth slightly.

The sound is pronounced in the same place as the consonants [k], [g]. When you pronounce the sound, the back of the tongue is pressed against the roof of your mouth; if you lift it away from the roof of your mouth, you will make the sound [k] or [g].