The phonetic process that occurs in a word largely explains its spelling and pronunciation. This linguistic phenomenon should also be taken into account when performing sound analysis in Russian language lessons. Particular attention is paid here to the position of a particular sound. The so-called positional phonetic processes are characteristic of most languages. Interestingly, many changes in the sound design of a word depend on the location of the speakers. Someone rounds vowels, someone softens consonants. The differences between Moscow bulo[sh]naya and St. Petersburg bulo[ch]ay have already become textbook.
Definition of concept
What is a phonetic process? These are special changes in the sound expression of letters under the influence of various factors. The type of this process depends on these factors. If they are not dictated by the lexical component of the language itself, by the general pronunciation of the word (for example, stress) - such a phenomenon will be called positional. This includes all sorts of reduced consonants and vowels, as well as stunning at the end of a word.
Another thing is those phonetic processes in the language that give a confluence of different sounds in words. They will be called combinatorial(i.e., depend on a certain combination of sounds). First of all, this includes assimilation, voicing and softening. Moreover, both the subsequent sound (regressive process) and the previous one (progressive) can influence.
Vowel reduction
First, let's analyze the phenomenon of reduction. It is worth saying that it is characteristic of both vowels and consonants. As for the former, this phonetic process is completely subject to the stress in the word.
To begin with, it should be said that all vowels in words are divided depending on the relationship to the stressed syllable. To the left of it go pre-shock, to the right - behind-shock. For example, the word "TV". Stressed syllable -vi-. Accordingly, the first pre-shock -le-, the second pre-shock -te-. And the shock -zor-.
In general, vowel reduction is divided into two types: quantitative and qualitative. The first is determined not by a change in sound design, but only by intensity and duration. This phonetic process concerns only one vowel, [y]. For example, it is enough to clearly pronounce the word "boudoir". The stress here falls on the last syllable, and if in the first pre-stressed "u" is heard clearly and more or less loudly, then in the second pre-stressed it is heard much weaker.
Quality reduction is quite another matter. It involves not only a change in the strength and weakness of the sound, but also in a different timbre color. Thus, the articulatory design of sounds changes.
For example, [o] and [a] in a strong position (i.e. under stress) are alwaysare heard clearly, it is impossible to confuse them. Let's take the word "samovar" as an example. In the first pre-stressed syllable (-mo-), the letter "o" is heard quite distinctly, but not fully formed. For her, the transcription has its own designation [^]. In the second pre-stressed syllable, the -vowel is even more indistinctly formed, strongly reduced. It also has its own designation [ъ]. Thus, the transcription will look like this: [sm^var].
Vowels preceded by soft consonants are also quite interesting. Again, in a strong position, they are heard clearly. What happens in unstressed syllables? Let's take the word "spindle". The stressed syllable is the last one. In the first pre-stressed vowel, it is weakly reduced, it is denoted in transcription as [ie] - and with an overtone e. The second and third pre-shocks were completely reduced. Such sounds denote . Thus, the transcription is as follows: [v’rtiebut].
The scheme of the linguist Potebnya is well known. He deduced that the first pre-stressed syllable is the clearest of all unstressed syllables. All others are inferior to him. If the vowel in strong position is taken as 3, and the weakest reduction as 2, the following pattern will be obtained: 12311 (the word "grammatical").
It is not uncommon (often in colloquial speech) when the reduction is zero, i.e. the vowel is not pronounced at all. There is a similar phonetic process both in the middle and at the end of a word. For example, in the word "wire" we rarely pronounce the vowel in the second stressed syllable: [provlk], and in the word "to" to zeroreduced vowel in stressed syllable [shtob]
Consonant reduction
Also in the modern language there is a phonetic process called consonant reduction. It lies in the fact that such a sound at the end of a word practically disappears (often there is a zero reduction).
This is due to the physiology of the pronunciation of words: we pronounce them on the exhale, and the air flow is sometimes not enough to articulate the last sound well. It also depends on subjective factors: the rate of speech, as well as pronunciation features (for example, dialect).
This phenomenon can be found, for example, in the words "disease", "life" (some dialects do not pronounce the last consonants). Also, j is sometimes reduced: we pronounce the word "my" without it, although, according to the rules, it should be, because "i" comes before a vowel.
Stun
Stunning is a separate process of reduction, when voiced consonants change under the influence of voiceless ones or at the absolute end of a word.
For example, let's take the word "mitten". Here, the voiced [g], under the influence of the deaf [k], standing behind, is deafened. As a result, a combination [shk] is heard.
Another example is the absolute end of the word "oak". Here the voiced is stunned to [p].
Always voiced consonants (or sonorants) are also subject to this process, albeit very weakly. If we compare the pronunciation of the word "tree", where [l] is after the vowel, and "ox", where the same sound inend, it's easy to see the difference. In the second case, the sonorant sounds shorter and weaker.
Voicing
Completely reverse process - voicing. It already belongs to the combinatorial, i.e., dependent on certain sounds that stand nearby. As a rule, this applies to voiceless consonants that are located before voiced ones.
For example, words such as "shift", "make" - here the voicing occurred at the junction of the prefix and the root. This phenomenon is also observed in the middle of the word: ko [z ‘] ba, pro [z ‘] ba. Also, the process can take place on the border of a word and a preposition: to the grandmother, "from the village".
Easing
Another law of phonetics is that hard sounds soften if they are followed by soft consonants.
There are several patterns:
- The sound [n] becomes soft if it stands before [h] or [u]: ba [n '] schik, karma [n '] chik, drum [n '] schik.
- The sound [s] softens in position before soft [t '], [n'], and [h], before [d '] and [n ']: go [s '] t, [s ']neg, [s '] here, in [s '] nya.
These two rules apply to all native speakers of an academic language, but there are dialects where softening also occurs. For example, it can be pronounced [d ‘] believe or [s’] eat.
Assimilation
The phonetic process of assimilation can be defined as an assimilation. In other words, sounds that are difficult to pronounce, as if likened to those standing nearby. This applies to combinations such as "sch", "sch", also "shch", "zdch" and "stch". Instead, [u] is pronounced. Happiness - [n]astye; man - mu[u]ina.
Verbal combinations -tsya and -tsya are also assimilated, instead of them [ts] is heard: wedding[ts]a, fight[ts]a, hear [ts]a.
This also includes simplification. When a group of consonants loses one of them: so [n] tse, izves [n] yak.
