Russian language is one of the most difficult. It has many rules to help check the spelling of words. However, there are many exceptions to these rules. This includes, for example, unchecked consonants at the root of a word. Let's talk about how to avoid mistakes when writing them.
Morphemic Principle
Writing the words of the Russian language studies such a section of linguistics as spelling. It is based on the morpheme principle. Sometimes it is also called morphological. The essence of the principle is that all morphemes (i.e. significant parts of words) are spelled the same, although they are pronounced differently.
This is necessary for the correct understanding of written language. After all, a word is built from morphemes, like a constructor - from details. Each part contains lexical or grammatical information. When it is distorted, the general meaning is lost.
To make it clearer, here are some examples:
- The words "meadow", "meadows" sound different, but the root is spelled the same in them. If you ignore this, it's easyconfuse "meadow" with the lexeme "bow".
- In the words "run in", "jump" we write the prefix "in", not paying attention to its pronunciation. In both cases, it indicates the direction of movement into something.
- The words "sage" and "sloth" have the same "ez" suffix, although it sounds different. This morpheme indicates a person with some quality.
- The ending in the words "table", "forest" indicates the grammatical meaning of the words: masculine, singular, instrumental. In both cases, we write it the same way.
Spelling roots
Children learn to divide words by composition in the first or second grade, depending on the program. Almost immediately, work with spelling begins. The teacher explains that there are weak and strong positions of sounds. They are studied gradually: first for vowels, then for consonants. Phonemes in a strong position are written as they are heard. For vowels, this position is under stress, for consonants - before a vowel or sonorants, as well as phonemes [in], [in'].
In other cases, students are taught to select test words. The orthograms at the root are considered in detail: unstressed vowels, deaf and voiced consonants, as well as unpronounceable ones. To test a sound in a weak position, children must pick up a related word where it is in a strong position. For example: houses - house, haystack - haystacks, sun - sun. On thisAt this stage, for the first time, schoolchildren encounter words that include unchecked vowels and consonants. For example: m ol oko, a vtobus, ryu k zach, ho kkhey.
Foreign borrowings
How did unverifiable consonants appear at the root of words? To find out, let's look at the etymological dictionary. It contains information about the origin of individual lexemes and morphemes, their historical changes.
Many of the words we are considering are borrowed from other languages. For example, "backpack", "scale" came from German, "station", "excavator", "image" - from English, "asph alt", "transport" - from French. Their writing is connected with the patterns of another language.
Thus, the presence of the voiceless consonant "t" in the words "football", "basketball" can be explained by referring to the English language. In it, they were formed from the merger of the lexemes "foot" (leg), "basket" (basket) + "ball" (ball). "Gangster" is formed in English from "gang" (gang). That is why an unpronounceable consonant appears in it. The unverifiable word "X-ray" is derived from the surname X-ray. That was the name of the scientist who discovered X-rays.
Words with doubled consonants are borrowed from Latin (apparatus, appetite), German (assistant, group), French (ballad, bulletin), Italian (villa, column),English (hockey) and other languages. Accordingly, it is impossible to find related words for them in Russian.
Originally Russian and Slavic lexemes
Unchecked root consonants can also appear as a result of historical changes. Over time, lexemes begin to sound differently, obeying various phonetic processes. The words from which they were formed cease to be used, or their meanings diverge. How many of us realize that the unpronounceable consonant in the greeting "hello" can be checked by the word "he alth"?
"Feeling" is formed from the Proto-Slavic root "chu" and the suffix "stv". The letter "v" was inserted by our ancestors so that the vowels "y" and the "b" lost in the modern language would not merge. The word "ladder" is semantically related to the lexeme "climb". "Peer" was formed from the adjective "svirst" (same in age), which is no longer used. "Breakfast" comes from the ancient "zautrak" (morning meal). Gradually, the original "y" turned into "in". There are many such examples. Getting to know them helps to understand and remember the spelling of unchecked vowels and consonants at the root of a word.
Let's look at the dictionary
Within the framework of the school curriculum, there is neither time nor opportunity for serious etymological research. To learn how to write unchecked vowels andconsonants, children are invited to look into the spelling dictionary. The lexemes of the Russian language are listed in alphabetical order in their normative spelling.
Subsequently, students must memorize the most common words. To this end, in Russian language textbooks they are given in small groups, starting from the first grade. The graduate must remember the spelling of about 500 lexemes. For example, here are 10 words with an unverifiable consonant in the root, studied in grade 2:
- bus;
- car;
- suddenly;
- station;
- Tuesday;
- tomorrow;
- breakfast;
- cosmonaut;
- stairs;
- passenger.
And this is not the whole list.
Memorizing vocabulary words
A notebook cut in half is taken for class work. This is a dictionary where children, under the guidance of a teacher, write down the studied lexemes, highlighting spellings with color. Dictations on vocabulary words are periodically arranged to check the quality of their memorization.
Classwork alone is not enough to master the spelling of consonants at the root of a word. Understanding this, teachers ask children to repeat lexemes at home. High school students cope with the task on their own. Younger students who are not yet proficient in self-learning techniques need parental help.
Algorithm for learning vocabulary words
Experienced teachers use the following sequence of actions:
- Explain the meaning of the lexeme. You can get helpexplanatory dictionary.
- Loud spelling reading with a clear pronunciation of all "dangerous" places as they are indicated on the letter.
- Write the word several times with colored pencils while saying it.
- Do this again, hiding all samples.
- Test yourself. If there are mistakes, go back to writing.
Unconventional tricks
Memorizing unchecked consonants at the root of words can turn into an interesting game. Here are some tricks that students are happy to use:
- Drawing pictures, turning "problem" letters into drawings (for example, in the word "alley" doubled consonants are depicted as firs).
- Hanging the resulting cards around the house. Passing by, the student involuntarily remembers the graphic image.
- Make up sentences and stories with vocabulary words: "Our class was driving a trolleybus slowly down the highway and eating a kilo of croissants."
- Writing the learned lexemes with a pen in the air with eyes closed.
- "Visual dictation". You need to write large words on strips of paper. An adult shows one of them for one second. The child writes down everything he remembers.
Spelling consonants at the root of a word is not an easy task that requires systematic work. But it can also be turned into an exciting activity if you use effective memorization techniques and your ownfantasy.
