The Russian Alphabet

The modern Russian alphabet consists of 33 letters, including 20 consonants, 10 vowels, two modifier letters, and one semivowel. Learners of the language often believe that the single most difficult thing to master in Russian is the alphabet itself. This could not be further from the truth! If you are just starting out to learn this language, you will soon find out that the alphabet, however strange it might seem at first sight, can actually be learned in less than an hour. However, if you want to be able to read out Russian words correctly, you will need to get familiar with a couple of pronunciation rules as well.

Now it is time to look at the letters one by one. For beginners, it is advisable to start by learning the capital letters, and then the lower-case ones. Be aware that the type of font being used affects the way how the letters appear, however, the differences are relatively small. As far as pronunciation is concerned, the approximate English equivalents of the Russian sounds will be given below.

Considering the way the letters are written, it can be useful to divide them into three categories. Some of them look and sound the same as in English, for example, M, T, K (except for their lower-case counterparts). Some others look like English letters, but they are pronounced differently, namely: B, P, H. The last group consists of letters that are non-existent in the English alphabet, such as Б, Г, И, nevertheless, most of them are easy to pronounce for speakers of English.

Note that the sounds of Russian are not exactly the same as the sounds in the English language. For example, the sound denoted by the letter Ч is, although very similar to the ‘ch’ in the word ‘cheese’, somewhat softer than in English. It is possible to capture these nuances by carefully listening to how native speakers pronounce the words in question.

Two modifier letters should be mentioned separately. Ь and Ъ are mute signs that serve the following purposes: Ь causes the preceding consonant to be softer, in other words, palatalised (КОНЬ – there is a soft ‘n’ sound at the end). Ъ is sometimes seen in the middle of a word, showing that the preceding consonant is hard, i. e. no palatalisation occurs (ПОДЪЕЗД).

THE RUSSIAN ORTHOGRAPHIC REFORM OF 1917-1918

Russian was not always written the way it is today. Languages change over time, and the need for changing their spelling system arises. This was the case for Russian as well, which underwent a major ortographic reform just after the Bolshevik Revolution. If one takes a look at the famous 19th century novels by Tolstoy or Dostoyevsky, it becomes clear that those works were originally written using a different alphabet. After the orthographic reform of 1917-1918, those books had to be reprinted according to the new spelling rules. As part of the reform, the letter ѣ was replaced by E, the letter I was replaced by И, and Ъ disappeared almost completely. Hence, it became easier to write, read, and most importantly, to print Russian texts.

A NOTE ON THE IMPORTANCE OF PRONUNCIATION

Pronunciation is an essential part of learning a foreign language, however, its role should neither be overestimated nor ignored. Some learners wish to achieve an accent which is indistinguishable from that of a native speaker. In most cases though, this is unreachable. Today, most researchers and many teachers agree that the primary goal for spoken language development is intelligibility. In other words, while speaking in a foreign language, our aim should be to make ourselves understood by an audience. Having an accent is acceptable as long as our message is understood. Therefore, learners are encouraged to focus on those features of pronunciation that impact understanding.

The book entitled Intelligibility, Oral Communication, and the Teaching of Pronunciation by John M. Levis is a must read for anyone wishing to explore the topic further.