HOW TO PRONOUNCE RUSSIAN CORRECTLY PRONUNCIATION IN RUSSIAN he Cyrillic alphabet, students of the Russian ly pleased to discover that. unlike English, After learning language are id their English counterparts ean only be discerned by listening to Russian speakers The Howe to Pronounce Russian Correctly audiovassette al- parts, so that you are introduced to Russ ctte format ike, until sounds in short, accessible lessons. And the allows you to repeat and You get it right! in of the cassette, Pronounce Russian C le key to an improved Russian accent, DRT BOOKS NTC Publis Croup wonnaa0ssHOW TO PRONOUNCE RUSSIAN CORRECTLY ‘Tania Bobrinskoy Irina Gsovskaya @ PASSPORT BOOKSlie ea etd Comin of TC ng Ge ‘op ent ern ny ni ed Contents == Introduction PART ONE: THE RUSSIAN ALPHABET Unit 1: TheVowelsA,0,9,andy Unit 2: Consonants Unit 3: Consonants Continued) Unit 4: Letters with Unusual Sounds Unit 5: TheSoft Vowelsand ff PART TWO: SOUND VARIATIONS 6: Actionof theSoftSign Unit 7 Action ofthe Soft Vowels Unit 8 Action of theSeperation Signs Unit 9: VoicingandDevoicingof Consonants Unit 10: ‘The Unstressed Vowels Unit 1: Special Pronunciation Rules PART THREE: APPENDIX ‘The Russian Alphabetin Sequence vIntroduction =a How to Pronounce Russlan Correcily is a comprehensive program designed to introduce and reinforce the basic sounds of the Russian language Consisting ofa Study Guide and an audiocasste, the propram is designed 10 ‘help language udnts develop the most authentic Russian aent possible ‘Russian has certain inrnsle Featuts that make it relatively easy Tor a Englsh-spesker to pronounce. To begin with, each letter inthe Rusia al [habe represents a definite sound. When a Russian letter deviates from this “igus” sound in the alphabet, it does so according to definite ules that have {ew exceptions. Inaddtion, Russian speling is essentially phonetio—that is, 1 Russian word is pronounced exactly as itis spelled. Thus, once you ears the tue sound of every eter inthe Russian alphabet and kow the circum stances that modify that sound, you will beable to pronounce a sight every Russian word you encounter. By contrast, many eters inthe English alpha- bet represent not one, but several sounds, and iis often very difficult for English-language students to know which of these soundsaparicula letters intended to represent Besides the natural characteristics that make Russian an easy language to pronounce, certain special features of the casttte and Study Guide should ‘ake your progres sill easier. First of al, youdo nt have o know the Rus sian alphabet before you begin In Units 1-5, you willearn o recognize cach Teter a you learn to pronounce it In adion, the letters will be presented, ‘notin alphabetical order, but ina sequence that begins with the sounds closest to thos in English (and therefore the easiest to pronounce), moving sradually towards the theee sounds that have no counterpart in English ‘Transripions have been provided fr all Russian sounds, ut, fo simplify matters, they are given as simple English ransiteration, rather than in pho- netic symbols. Inaditon, technical terminology hasbeen avoided whenever possible. When it i used thas been fully explained. ‘The example words provided for illstration and practice have been cae fully selected so that your attention s focused ona single aspect of promune ation a atime. In Unit 1, you will study only four Russian letters —the sounds ah aw, eh, and 00. You will practice pronouncing them in actual Russian words that contain only three additonal eters (he Russian K, M, and 7), selected because they look and sound lke their counterparts in English In Units 2-5, you wil learn one additional eter ata ime. The example words in these units do not contain any Russian lees that have not been formally ntcoduced. In ths way, you willbe abe to concetrateon the sound ‘ofeach new letter, a8 you reinforce your familiarity with ter sounds prev-‘ously discussed, With only one exception, sound variations wll not be dis- ‘cussed in Units 1-5, Instead, these wil be covered systematically in Unis 6-11, otha, in he its five nits, you can concentrateon there” sounds ofthe letters, “The one variation that could not be deferred involves the sounds of sirested and unsiressed Rusian vowels. Although discussed in detail in Unit 10, this variation oovurs so Frequently in Russian that some mention oft has tobemade in Unit. Because oftheir importance, you should be familar at the very outset withthe fllowing characteristics of stressed and unstressed Rassan vowels. 1. In Russian, word have as many syllables as they have vowels. 2, However, ony one silable (and ths only one vowel) in a Russian ‘word is stresed “The sound of a tess vowel ists true sound in the alphabet. Any ‘other vowels in the same word are slurred, thats, they are shore and es distinct. 4, Inwords of one syllable, the vowel s automatically stressed 5, Inwords of more than one lable, you can idemiy the stressed syl- leby the accent mark [7] that appears over the vowel in that sy ble. Accent marks are oot @ usual part of the Russian writing system, but they appear in most textbooks a an ald for beginners ‘Surestng, ait does, the component sounds of Russian words, How 0 Pro- ounce Russian Correctly reflects an approach thats thoroughly consistent ‘vith current methodology in language teaching. The emphasis on sound pat Terns that can be recognized in ny number of nfamiiar words contrasts with an older methodology that tueated each word asa unique sound unit having litle eationship o other sound units in the language. 'As you move through this program, you wil study al the basic aspects of, ‘asian pronunciation, a8 well as the mort common exceptions 0 the pho- etc rules, After mastering the material inthe Study Guide and on ape, you till beable to approach Russian pronunciation with confidence. From beginning to end, the material on tape takes about 0 minutes 0 tis ten to. However, do no do too much at on ime: you wil oly become con- fused. You may alto sequire incorrect spect habs that wil be hart ose later on. So, plan to study just one unit at atime, and master it before You move on 10 the next one. Before listening to anyone lesson on the caste, read the corresponding section inthe Study Gude. Pay particular attention othe supplementary eX: planation, which may beset off in indented paragraphs, enclosed in brsek- ‘or give in footnotes to distinguish them frm the basic text thats heard ‘on tape. When you have understood the explanation a a whole, review the ‘example words highlighted in boldface type and followed by four periods. ‘The phonetic transcriptions acompaaying these examples area prliminary {guide co te correct pronunciation you will ear onthe audiotape ‘Once you have familiarized yourself withthe content of one unt inthe Swudy Guide, Isten tothe same unit on the cassette, Repeat the indicated ‘words right after you hear the speaker pronounce them, Ampletime hasbeen provided nthe tape for you todo this. Do not be afraid fo exaggerate the sounds at is. However, s soon as you can, try to speak soflyandin a nat ural way. You wlllearn faster if you do. Next, go back and patie reading the examples aloud by yourssf. Then test yourself by repeating them alter the speaker again, Whe you find that you can quickly associate anew lter ‘with its proper sound and can pronounce the examples as the speaker does, 0 0n tothe next unit and follow the same procedure. At fequent intervals, ‘eviow the material you have stuied up to that poat. Review will strengthen {Yur mastery af correct pronunciation at each stage of progress ‘As soon as you are ready, extend the principle you have learned to other Russian-language materials of your chose, using the Study Guide and eas settetapeto refresh your memory ofthe rules and to improve your promunc. ation of particular sounds. The alphabetical reference guide atthe back of| this Book hasbeen specially provided fr ths purpose. Designed for classroom use, practice in the language laboratory, oad vidual study at home, How fo Pronounce Russian Corrects an invaluable ‘ool for developing and maintaining an appropriate Russian accent at all levels of language stu.Part One The Russian AlphabetTHE VOWELS A, 0, 9, AND ¥ ‘The first sounds you will learn to pronounce will be the vowels 4 (ah), 0 {aw} 9 [eh], and y (oo). ‘These are some of the Russian sounds that are closest to those in English ‘The Letter A a (transcribed ah when stressed] “The stressed Russian a sounds almost like the ain fasher, but itis brighter and shorter. Sey: AR. «+ - EXAMPLES TRANSCRIPTION MEANING Now say: Maree mak porpy vax... ak how rans tahk thus aur. ks act [Now say the four words together The Letter O o [transcribed aw when stressed] “The stressed Russian o sounds like the aw (au) in fale or late, but it is crisper. Say: Walk.» « Now pucker your lips the sime way and sty the Russian 0 Say: tom... ax volume ror. set that (one) eee uae who wor. hae catLi ac ‘The four words together: ‘The Unstressed A and [transcribed ul] [Now you know how to pronounce the stressed a and o in Russian. Whenever they appear in an inutresed position in a word of more than one syllable, both the a and the © sound like the wi-sound in lemon: Say: wamee sah there Now say: mass. maivmuh* mother Did you hear the difference berween the stressed a in the first syllable and the unstressed a in the second syllable? Repeat: any sedate 5 ‘Again: ras, mina. « Say: OR. awe cn Now say: mor... Rubtoh ofthe cat “This isthe diffrence between the stressed and the unstressed @, Repeat: wory Kord s+ Again: or, word... The Letter 9 9 [transcribed eh] ‘The Russian letter 9 sounds almost like the eh in mon or lt, But ‘keep your mouth a litle more closed seh onic ramping th le gen saligs Wage cocycle wh aig bent iiss Me owe Say: bre eh-tuh this is Sra. oh-tuh this (f.) frees... eb-tuhke ‘thus (cll.) from... ebwuht this 6m.) Did you notice the sound of the unstressed a and the unstressed © in these words? Let us try them again: So, Sra, Srax, Stor... The Letter ¥ y {transcribed 00] “The Russian letter y sounds much shorter than the oo in noodles o oom. Puckering your lips will help you to pronounce the Russian y. Says yee com sind, intelligence wy hoon sodfather Od toot here omy... tuhmoot to that (one) Repeat all four together: YM, KM, BYR, TOMS ‘The Unstressed 9 and ¥ The 9 and the y sound almost the same, whether stressed or ‘unstressed. [That i, the unstressed 2 and y sound almost like their stressed counterparts. Hence, there will be no variation in the respective transcriptions of these letrs. + Note the unstrsed i the St sableUN 2 CONSONANTS: [Now let us pronounce some Russian consonants that also sound much as they do in English. They are the letters: [om] = « ay 6 footy «soy moet + + sy Leff] « «oy and F [gel] «es ‘The Letter Mw [transcribed Say: nme mah poppy Tames tah there rom... tax volume m™ com mind Max, TaM Tos, yal - ‘The Letter B 6 [transcribed 5] Say: ax. ah tank (receptacle) Syme boom ‘boom fox... atk side 646: bale-buh peasant woman Sax, Gy, Box, 646. ‘The Letter B » {transcribed ©) Say: Meee wah toyou oer here adres... cahstuh cotton, wadding 6pxna book-vuh Tetter (ofthe alpha- bet) an, mor, néra, Ofna... . ‘The Letter © & [transcribed f] Say: dar Soh op amr... fahke fact oro... foro-tuh Photo Gerd... faba Gar, ant, b6ro, gard... ‘The Letter Fr {transcribed g) ‘The Russian leter [ge] is pronounced like the gin go, never as in gentle or gem yi risewa gahm-mmuh scale (in music) ry6h 6. goo-bah lip Famine guh-mahk hammock Gymira boo-mak-guh paper rina, ry64, candi Gymdra. ‘Now let us consider the Russian lerters [ds] and a (enn) which sound harder than the corresponding leters in English because the tip of the tongue goes down rather than up.iY ‘The Letter JX m {transcribed d) say: ah yes mass. oak ro BoM es arom house ima... dabemnuh lady a, a, nom, néma ‘The Letter H x [transcribed »] Sy: meee nah on, upon wy oo well! mam... nam tous Kaniza.... —kuh-wahduh Canada > my, mam, Kamina . ‘The Letter 51 x [transcribed I) ‘The Russian letter a [ef] is also a hard sound, harder than the fin table or Mabel. Say: table. . ... Now say: tablah. . . - Make the a es hard as you possibly can. Make sure tha the tip of| {your tongue touches your upper teeth and then bends downwards Say: a [ell]. « «+ Now practice the following words max Iaht Taoquer noms sss lam crowbar look onion aye aK, HOM, AK... wfenas 6. hook-luh doll Mande... muh-lah small (/.) aymé loo-nah moon xjrena, mand, nyud TThe Russian consonants 2 f2eh] and e fest] sound sharper than the corresponding letters in English, Whistle more. ‘The Letter 3 2 [transcribed 2) Sey: meee sah behind aman... nahh sign, sigaat soy ate sound won. eahuh vase 38, sma, anyx, nis. ‘The Letter Ce [transcribed 5] Say; came sah oneself con. aun ream, sleep enya... stool chair eam, com, noc, ery.UNIT 3 ee CONSONANTS (Continued) [Now let us take up some sounds that will require a first, the levers m (po, © [te and x (hah A Note on Aspiration Aspiration occurs when a short puff of breath is released afier another sound, giving the effect of a slight hesitation for Irsound, Tecan be heard after the p in pie, after the ¢ tie, and after the fin kind, By contrast, the /-sound should not be heard after the p in please, after the cin try, (of after the hard ¢ in clean Before you proceed to work intensively on the letters nm, 7, und x, practice on the English words please, 2, dnd clean so that you may be sure to avoid any aspiration ‘when you pronounce the Russian m, 7, and x ‘The Letter I transcribed p] ‘The Russian m {peh) sounds like the p in please. ‘The slight, aspiration heard after the p in English words like pow and pie never fceurs in Russian Say: omawr ee. palke pact not pHHahke but: mars... palike pact moet... patst post cymes 00 soup Tiana... pub-nah-muh Panama max, nocr, cym, Handa . « ‘The Letter T x [transcribed ¢] ‘The Russian x [tel] sounds like the in ery. Again, the aspiration heard after the ¢ in such English words as fe and eable never occurs in Russian, Sey) Fame tah there not cH Hlahm but: ram... tahm there soot here moses bridge ‘TAM, TOM, TYT, MoeT. . . . ‘The Letter K x {transeribed A] ‘The Russian x (hal sounds like the A-sound in clean. Once more, the aspiration heard after the kin English words like Aey and find never occurs in Russian ax, baht how ‘not REHHahk but: ax ah how wor... hawt at ance lakes class ayes look onion ax, Kory mace, AYR...ee ‘The following Russian leters are quite easy to pronounce because wwe have similar sounds in English. However, in English, it is ‘necessary 10 use several letters to represent these sounds; in Russian, tach of these sounds has its own special letter. These letters are: De (eheh) oe ey MH Esha] «oe op [GE] ow vy WUcheH vee And mi ohchal} ‘The leters a, i, and m sound harsher than in English, ‘The Letter 3 5x [transcribed 2h] The Russian letter » [2he] sounds even harsher than in pleasure Says mK shook beetle pwdowena...- —shahal-duh thirst eye ica kémas-.howe-zhuh skin fomaes. 6. oohuhs terror 6mea, $owae - ‘The Letter IM us [transcribed si] ‘The Russian eter am (shah) sounds harsher than in nation or Russian, + For example, in English words the wound ofa i represented bya varie of commbiatons? © pice votiny sciwre. Foe the sound of ty COMET: lon Ratan, Bed wre For the found fm, comer” gut, ea. Say: mmar ss. shale sate pam... eahoh youre mane... shales chance myM shoo noise ane, YM... ‘The Letter Hu [transcribed 1] ‘The Russian lester m (teh) sounds harsher than in quarte or cats. Say: Gan. baker bang nykér ss ‘soo-kahe candied fruit Samy nykiir s. . . man... plas parade ground mina... taahesuh swelled head (coll.) nan, wi “The nex emo sound reser than in Enlish. Te help smile ‘when you pronounce them,MAC ‘The Letter [transcribed ch] “The Russian leter [che] sounds softer than the ch in church oF child Say: ae chahe hour aye. ooch ny ac, aye sees néera.... —pauch-tuh ——_post office sayabx . choo-lawk stocking bara, uyndi s+ - ‘The Letter Il uy [transcribed she] ‘The Russian letter mx [shchal) sounds similar to, but softer than, the sound you hear in freichicken, Say: myfua. ss. sheloo-kuh pike (Bish) naam... plahshch raincoat UNIT 4 ee LETTERS WITH UNUSUAL SOUNDS ‘Now let us consider the sounds that have no counterpart in English. ‘Two of them occur in several other European languages; the last one is particularly Russian. “These sounds are the p (er], the x (thal), and the ax (. ‘The Letter P p [transcribed 7] To pronounce the Russian p [err], pur like a cat: reer. « Exaggerate the sound at first. fc will help you get used to it “Try agains reer. Now say: pom. - - rom rum pax. ral crayfish, crab Spare... brake brother POM, pax, Spar... . enopr spawn sport mypes shore course Mapes... ohne March ‘emopr, xype, Mapr. . « The Letter X x [transcribed kh) The Russian Jeter x [Miah] is something like the English h in ‘nut, hid o€ harp, but pronounced much more harshly. Iti really & futtural sound, closer to the Aimsound in the German nach ot the Scottish fh. Say: Xa [Ahah] + + =ie, wee Now say: ox ahh oh! ame. han cad wep. har choir ox, xaM X0p- - caye. 6 lookh heating fro orth ear mjra.... —mookhuh fy eayr, xo, mfxa “The Letter sa* (transcribed sh when stressed] “The leter wis typically Russian, Nothing lke it exists in English, “To pronounce it, put a peneil between your teeth and push your tongue backwards. Now try t0 say its Hear the sound rumbling in your throat? That is where it should, ‘be—down deep in your throat Txaggerate and try it again: its Say: sia Now say: eum es sil son s ims. Now say: aman « ikon smoke Sey: bites Now say? Gurr. = bike ‘mode of life Do you hear the difference? Now let us try some Russian words ‘with the only really difficult sound in the Russian languages, Say: ate se nih we emp... sik cheese Gum... bine bull ent emp, Goan. riebab fish re vihevah pumpkin seimma ss. mifsh-kuh mouse eiGa, reinema, sana‘THE SOFT VOWELS AND ff ‘You have now learned and practiced the five hard vowels: a, 0, a.yrand ux. Nest, le us take up the five soft vowels." ‘The Letter H a [transcribed ee when stressed] ‘The first soft vowel we will study is the leer. The Russian sounds shorter than the ee in fet or people, Says mas ee-vuh, willow tree mor. cesk legal action finon.... —ee-duhl idol siwa, ex, zon - The Letter iti (transcribed y;_ pronounced as in yank] [Before studying the other soft vowels, you will find it very useful tw learn co pronounce a special Russian letter which is part of the sound of these soft vowels. This lever closely resembles the wt [c] in appearance, but it is neither a consonant nor a vowel. It never stands alone, ‘Tt always stands next to a vowel. ‘This is the leter After a Vowel. When it comes after a vowel, it sounds like the yin by. Sey: malls... may May Gon. bawy battle +The words Aand and sft, uted in connection with vowels are widely Cd, conveatonal frm hae have oto Go withthe seta sun of ‘Seti hcachees, Wa ihe ern do indiate eta coain vee (he sot See ani he land t's coos tae prcedr hem, wheres the bard TOTGH? b's fe esotenon wi te diced i Bands 6 and ayabtt. 6. Khoo-dawy thin wots. dvuhy-nauy double Mall, Got, xyAStt, anolinGi . Before a Vowel. When ft comes bore a vowel itis pronounced like the y in yer, - i Sy: apes. yom York Hor yac-tuh iota Hlopx, tora... . Between Two Vowels. When i falls deren two vowels, it sounds like the yin covore, Say: mallép..-. muhyarr major palibn.... ruh-yawn region, district, ‘aiiép, patton . . ‘The Letters i1 x, B &, Ee, and 10 “PRG cannes mbes Oi bangers SRS nates nha haePe) MRE | ‘The Phonetic Relationship between Hard and Soft Vowels Mase (yt ah yah) Bro-8 Gb aw= yaw) Atase (+h =yeh) Ht y=w (y+ 00 = yoo) a “The sound of (5 pls a fh] js the sound ofthe Russian letter Dah Say) York... ‘The sound of # [3] plus (ae) is the sound of the Russian leer € (yan) The sound of [y] plus 9 [oh] is the sound of the Russian letter eLveil Sey yous es ‘The sound of # [»] plus y [co] is the sound of the Russian Teer 1 [ye0} Say yet. At the Beginning of a Word. Let us practice the sounds Lah) «sy € [ya] «oye [yeh] «+ «oy and x0 [p00] «5 + at the beginning of a word or the letter m atthe beginning of a word, say fas. yah-muls hole, pit Shawn... yaln-keet Yankee fama... yohe-wuh leer itinc "Fi Rsaton i tvuwsd n Band 10 (gape 28) 8 xoxo... yahb-luh-kuh apple iva, Sen, dawa, Hn0K0.. . « For the leter & atthe beginning of a word, say: meas. st yotl-kuh spruce tree yater-uhl (he) fidgeted For the letere atthe beginning of word, say ems yeh (Dam eating fina... ‘yeh-vuh Eve ere. yehst (be) is eating om, Bina, cer For the letter s0 at the beginning of a word, say omop...——yoo-mue humor onra.... — yoor-guh cabin boy TOxbn... —yoorkawn Yukon vox... yoo-lah top (2 toy) omop, foura, TOxéx, tons s,m sowel is alway sre. Hence the drs ~) not only serves to sisting om’, bat abo sens water naseAfter Another Vowel. Now let us try #, 8, €, and wo when these ls ate a Part Two Gyhn.... ——beoryahn ——rufan Sound Variations ad, Gyn. For the leer & after another vowel, say ante. ote. uh-yawm ——foan, puh-yowt (be) sings sat, oer For the letter e after another vowel, sy em. yah yeh Tam eating yéran.... —oo-yel-khuhl (he) drove away sem, yoxan ss For the letter 1 after another vowel, ay: xara... kubyoowuh cabin yrs... oo-g00t coziness oxy. zhoo-y00 (1) am chewing xatira, yiory my 6. 2»UNIT 6 ACTION OF THE SOFT SIGN ‘You have now learned to pronounce all the Russian letters when they ae true to their sound in the alphabet. However, as in English, the sound of « Russian letter is affected by: the sounds of the letters that surround it, by its position in the werd, and by is position in the sentence. First, let us study how a consonant is affected by the sounds that surround i. ‘The Hard Sound of Consonants ‘The sounds which you have already learned and practiced for the Russian consonants are known as hard sounds ‘A Note on the Meaning of Hard Sounds To speak of the “hard sounds of consonants” isto say that the Russian consonants are pronounced like their English counterparts, except for the slight differences that have been specifically pointed out thus far, In the actual production of hard sounds, the tongue is nearer to the lower teeth, the mouth is ina relaxed position, and the pitch ofthe voice is relatively low. ‘The consonants have a hard sound: at the end of a word, as in ‘com; when followed by ahard vowel, a in 6ymara; or when followed by another consonant, as in ery ‘The Soft Sound of Consonants However, there are occasions when the hard sound of the con~ sonant becomes softened [see note atthe right). Ie happens when the ‘consonant is followed by the soft sign or by a soft vowel. Let us take Up the soft sign fst. aunGeccmmee of Consonants A Note on the Softeni ‘The softening of the sound of a consonant is accom- plished by raising the tongue nearer to the roof of the mouth and smiling at the same time. ‘This gives to the sound of a soft consonant a higher pitch than it has when pronounced hard. ‘Study the diferences in pitch and in the position of the tongue inthe following sets of English words, particulsely with respect to the formation of the initial letter in each word, HARD sort ama INITIAL CONSONANT CONSONANT caught teach ain deal all al soodle needle ‘toodle people {foot few It should be clearly understood that soft consonants in. Russian are not new letters. Most Russian consonants— “ith only a few exceptions—may be pronounced either hard or soft, depending upon the letter which follows. ‘The exceptions are: >, us, and mt, which are always pronounced hard; and ~ and at, which are always pro- ounced soft Pa ‘The Letter » (Soft Sign) ‘The soft sign (8) is @ special Russian letter that has no sound. However, it affects the sound of the consonant before it-* It sofens it, When you see the soft sign [x], smile—and slightly raise your sole, Smiling wil help you pronounce a word witha sf sgn (el At the End of a Word. Let us sce what the soft sign [4] does at the end ofa word, Sey: ames abn given Now smile and say meee. ceibute Sey: Monee. mast pier Now smile and say Moms mated moth Do you hear the difference? Say these words again. pan dain Bae. fda 1 Re see tims ae i Be Rep Ltr Se pn, wt 2 Re Sete mente Seta ‘Watould te ox thatthe te wil nor pear ovr the someon fo isa as triacs ac SPATE ition Stopes are arranged ia this fon, be prepared to repeat them a8 2spaw abn name... dah on rate Moms... mal Mom rmatel Mom... maul [Now let us practice some sets of words: without the soft sign [x], and with it, Say: eran taht (he) stood cram... atahl steel Spar brake brother Spare... bral to take yaip onda a blow yadpe. 2. oondair hit! Gimper.) ar make checkmate Maree. mahi smother Between Two Consonants. When the soft sign [s] comes between two consonants, ie noe omy softens the consonant that comes before i, but also makes the entire word brighter and softer. 2% Say: Sénuno, exéns6a, roma. Hear the difference the soft sign [1] makes in the following sets wai ign (0) ing sets of Sey: nba. ‘powl-kub shelf Now say: mémua. 2. polsku polka babr-kuh jae Basa... ahi-kuh Johnny Génxa, Bina répea.... — gaurkuh hillock Pépemo.. 6. gawkuh binerly répxa, répaxo... . 2UNIT 7 oe ACTION OF THE SOFT VOWELS [Now that you know how consonants are softened by the soft sign [a], let us see how the soft vowels w,st,8,€, and w do the same. We shall start with thea. ‘The Vowel H after a Consonay Sey: mane ‘mah small (.) [Now smile and say: Fel nice (m.) Sey: mons. pol oor Now smile and say maa... peel (he) drank Did you hear the diference an w made in the sound of the mand of them? Try it again, ax ‘mah por ied nox pol mux... fet Let us practice some more words without and with an Say: map, Poke steam amp... eer feast wor hast, ot sors. ees whale nian sah-zuh wisn... See-zuh aéna Jak-puh paw mama... Tee-puh linden teee ux bind (he) was eet (he) hit ‘The Vowels 1, #, E, and 10 after a Consonant ‘The vowels a, 8, e, and w also soften a consonant before them, but in doing so, they lose their initial [3] sound. ‘The ff sound which otherwise begins the letters a, & «©, and 1 is absorbed by the softened consonant. In effect, when you see a consonant followed by m, €, ©, or 10 1. Pronounce the consonant soft (except in the case of mc, mx, and t)—lifting your tongue nearer tothe roof of Your mouth and smiling atthe same time, 2. With the mouth in this position and the pitch ofthe voice raised, pronounce what remains of the soft vowel jue. ah, ae, 2h, oF 00 »‘yah-nuh pit, hole Now say: Mame 5 iaht* (he) crumpled not in| smyahl bur ane es Fiahl yet (he) ate Behl (he) sang pyehl but men... Behl Did you hear the dtference? Say these words again: fous yah-muh oy faaht on yehd men... ehl Let us practice some additional examples of the same type. First, smaiter a consonant, Say: an ‘mak small (.) Mae es Fahl (he) crumpled + For purposes of phonetic snc, when + seed mf of m8 pga bTanmeritemnte tn street ‘he softening acto of he tows tad the sbworpion of eH ound by the S0- 0 Now after a consonant. Say’ Now e after a consonant, Say: rampart (he) fades fap, lap fields pier (he) swepe (he) carried half an ounce sathering floor (he) sang pier chalk ‘matchmaker High aio [Now 1 after a consonant. Say: aye look onion ax. look hatchway ory sdk knock WK ee Fook bale pases vabmieet frames promt... Foom-keet wine glasses The Softening of Consonants: Summary 1. ‘The soft sign [s] and the soft vowels [m, a, & €, and 10] soften a consonant that precedes them. 2. The vowels a, &, and w lose their intial sound when they follow a consonant, 3. The consonants ax, um, and mare invariably pro- ‘nounced hard, and » and 1 ate invariably pronounced lift. Hence their sound isnot affected by a sft sign or a soft vowel that follows. Note, however, that when a soft Yowel follows these consonants, it loses its inital sound nonetheless * Note that he Jeter a alo pronounced soft beans ti followed by pelea Soy sa fe Seta oh pee Bower he {hursved H should be pronounced shorter and Tes itn 2 UNIT 8 aes ACTION OF THE SEPARATION SIGNS In the previous examples illustrating the softening of consonants, the inital H sound of the soft vowels—m, &, e, and 1—was lost “There is, however, a way of Keeping the i sound ofthe soft vowels. Its done by means of two signs, one of which is already familie 19 Yyouthe soft sign [1]. ‘The letter » acts not only as 2 soft sign, softening the sound of «consonant that precedes it, but alto as a separa tion sign. In the latter capacity, it serves to separate the ‘sound of a soft consonant from the sound ofthe vowel thet follows it, As a result of the separation, the initial # sound of the vowel is preserved. However, there should ‘be no pause whatsoever between the sound ofthe consonant and the sound of the vowel, The Letter & as a Separation Sigt ‘When the soft sign {8} comes bertcen @ consonant and a vowel, you soften the consonant but keep the & sound of the vowel, Say: mo. + Biye0% (Dam drinking “Hear the H sound between the and the 19? Say it again: mao. Bye So remember, whenever you see a soft sign between a consonant ‘and a vowel, soften the consonant and say # before the vowel + ts phonetic wansrpton, to indicate the sparta, an apostrophe wil te jae between the satened Gamat tad the allowing some {The iron‘ at sign al between conan Set vowel ot only priest A sound of te vel a:b dibs alde a std els ha therse do nt have "Poy Stale nopotk —rahsah yee sparrows Gymén booT'yaun trek 2Joo Ready for practice? mw... yoo (Dam drinking Gapeép « DuneFyehr——_arsier maw, Gapnép - cymes. soo-d'yah judge mpyand.... — droo-i'yah fiends omni kub-i’yahk cognac ‘eymely apyans, komma, ‘To make sure you can recognize the difference the soft sign [6] makes between a consonant and a vowel, epeat the following Sets of words. Notice how the H sound is retained xors huh-fat though erared....stub'yah article péna Feu turnip Gapaép...- —buh-F'yelr rier ont pub-lowe flight mtr... Pyawe (he) pours ™ eno spleo (Dam steeping mao... Biye0 (1 am drinking 10m loo spit (imper.) moons... Byeon quicksilver (f.) ‘The Letter » (Hard Sign) To keep the Mt sound without softening the preceding consonent, however, another sign is used-—the bard sign [2 TThe hard sign is another special Russian letter which, like the soft sign, has no sound. ‘The hard sgn never begins 8 word but always falls between @ consonant and a vowel. Its function is a follows ‘When the hard sign (1) comes between a consonant and a vowel, you keep the consonant hard, and also keep the true sound of the vowel Say: mond. eex-yahn defect OGméT.... uhb'yehhr object. omseM.... — puhd”-yanm ascent swim, OB Ext, nonin... “To make sure you can recognize the difference a hard sign [a] ‘makes when it comes before a vowel, repeat the following Sets of words. Listen for the H after the bard sign [o]. 35Prot. Wem crea | core okt to sit down enecrhs ss s'yehit toeat ciura Jaum-guh salmon evens... s'yaemkuh survey o6nkre suhb-iahé to embrace OGesre.... —uhb'-yah? coll, to envelop Ger suh-bohe vow OGnéxr.... uhb’-yehkr object. ‘The Action of Separation Signs: Summary [Between a consonant and a vowel: {_ softens the consonant that precedes it and preserves | thet sound ofthe vowels m, €, , and vo (or creates {afk sound before other vowels} {does not change the sound of the consonant that precedes it (i.e. the consonant remains herd), and iepreserves the i sound of the vowels , &, e, and 1 36 VOICING AND DEVOICING OF CONSONANTS ‘You have learned how the soft vowels and the soft and hard signs affect the sounds around them. Now you will ee how the postion of the consonant in the word affects its sound, ‘Voiced and Voiceless Consonants Russian consonants are divided not only into hard and soft sounds (see page 14), but also into eoiced and eoiceless ‘consonants. Voiced consonants are produced with the aid ofthe vocal chords, which give tothe consonants a buzzing. sound; in the production of voiceless consonants, however, the vocal chords remain inactive ‘The same distinetion exists in English: the English 2, dy and z are voiced or buzzing sounds; the p, fit, and's are voiceless sounds. Study the differences in the ‘production ofthese eters in the following sts of words fat wan die zeal pot fan tie, seal ‘You will notice that when you form each pair of words, {your mouth is in the same positon, yet the sound is dif. ferent. The difference can be clearly put in each word fon top, the vocal chords are used in the production of the Initial Teter; in the corresponding word on the bottom, they are not ‘Most voiced consonants in Russian have theit voiceless ‘counterparts, just asin English the bis related to the p, the to the f, the d to the f, and the = tothe s. However, in Russian pronunciation, unlike English, this relationship, is functional; for under certain circumstances, voiced consonants become devoiced (i.e. pronounced like their voiceless counterparts), and vice versa, n_ ee ‘Study the following table, tobe sure you understand the pattern of these changes (Classification of Russian Consonants as ‘Voiced and Voiceless ALWAYS VOICED and VOICELESS ALWAYS ‘voice "COUNTERPARTS voiceLess x 6[8}——-n{p} x M wel ot) « mele) xh Pal) 2x [2h] ——+ mn (sh) 3 [2] —— ele) Devoicing at the End of a Word [Now let us take up the sounds that change when they are a the end of a word. ‘The voiced consonants 6, m, F, 2, and a—when they come et the end of 8 word—lose their sharpness; that is, they become voiceless. ‘The 6 sounds almost like ‘The m sounds almost like "The r sounds almost like of. ‘The a sounds almost like. “The ae sounds almost like a ‘The 2 sounds almost lke For instance: The word 106 (forehead) is pronounced ar if it were spelled “non”? (law) ‘The word pyr (friend) is pronounced as sf it were spelled “‘apyx””(arook) “The word paa (once) is pronounced a i it were spelled pac” (rah). “The Russian spelling, of course, does not actually changes only the pronunciation. Listen carefully and repeat the following examples which illustrate the devoicing ofthe sound of these consonants at the end of a Word, as compared with their regular voiced sound. For the leter 6, say 26 200p tooth af... oobihe veeth, For the leter m, say: non na new (m) Mono... mawe-vuh ew (2) For the leter r say: aye look meadow ayrh. ss. loo-gah meadows For the leer, say can sahe ‘arden came. sub-dih gardens For the leter 2 say: ayn smooth husband ymca... moorsh'yahf husbands + te m pens in nung pn i sand sma she tes dunce Wenn Ware d ita fs ae 2 z “et Tiler Aah Te Nd ye en goer Sees Raney aa »nui For the letter, say: nas ‘lake ee raasé.... — gluh-zah eyes {fsoft sign comes atthe end of a word, the consonant Which precedes itis considered to be ‘atthe end of the word!” for the purposes of this rule. ‘Thus, for example, éay6s (pigeon) is pronounced: gaw-loop. The soft sign simply softens the devoiced 6. Devoicing before a Voiceless Consonant ‘The same consonants (6, 8, r, 4 3x, and a} also become devoiced ‘when they precede a voiceless consonant [see table). For example: néowo ss. lanka adroitly xphwxa.. 6. owkkuh mug noma... loatka boat Did you hear how the » became an d, how the a became @ m, and the a becume a'2? [AS in the case of the devoicing of consonants atthe end of a word, here also the change occurs only in pronuncia~ tion. ‘The actual spelling of the Russian word does not change. ] Keep referring to the table of voiced and voiceless consonants in. ‘the manual (page 21). Now let us practice, For the leter 6, say upé6a rose-buh test mpéSua.... —pravp-kuh cork xpy6a ‘ro0-bah trumpet ps6ua.... troop-kuh pipe For the leterm, soy névep Gehcheer* evening pues... feheewrai” yesterday pees, ets all (m. sng.) mee... Sith all (pl) For the lente ¥, say: bron nawgubit nail érrn . nawkicet ils armie smuhg-iee: magnet mirwo. s+ ahki-kuh softly For the eter, sa: wont vuhedah water nopxa . eowr-kuh vodka Syniem to awaken Gna. oor-kuh cabin, booth For the leter 2 say xpysbie Krvorshawk circle xpjaxa. ss. roodkuh mug +The unsresed and the unstesed sound like—shorer a ls distinct than the teased m. Th variation wl te Ssaaed in Band 19 ouge 3 aee México mmateei-nuh one may Méxcca.. + noush-kuh “Little foot For the leter a, say cxasdrs, skub-zal? ——totell exdoea... —shahs-kuh tale, story sdaare a-ouht to smear samiana, ‘zuh-mahs-kuh putty Devoicing before a voiceless consonant may occur when word ends in two consecutive voiced consonants: the final ‘consonant automatically becomes devoiced because i is at the end of a Word; asa result, the next-to-last letter will, also become devoiced because it precedes @ consonant that has become voiceless, For example, consider the word eveaa, spelled s'yehed but pronounced s'yehs, The final consonant a became devoiced because ofits position at the end of the word. Consequently, the preceding, consonant 2 must also become devoiced because it comes before a voiceless sound (the devoiced 2). Devoicing before a voiceless consonant may also cecur, even though a soft sign intervenes, Consider the ‘word péysxa [transcribed Fei-kuh and meaning ""horse- radish]. Here, the a becomes devoiced because the consonant which follows it [x] is already voiceless. The intervening soft sign simply softens the voiceless Voicing before a Voiced Consonant ‘The opposite holds true. If a voiced consonant fother than 1, My 1m, oF p] follows & voiceless consonant, the voiceless consonant becomes voiced, 2 For example: eabuare ..- = edel-luhit tw have done Hear how the © almost becomes a 2? As another example, say mpocirre .... pruh-iew? toask Now say: mpéenGa..... prowé-buh* request Hear the difference? Repeat: mpeciers pruh-iet mpéeu6a.... —proui-buh As in other instances of voicing and devoicing, when a voiceless consonant becomes voiced, the change occurs only in the pronunciation, The spelling ofthe Russian word [Now repeat the following words where the voiceless consonants become voiced when followed by another voiced consonant. conn suh-shal® toseat mare... achal to squeeze co6pérs suh-braht to gather Gop... ebaur collection yak oo lah fis posi. « vubg-sakl railway station + A.tft sen intervening betwen a voice and voiced contonant dove not preven the wing Fle fm operating Tp the word mpaexba, thee Becomes ‘soe beers the Eanant that slows it (6) aredy wold The servers SottSiga simpy totem the voce 8ee eee | raGiu tuh-bahit tobacco dyr66a. food-bael football oronpdns ub-tuh-dral? 10 tear off ommérs. 5. uhd-dahi? co give away ‘Voicing and Devoicing of Prepositions The preceding rules for the voicing and devoicing of consonants hold true for prepositions consisting of one leer. For purposes of pronunciation, a preposition consisting of one liter is\ considered part of the foliowing word Practice the following examples Sey: moxné.... — vuhkiich inthe window ‘The w was not devoiced because it was followed by the vowel 0, (However, it was pronounced es if it were par ofthe frst syllable of the following word. There was, and should not have been, any hesitation between the ewo Words) However, say wm xémaare .. . . fhawm-nuh-iec in the room Here, the w was followed by the voiceless consonant x and became voiced. [Again, it should have been pronounced as part of the following syllable without any hesitation whatsoever] "Now an example showing’ when a voiceless consonant becomes voiced, Say: enopérm.... zdub-raw-gee after the journey Say: e06éna.... —subBeh-duh from dinner ‘The first © became voiced [being folloved by the voiced conso- rant al; the second © remained unvoiced [being followed by an ‘unstressed 0. Once again, both prepositions should have been pro- nounced af part of the foliowing syllable,] {The rules for the voicing and devoicing of consonants also apply. to longer prepositions, as well a5 to any words ending and beginning With Consonants that fall under these rules.) Rules for Voicing and Devoicing: Summary ALWAYS VOICED and VOICELESS —_ALWaYS ‘voice COUNTERPARTS vorceLEss a 6[)-——- mip} . Mme) Uf x = Fle)—exyx (hhh) Po ald) 1) 2 [eh] —— us (sh) 3 [z]-———e ki} 1. Te voiced consonants in the center column above Decome deviced (i.e, pronounced like their voiceless counterparts) 4. When they come atthe end of a word, &, When foliowed by any voiceless consonant. 2. The voiceless consonants in the center column above become voiced (i.e, pronounced like their voiced counter- pars) 42, When followed by any voiced consonant excepe 8, M, a oF p (see the frst column above), Nowe: A soft sign coming at the end of a word or between two consonants Will not prevent voicing or , yy and so in these phrases. ‘The Letter Bis always stressed. Gade Exar mea ubb"-yaum yawl-k ‘The spruce tree oyna... doah foouh sper 99 GaGa Sax pea fra... Significance of the Stress You are probably wondering why ll chis emphasis on stressed and unstressed vowels. Tn Rasian many words which ar peed exactly alike have diferen meanings depending entirely on the position af the ses, Say the ilowing words and pay lose atetion to the {ierene im the portion of the ses, -ARerwards, ook a the ‘iferenee in eaning 1, a8mox ‘zal-mubk, castle paméx. sg. zuhmawh lock 2. safe moos torment mynd oe rmoo-halt flour 3. deaae dhe-tuhs as arade.. ss uhtlale satin st pow fps + publih Aoors 5, noma shelves nome... regiments 6. phen rook arms (nom. pl.) pox rooee of the arm (gen. sng.) dloe-mus of the house (gen. sing.) duh-mah houses (nom. pl.) 8. méomre naw#*3% (you) are carrying moctire .... nubs carry! (imper.) 9. xjpure hoo-iaciee (you) are smoking xyplire.... — Koo-Feei#* smoke! (imper.) ‘The position of the stress plays a very important role in the Russian language. It may 4. Indicate diffrent meaning, as in the fist three pairs of examples on the preceding page 6, Distinguish between words spelled alike inthe plural ‘though differen in the singular, as in the fourth and fifth pairs of examples above, «. Determine the case of certain words, as in the sixth and seventh pairs of examples 4. Indicate the tense and mood of verbs, as in the cighth and ninth pairs of examples, ssUN 1 ee SPECIAL PRONUNCIATION RULES Even people who have studied Russian for many years frequently do not pay enough attention to some of the finer points of Russian pronunciation, ‘Therefore, even if you are a more advanced student, Study the following rules carefully. “The First Rule After the leters a, am, and m, the letters m, e, and & will sound like (th), [oh], and o [aw] of their unstressed counterparts, Say: mre chit tolive meets... shehar westure sxéarsat showlt®y yellow (m.) saner ss shi tosew sects heh six sundae... shawth silk selon cont tsikrk circus ssihferuh, number ewr, npr, ipa. - «+ ‘The Second Rule ‘After the leters 4 and my [which are always pronounced sof), a, ‘0, and y will sound like , &, and 1 or their unstressed counterparts {minus the initial W sound. “The position of the mouth and the pitch of the voice are the same as in the pronunciation of consonants followed by soft vowels. (See page 17,)] Say: walls. chahy tea maces has hour yabe ss. choo-lawk stocking ‘all, wae, ayabe ss . mijua ss. schoo ku pike waa... chabeshchuh thicket ouyyutére . ... —ub-shchoo-shchah? to feel, to sense wuyjxa, wémia, omyinirs .. . . ‘The Third Rule ‘The letter r sometimes sounds like a.m ers. 7 yen ceréamn. | Fnaditt er6, cerdqun. 5. . NO ha the unstressed e etaing the iil sound when ie comes att ‘egnning fa ord See hott ow pase St 1 wane 7‘The Fourth Rule ‘The leer w sometimes sounds like @ wre... tease what xonéemo.... kub-iesi-nuh of course wero, kon ‘The Fifth Rule ‘Sometimes, in a group of three or more consonants, one of them is ‘not pronounced ‘A Russian will say: [For the word eémme, sor} saxn-seh not sawLn-tsch but sown-tseh «+ (For the word séexusitt honest} chen not chehsT-nl¥y but chehs-nty « [For the word eépame, heart} Sehr-tseh not feheD-tsch but fehrtseh « . - [For the word wanéermsstt, now) z-Behs-ny not x-iehsT-nily bur SzehenPy oes [For the word ¥ rot chooVs-tvuh but choortvuh «s+ + [For the word aapdnerayi, how do you do} zdrah-svooy ‘not zdrahV-stvooy but adra-stvooy 1crn0, feeling] choos twuh ‘There are even finer points that could be considered but you have row learned the fundamental principles of Russian pronunciation. Tr you continue to practice and apply these rules consistently, you will pronounce Russian correctly 8 Part Three AppendixRee The Russian Alphabet in Sequence Lerrer Aa BG Be rr ma Ko 3a ue ae Ke aa Mu He NAME, ah bet veh eh deh yet yaw eh zh ah a ‘CHARACTERISTICS Hard stressed, 1,16; unstressed, 2, 46-50; after wand a, 57 Hard voiced, 4,23, 38; soft voiced, 23-35; hard devoiced, 38-45; soft devoiced, 40-42 Hard voiced, 4-5, 23,38; sot voiced, 23-38; hard ‘devoiced, 38-45; soft devoiced, 40-42 Hard voiced, 5, 3,38; soft voiced, 23-35; hard ‘evoiced, 38-45; soft devoiced, 40-42; irregular, 37 Hard voiced, 6, 24,38; sft voiced, 23-38; hard devoiced, 38-45; soft devoiced, 40-42 Sof, 17-18; stressed after a consonant, 29-32; ‘stressed, other positions, 17-20, 33-36; unstressed alter a consonant, 51-53; ‘unstressed, other positions, Sin., $3; after ac, mi, and m, 56 Soft, 17-18; stressed alter a consonant, 29-32; ‘stressed, other positions, 17-20, 33-36; never ‘unstressed, 19m. $4; after 2x, mF, and m, $6 Hard voiced, 10, 24,38; hard devoiced, 37-45; never soft, 24; followed by a soft sign, 39n Hard voiced, 7, 23, 38; soft voiced, 23-38; hard ddevoiced, 38-45: soft devoiced, 40-42 Soft stressed, 16,2829; unstressed, 51-53; after 8 ‘oft sign, 33m, after mc, mt, and 56 ‘Semivowel, after a vowel, 16:17, beforea vowel, Ti between two vowels, 17 Hard voiceless, 9,23, 38; soft voiceless, 23-35: hhard voiced, 38, 42-45 Hard voiced, 67,23, 38; sft voived, 23-35; never devoiced, 38 Hard voiced, 4, 23,38; sot voiced, 23-35; never devoiced, 38| Hard voiced, 6,23, 38; sot voiced, 23-35; never devoiced, 38 Oo ww Ma peh Ppoar Ce es Tr th vy 0 oe of Xx khah Hm seh We chen Winx shah WK my shichah % hardsign = ih » softsign a> eh Ww yoo Hn yah Hard stressed, 1-2, 16; unstressed, 2, 46-80; after ‘asoft sign, 33n.; afer wand a, 5? Hard voiceless, 8, 23, 38; oft voiceless, 23-35; hard voiced, 38, 42-45; soft voiced, 43n, Hard voiced, {3, 23,38; soft voiced, 33-38; never devoiced, 38 Hard voiceless, 7,23, 38; soft voiceless, 23-35; hard voiced, 38, 42-48; soft voiced, 43n. Hard voiceless, 9,23, 38; soft voiceless, 23-35; hard voiced, 38, 43-45; soft voiced, din, Hard stressed, 3,16; unstressed, 3, 53-54; after wand wt, 57 Hard voiceless, 8,23, 38; solt voiceless, 23-35; hard voiced, 38, 42-45 Hard voiceless, 3-14, 23,38; sft voiceless, 23.38; hard voiced, 38, 42-48 Always hard voiceless, M24, soft sign, 39n, Always Soft voiceless, 12, 24,38; irregular, 38 Hard voiceless, 1011, 24, 38; hard voiced, 38, 42-45; never soft, 34; followed by a soft sign, 39n Always soft voiceless, 12,24, 38 ‘No sound, 353; always between a consonant ‘and a vowel, 35-36 Hard sessed, 14-15; unstressed, 50 ‘Nosound, 25; at the end of a word, 25-26; between two consonants, 2627; between a consonant and a vowel, 33-35; effect on voicing and devoicing, 42, 43n Hard stressed, 2-3, 16; unstressed, 3, 3-54 Soft, 17-18; stressed after a consonant, 29-32; ‘Stressed, other positions, 17-20, 33-36; “unstressed, 53-58 Soft, 17-18; stressed after a consonant, 29-32; ‘stressed, other positions, 17-20, 33-36, lunstressed after a consonant, S153; unstressed, other positions, Sin ‘i followed by aNTC RUSSIAN TEXTS AND MATERIAL Manual and Avdioenset How to Pronaunce Russian Correct Graded Readers Base Rusa, ook 1 Bose Rutan; Bok 2 Beginaers Ruan Reader Ruts Intevnediate Reader Modern Resian Reader for Inermedinte Claes iviiation & Catare Rnsan Composition and Conversation Baines Rutan ‘Resa Ares Reader lerary Adaptations Tho: Imermediate-Leve Adapatios of Pushkin, Lermontx ‘nd Cage) (Quartet: Intermediate Level Adaptations of Tagen, Toy, Destoyevy, and Chon Annotated Resin Lites Six Soret One Act Pays The Inspector Gener Tee Goren o Spats Grammar and Reference Sinplied Russan Grammar Reatng and Trandating Contemporary Rusian Roots of the Runa Language Pane Delt in Rusa Language Learning Materiat INE Language Lesening Fath Casi INTE Language Posters NTC Language Puppets anguage Visuals ie ery Rees Pectial Vocablary Baler A=