Russian Alphabet - Lesson Summary

Importance of Learning the Russian Alphabet

• First step in learning Russian.
• Useful for reading street and shop signs while traveling.
• Easier than it seems; almost all words can be sounded out as they are written.
• One letter corresponds to one sound, unlike English.

General Information

• The Russian alphabet is also known as the Cyrillic alphabet.
• Consists of 33 letters: 11 vowels, 20 consonants, and 2 pronunciation signs.

Alphabet Overview

• Familiar letters: Many Russian letters are pronounced similarly to their English counterparts.
• Example:
  • А а - Like "a" in "father"
  • К к - Like "k" in "kitten"

Russian Letters and Their Pronunciations

Russian Letters Similar to English

• М м - "m" in "man"
• О о - "o" in "bore" (stressed) or like "a" (unstressed)
• Т т - "t" in "tap"

Russian Letters That Look Like English but Sound Different

• В в - "v" in "vet"
• Е е - "ye" in "yes"
• Н н - "n" in "no"
• Р р - "r" in "run" (rolled)
• С с - "s" in "see"
• У у - "oo" in "boot"
• Х х - "h" in "hello" or "ch" in Scottish "Loch"

Russian Letters with Familiar Sounds

• Б б - "b" in "bat"
• Г г - "g" in "go"
• Д д - "d" in "dog"
• З з - "z" in "zoo"
• И и - "i" in "taxi"
• Л л - "l" in "love"
• П п - "p" in "pot"
• Ф ф - "f" in "fat"
• Э э - "e" in "fed"

New Russian Letters and Sounds

• Ю ю - "u" in "universe"
• Я я - "ya" in "yard"
• Ё ё - "yo" in "yonder"
• Ж ж - "s" in "measure"
• Ц ц - "ts" in "sits"
• Ч ч - "ch" in "chips"
• Ш ш - "sh" in "shut"
• Щ щ - "sh" with tongue on roof
• Ы ы - "i" in "bit"
• Й й - Used to form diphthongs

Pronunciation Symbols

• Ъ ъ - Hard sign, indicates pause
• Ь ь - Soft sign, makes prior letter "soft"

Vowels and Corresponding Sounds

• Corresponding Vowels:
  • а / я
  • е / ё
  • у / ю
  • о / ё
• Note: и / ы are considered vowels, but don’t follow the pattern.

Spelling and Stress Rules

• Spelling Rule: Never write 'я', 'ё', or 'ю' after certain consonants; use 'а', 'е', 'у' instead.
• Stress: Important for vowel pronunciation, e.g., stressed 'o' sounds different.

Practice and Resources

• Practice using audio examples to improve pronunciation.
• Videos available on YouTube for alphabet learning.
• Handwriting video available for practicing Russian script.

Recommended Books

• "The New Penguin Russian Course"
• "Russian-English Bilingual Visual Dictionary"
• "A Comprehensive Russian Grammar"
• "The Big Silver Book of Russian Verbs"
• "Russian Learners' Dictionary"

This summary provides a comprehensive overview of the Russian alphabet and its pronunciation. Utilize the practice exercises and recommended resources to enhance your learning experience.