The Russian alphabet is born as a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet cIt was built in the 10th century. It was made up of a large number of characters that went from 43 to 47. Since then it has undergone modifications eliminating the little used letters, also known as the letters in disuse. For the year of 1918, the Cyrillic alphabet began to be simplified, being officially established for the year of 1942 in 33 characters, 10 vowels, 21 consonants, two silent letters or letters that do not represent sound.
The vowels of the Russian alphabet
The Russian alphabet, like all the alphabets in the world, consists of rules for its pronunciation. So, the pronunciation of the vowels and consonants will depend on the location of the accents. It sounds a bit complicated, but once you've grasped it it's easier than you think. Let's see:
* Pronunciation of the vowels:
Of the 10 vowels that make up the Russian alphabet which are: a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a. Five (5) of them are considered as simple vowels, 4 are called composite vowels and the last is a special vowel for Spanish speakers, so we will give special treatment even though it is a composite vowel too.
Simple vowels:
In Russian: А, Э, И, О, У
In Spanish: A E I O U
Composite vowels:
In Russian: Е, Ё, Ю, Я
In Spanish: ye (ie), i (io), yu (iu), ya (ia)
Special voice:
In Russian: "Ы"
In Spanish: it is pronounced as a guttural "i". That is to say, while pronouncing, the tongue must separate from the palate and contract it backwards. It's not easy, but it's a matter of practice.
The consonants of the Russian alphabet
The commonly used consonants of the Russian alphabet are the following: б, в, г, д, ж, з, й, к, л, м, н, п, р, с, т, ф, ч, ц, ч, ш, щ. There are also two consonants to identify the hard or soft sound respectively and are identified as ь and ъ (dumb ones that do not represent sound)
* The Russian consonants are grouped in:
Sonora:
In Russian: с, т, п, к, x, ч, ш, щ, ц, ф
In Spanish: s, t, p, k, x, ch, sh, shch, ts, f
Deaf:
In Russian: з, д, б, г, ж, в
In Spanish: z, d, b, g, zh, v
Nasal:
In Russian: м, н
In Spanish: m, n
Laterals:
In Russian: л
In Spanish: l
Vibrant:
In Russian: р
In Spanish: к
* Hard consonants: when they are followed by the following letters:
In Russian: а, э, ы, о, ъ
In Spanish: a, e, and, or, hard sign
* Soft consonants: when followed by the letters:
In Russian: я, е, и, ё, ю, ь
In Spanish: ya, ye, i, yo, yu, soft sign
* Occlusive or explosive consonants:
In Russian: д, т, б, п
In Spanish: d, t, b, p
Familiarizing yourself with the Russian alphabet is a great advantage when it comes to Start studying this beautiful language. The next step will be to know its sounds and grammar rules. Do not stop trying!
