| With ь | Without ь | English |
|---|---|---|
| мать | мат | mother ↔ checkmate/obscene |
| пыль | пыл | dust ↔ ardor |
| уголь | угол | coal ↔ corner |
| мель | мел | shoal ↔ chalk |
| сталь | стал | steel ↔ (he) became |
Encourage students to exaggerate the softness on the consonant before ь.
| Word | Pronunciation | English Cognate |
|---|---|---|
| объект | [ob-yekt] | object |
| субъект | [sub-yekt] | subject |
| подъём | [pod-yom] | ascent |
| съёмка | [syom-ka] | filming |
| инъекция | [in-yek-tsi-ya] | injection |
Explain that ъ prevents blending and keeps the consonant hard.
For native English speakers, the concept of a consonant being "hard" or "soft" is unfamiliar because English does not have this distinction. Palatalization is the key to understanding the soft sign. To produce a soft, or palatalized, consonant sound, the middle of the tongue is raised closer to the hard palate (the roof of the mouth). For most English speakers, this process is best understood by associating the sound with a subtle "y" sound that is tucked right after the consonant, like a quick, whispered ee sound
In Russian, certain vowels (е, ё, ю, я) can represent two sounds depending on the letter that precedes them: A "one-sound" vowel makes the preceding consonant soft, or palatalized, by blending the sounds together. A "two-sound" vowel includes a "y" sound at the start and is used after a vowel or at the beginning of a word. The soft sign's separating function is to explicitly signal that a two-sound vowel follows a consonant. Without the soft sign, the sounds would blend into one
When explaining the Russian soft sign: Start by explaining how the Russian soft sign prevents sound blending. Use the "Didja" example to highlight how casual English does blend these sounds. Contrast the casual "Didja" with the more formal, fully pronounced "Did you." Explain that the formal, non-blended version is what the Russian soft sign is trying to accomplish. Provide a few additional examples like "could you" and "would you" to reinforce the concept.
When the Russian soft sign (ь) is used for separation, it signals that the consonant and the following vowel (е, ё, ю, я, и) are pronounced distinctly and separately, with a "y" sound in between. This is different from the soft sign's more common use, which is to simply soften the preceding consonant. The easiest way to understand the difference is to compare pairs of words.