Let’s work on our pronunciation today and explore the peculiar world of Russian tongue-twisters.  This one is a great way to check if you’re getting your sh [ш] and s [с] right.

Шла Саша по шоссе и сосала сушку.

[Shla Sasha po shosseh i sosala sushku]

English translation: Sasha was walking on the highway sucking on a sushka.

Russian Pronunciation wilth Lubov

Can You Pronounce This Well-Known Russian Tongue-Twister? Listen and Repeat.

After consonants, the vowel letter pairs а/я, э/е, о/ё, ы/и, and у/ю represent 
essentially the same vowel sound. Their only difference is that the letters in the bottom 
row tell you that the preceding consonant is palatalized, or soft.*

HARD CONSONANTS             SOFT CONSONANTS

Да-да! - Oh yes!                       дядя - uncle 
мэр - mayor                             мер - of measures 
быт - daily life                          бит - computer bit 
живот - belly                            живёт - he/she lives 
музыка - music                        мюзикл - musical (show)

* a palatalized consonant is pronounced with the blade of the tongue pressed up 
against the hard palate, it sounds like a consonant plus the [y] sound of “yes” pronounced at the exact same time.

HARD / SOFT CONSONANTS PRACTICE. Живот Или Живёт? Listen and Repeat.

A palatalized consonant is pronounced with the blade of the tongue pressed up against the hard palate. A palatalized consonant sounds like a consonant plus the [y] sound of “yes” pronounced at the exact same time. The letter ь ( мягкий знак ) indicates that the preceding consonant is palatalized.

In addition to ь, the vowel letters е, ё, и, ю, and я also indicate that the preceding 
consonant is palatalized. 

на - ня
но - нё
ну - ню
ны - ни
нэ - не
нь

ма - мя
мо - мё
му - мю
мы - ми
мэ - ме
мь

да - дя
до - дё
ду - дю
ды - ди
дэ - де
дь

та - тя
то - тё
ту - тю
ты - ти
тэ - те
ть
