How to Pronounce Ш & Ж? (Specific Languages) Language Learning Forum

How to Pronounce Ш & Ж?
Tags: Phonetics
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Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages

MerryCrassmas
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languagewanderlust.c
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Message 1 of 3

25 September 2012 at 8:27am | IP Logged

Hello everyone. I am being a bit curious here. I am getting back to studying Russian again and I am having a hard
time trying to distinguish if there is a difference in pronounciation between the English 'sh' and 'zh' sound as in
'shoe' and 'measure' with their Russian counterparts, such as 'шесть' & 'журнал'.

I feel like in Russian the sounds create something that sounds like a faint whistle. So my question is, are they
pronounced differently in both languages, and if so, how does one go about placing the tongue when pronouncing
these sounds in Russian? Thanks in advance :)
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vonPeterhof
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Message 2 of 3

25 September 2012 at 1:22pm | IP Logged

Yes, they are different from the English sounds in that they are both retroflex. Basically it means that the tip of the tongue is curled upwards. More detailed descriptions of the sounds can be found here and here. Generally, if you use the [ʒ] sound from 'measure' instead of [ʐ] you will likely be understood, even if it will sound off. The [ʃ] of 'shoe' might be more problematic, in that (at least to me) it sounds closer to the [ɕ] sound of Щ than to the [ʂ] sound of Ш, so it's best to learn to distinguish them. And, on a related note, even though Щ is generally transliterated as 'shch' it's not actually pronounced [ʂt͡ɕ] or [ʃtʃ] in modern Russian - the actual pronunciation is [ɕː] or [ɕɕ].

Edited by vonPeterhof on 25 September 2012 at 1:24pm
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Марк
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Message 3 of 3

25 September 2012 at 2:48pm | IP Logged

vonPeterhof wrote:

Yes, they are different from the English sounds in that they are
both retroflex. Basically it means that the tip of the tongue is curled upwards. More
detailed descriptions of the sounds can be found
here and
here. Generally,
if you use the [ʒ] sound from 'measure' instead of [ʐ] you will likely be understood,
even if it will sound off. The [ʃ] of 'shoe' might be more problematic, in that (at
least to me) it sounds closer to the [ɕ] sound of Щ than to the [ʂ] sound of Ш, so it's
best to learn to distinguish them. And, on a related note, even though Щ is generally
transliterated as 'shch' it's not actually pronounced [ʂt͡ɕ] or [ʃtʃ] in modern Russian
- the actual pronunciation is [ɕː] or [ɕɕ].

The lenghth of щ is only in certain positions and is not important for understanding.
Basically speaking the Russian consonants are hard while the English ones are soft. The
difference is cruacial for a Russian ear.

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