Belarusian phonology

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The phonological system of the modern Belarusian language consists of 45 (54) sounds: 6 vowels and 39 (48) consonants[1].

Some of the Belarusian consonants may form complemental pairs, differing only in palatalisation. In some of such pairs, the place of articulation is additionally changed (see: Distinctive features of Belarusian phonetics). Some of the consonants are always palatalised, and some are always unpalatalised. The Belarusian phonetic transcription denotes the palatalised ("soft") consonants with [ ’] symbol.

Contents

[edit] Distinctive phonetic features

The most prominent phonetic features of Belarusian are

  • akannye (Belarusian: аканне) – the tendency to pronounce unstressed "o" and "e" as clear open front unrounded vowel "a";
  • dzyekanye (Belarusian: дзеканне) – the pronunciation of palatalized "d" as soft affricate "dz";
  • tsyekannye (Belarusian: цеканне) – the pronunciation of palatalized "t" as soft affricate "ts";
  • strong palatalization of "s'" and "z'"[2].

[edit] Articulation of Belarusian consonants

Articulation Belarusian phonetic transcription IPA
Voiced bilabial plosives [б] [б’] /b/
Voiceless bilabial plosives [п] [п’] /p/
Sonorant bilabial fricative [ў]
Sonorant bilabial nasals [м] [м’] /m/
Sonorant labiodental fricatives [в] [в’] /v/
Voiceless labiodental fricatives [ф] [ф’] /f/
Voiced alveolar plosive, apical [д]
Voiceless alveolar plosive, apical [т]
Voiced alveolar fricative, apical [з]
Voiceless alveolar fricative, apical [с]
Voiced alveolar affricate, apical [дз]
Voiceless alveolar affricate, apical [ц]
Sonorant alveolar nasal, apical [н]
Sonorant alveolar laminals, apical [л] [л’]
Sonorant alveolar trill, apical [р]
Voiced alveolo-palatal fricative, apical [ж]
Voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative, apical [ш]
Voiced alveolo-palatal affricate, apical [дж]
Voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate, apical [ч]
Voiced alveolo-palatal fricative, dorsal [з’]
Voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative, dorsal [с’]
Voiced alveolo-palatal affricate, dorsal [дз’]
Voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate, dorsal [ц’]
Sonorant alveolo-palatal nasal, dorsal [н’]
Sonorant palatal fricative [й]
Voiced velar plosives [г´] [г´’][3] /ɡ/
Voiceless velar plosives [к] [к’] /k/
Voiced velar fricatives [г] [г’] /ɣ/
Voiceless velar fricatives [х] [х’] /x/

The prolongated variations: [ж̅] [з̅’̅] [д̅з̅’̅] [л̅’̅] [н̅’̅] [с̅’̅] [ц̅’̅] [ч̅] [ш̅].

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Usually, the number of 39 is quoted, excluding the 9 prolongated versions of consonants as "mere variations". Sometimes, rare consonants are also excluded, thus bringing the quoted number of consonants further down. Number of 48 comprises all consonant sounds, variations and rare included, which may have a phonological meaning in the modern Belarusian language
  2. ^ "Stronger than in Russian, weaker than in Polish", per Беларуская мова...
  3. ^ Nearly extinct phoneme, remaining only in several assimilated words.

[edit] Sources

  • Беларуская граматыка. У 2-х ч. / АН БССР, Ін-т мовазнаўства імя Я. Коласа; [Рэд. М. В. Бірыла, П. П. Шуба]. – Мн. : Навука і тэхніка, 1985.
  • Беларуская мова: Вучэб. дапам. / Э. Д. Блінава, Н. В. Гаўрош, М. Ц. Кавалёва і інш.; Пад рэд. М. С. Яўневіча. — Мн. : Выш. школа, 1991. ISBN 5-339-00539-9.
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