Thread: Confused about soft vowels

Originally Posted by Боб Уайтман

It is because that is how the untrained ear of non-natives hears soft consonants

In fact, медленно does not have any "y" sound! But "м" and "л" are palatalized: ['m^je-dl^jɪ-nnə], where both [m^j] and [l^j] are palatalized ("soft") consonants. A soft consonant is a single sound, it does not really contain "y", but it is pronounced with the middle part of the tongue raised towards the front palate (during all the time of its pronunciation, not just at the end phase!).

For more details, see hear:
Russian phonology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The contrast between palatalized and unpalatalized consonants is important in Russian, but English lacks this feature entirely.

That makes sense. So, with palatalization, "ся" is pronounced "ca", and те is pronounced "te", right? Not "cya" and "tye"?

Originally Posted by rebmaboss

That makes sense. So, with palatalization, "ся" is pronounced "ca", and те is pronounced "te", right? Not "cya" and "tye"?

Noooo! "Ся" and "ca" are pronounced differently. You may say, that "ca" + palatalization = "cя", and vice versa, "ся" without palatalization = "са".

It's important to understand, that there's no such thing as soft vowels, but there are soft and hard consonants, and that most Russian consonants can be either hard or soft, depending on the following vowel. It' crucial for correct pronunciation.

Check these two topics. There are explanations on a similar issue and helpful videos.
What is and what is not important in Russian pronunciation
Confused over "e" in these words