Quote Originally Posted by RedFox View Post
When used after a consonant, letters я, е, ё, ю indicate the softness of the previous consonant:

тема — soft /t/ + /e/
тяга — soft /t/ + /a/
Many foreigners (perhaps English speakers especially) make the mistake of thinking that a "soft consonant" is the same thing as "a hard consonant followed by the /y/ sound". Thus, they incorrectly say:

тема — hard /t/ + /y/ + /e/ (as though it were т-йэма)
тяга — hard /t/ + /y/ + /a/ (as though it were т-йага)
(etc.)

However, there's no /y/ sound between the consonant and the soft vowel -- rather, the vowel's softness is "absorbed" (so to speak) into the consonant, and the value of the consonant itself changes.

Some English speakers also have trouble with the Spanish ñ, which is very close in pronunciation to the Russian "soft /n/," as in няня, "nanny." So instead of señora, they will say "sen-yora", dividing the single consonant sound /ñ/ into two sounds, /n/ + /y/.

Even though you're just beginning in Russian, this is an important point to understand right away -- a Russian "soft consonant," such as the т (both of them!) in тётя, "aunt," is ONE sound, not "a consonant plus /y/".