Thread: Pronunciation of "x"

Originally Posted by сэи

I must say, I'm confused now by the answer. I hate to be confused...

Anyway, I'm more referring to Portuguese from Portugal. Brazilian tends to not exactly be the same. But think the "Rs" are similar.

And the r... Notice there are several "Rs" in Portuguese. Several ways of saying it. But the one I am referring to is close to that example in that page - "rabo". Though in "rabo" is a bit stronger.

On the transliteration thing... English is not Portuguese. Obviously. I'd definitely say that for "man" the correct would be "Мэн". Ман is just too off. But in Portuguese, and in those words, the use of э is just completely off. If you said that to a Portuguese he would go like "huh?" and not understand you at all. But if you use the "a", even if it's slightly harder than it should be, he would understand you. But still, that "a" in those words, sounds practically like the unstressed "a" in Russian I have heard... So I really don't see the necessity of using э in those cases.

I'm a "she" by the way. Though not sure if "he said Portuguese R" was referring to me or not. ^^ Just wanted to clear up anyway.


Edit: Oh, I think I got it now after reading the posts again. Glad I was right. It did really sound like the Portuguese "R" in "rato".

Baically, Cеи, you are know what a Spanish J sounds like? Russian X sounds very much like it, only not as harsh. If you say Spanish J, you will be perfectly understood.

Originally Posted by TATY

Baically, Cеи

The nick is сэи. The second letter is Э, not Е.

Originally Posted by Оля

The nick is сэи. The second letter is Э, not Е.

Thanks.
The nick is supposed to sound like the English "say", but I'm not sure if the characters are the correct ones. I sort of made it up quickly from the nick I usually use (sei) to enter the forum. :P

Originally Posted by сэи

The nick is supposed to sound like the English "say", but I'm not sure if the characters are the correct ones.

Say would be "сэй", not "сэи" at all. These (й and и) are two different letters and two different sounds.

Сэи sounds like sa- (from "say") + ee (from "meet"). Actually it's something difficult to pronounce (for Russians at least ).

Originally Posted by Оля

Say would be "сэй", not "сэи" at all. These (й and и) are two different letters and two different sounds.

Сэи sounds like sa- (from "say") + ee (from "meet"). Actually it's something difficult to pronounce (for Russians at least ).

Yeah, I noticed that AFTER I had signed up. I should have put й... But only because my book says it's used in...hm... well... 2 letters put together ^^. Like ay, ey, oy... and so.

But to be honest, I haven't been capable of identifying the difference between й and и so far. They seem so close alike I haven't really been able to identify the real difference in the sounds.

http://sayandpost.com/5muqhcqlx7.mp3

Keeping on the comparison with Spanish - и is i (in hijo), and й is y (in yo).
Or don't you really notice the difference between an English y (in say, day, yes) and an English ee (in meet, see, feel)?

Originally Posted by Оля

Or don't you really notice the difference between an English y (in say, day, yes) and an English ee (in meet, see, feel)?

Well, I might have before... but right now I find it hard to separate "sa" from the "y", so I can't identify the sound well.

But... thanks Lampada! That was awesome, really helped. So yeah... should be й in "sei"... Can't change it now though, right? *goes explore*

Edit: Nope, can't change my name.

Originally Posted by TATY

So do you pronounce this "kh" like russian "х"?

Kh should be pronounced as Russian X, but most English speakers don't know Russian and will just pronounce it as K.

The usual way people pronounce Хрущёв is "Krooshev", or "Krooshov"[/quote]
That's why it's so much better to transliterate (and to pronounce) it as "h"! [/quote]

Transliteration's primary goal is not about pronunciation though, it is about preserving spelling.

There is a similar problem with Hebrew. There is a letter which is a VERY guttural H (it sounds horrible to me), and Arabic has it too.

The standard transliteration of the letter is Ch. But English people think it's Ch as in Chair.

The problem is there is another letter in Hebrew which is the same as English H.

Hannukah is also spelt Channukah

The final H is the letter Heh, which is the same as English H
The initial H/Ch is the nasty sounding letter.

And in Ukrainian they have Г which is almost the same as Enlgish H, and Х which is the same as Russian X

So they have to disinguish between the two, so Г = Н, Х = Kh. Also Г sounds much more like English H.

The combination Kh is used partly because, Russian Х is pronounced at the same location as the letter K.

K is a Velar plosive. Velar decribed the location of the obsrutcion of airflow, which is between the back of the tong and roof of the mouth. Plosive describes the manner of the airflow. Plosive is like an explosion. The airflow is completely obstructed briefly, building up pressure, which when released make a K sound. This is why you can't make a continous K sound. You can only do it once, then again, then again.

Russian Х is a Velar frictive. Frictive means the airflow is partially obsrtucted, but there is just enough gap to allow a steady air flow.


To pronounce Russian X, the learner should say a [k] sound, as in King or Cat, and pay attention to how back of the touch is touching the roof ot eh mouth. When K is pronouced, the back of the tongue blocks the airflow.

The precise location of the contact should be identified, by repeating and paying close attention.

Say K, K, K, K, K. Then say whispers of K, K, K. Now try and make a 'silent' K.

Hold the tongue in position to produce a K. Gently try and force some air through, allowing the tongue to allow only the least amount of air through. You should hear a soft sound that sounds a bit like an aeroplane engine :P[/quote]


That was a lot of help! Спасибо.))