Thread: Russian feminine nouns that end with -а

The rules of reduction are actually quite simple, at least on a phonological level. There are four groups of vowels to remember: 1) those that are reduced to /ʊ/ (у, ю), 2) those that are reduced to /ɨ/, 3) those that are reduced to /ɪ/ (е, и, я), and 4) those that are reduced to /ɐ/ or /ə/ (о, а). Next, it is important in which syllable the vowel is found: whether it precedes the stressed syllable (i.e. pre-tonic) or is found elsewhere.

Group 1 (у, ю):
These are always pronounced /ʊ/.

Group 2 (э):
These are always pronounced /ɨ/.

Group 3 (е, и, я):
These are pronounced /ɪ/,
though я is pronounced /ə/ word-finally.

Group 4 (о, а):
These are pronounced /ɐ/ when preceding the stressed syllable.
These are pronounced /ə/ when found elsewhere.


Note that on a phonetic level there are more subtle distinctions among the vowels, but most normal learners do not need to know these rules (or care to learn them). The rules above are sufficient for most, and the subtle distinctions will eventually be picked up by the learner when exposed to spoken Russian.

Originally Posted by Nikolya

Group 2 (е, э, и, я):
These are always pronounced /ɪ/.

Except for я in endings:
Катя [ˈkatʲæ] vs Кати[ˈkatʲɪ]
дача [ˈdaʨæ] vs дачи [ˈdaʨɪ]

For about unstressed э, i.e. [ɛ] after a hard consonant, after a vowel or at the beginning of a word, it is rather rare and can be found only in loanwords:
экран, эфир, коэффициент, муэдзин, диэлектрик.
It is normally reduced from [ɛ] to [ɨ] or [ɘ], but not to [ɪ]:
[ɨkˈran]
[ɨˈfʲir]
[kəɨfʲɪʦɨˈɛnt]
[mʊɨˈdzʲin]
Exception: иэ as in [dʲɪ.ɪˈlʲektrʲɪk], ɪ + ɨ is assimilated to ɪ + ɪ.

Originally Posted by RedFox

Except for я in endings:
Катя [ˈkatʲæ] vs Кати[ˈkatʲɪ]
дача [ˈdaʨæ] vs дачи [ˈdaʨɪ]

For about unstressed э, i.e. [ɛ] after a hard consonant, after a vowel or at the beginning of a word, it is rather rare and can be found only in loanwords:
экран, эфир, коэффициент, муэдзин, диэлектрик.
It is normally reduced from [ɛ] to [ɨ] or [ɘ], but not to [ɪ]:
[ɨkˈran]
[ɨˈfʲir]
[kəɨfʲɪʦɨˈɛnt]
[mʊɨˈdzʲin]
Exception: иэ as in [dʲɪ.ɪˈlʲektrʲɪk], ɪ + ɨ is assimilated to ɪ + ɪ.

I was a bit too quick when it comes to the vowel я, it is pronounced /ə/ in final positions. And what I wrote about the vowel э is wrong, it is of course reduced to /ɨ/ - like you said - not /ɪ/. I tried to keep it on a phonological level, so that it might be easier for a learner to understand. However, the word-final /ə/-reduction is found on a phonological level, and should therefore be included, my bad.

I have corrected my post.