# Forum Learning Russian Language Pronunciation, Speech & Accent  живёт

## Platinum

Pimsleur has me confused on a couple of words.  I know that there are a few Russian words that are pronounced a little different than their spelling would suggest.  Example: сегодня (the г sounds like a в). 
When they say the words живёт and живете, they really sound like they're saying the в like a г.  It's very distinct, and I have listened over and over again. 
Another strange word is где.  Pimsleur always makes it sound like "гдзе", and I know this is wrong.  
Can anybody shed some light on this please?

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## Leof

I believe it's just an individual pronunciation of a person whose voice has been recorded on the tape. 
I myself never heard such a pronuntiation of these words.

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## Platinum

> I believe it's just an individual pronunciation of a person whose voice has been recorded on the tape. 
> I myself never heard such a pronuntiation of these words.

 What about "сегодня"?

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## Leof

Сегодня must be said like се_в_одня. 
Что is most likely being said like што, бог like бох, and конечно like канешно (канешна), but the two words which made you doubt must be said as they are written. 
Though живёте sounds between живёте and жевёте, and где has a half-evident trace of з in it, because your tongue and teeth have to do the similar movement.

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## DDT

I never had any trouble with these words in Pimsleur. It sounds like you  should get a  new pair of headphones.    

> When they say the words живёт and живете, they really sound like they're saying the в like a г. It's very distinct, and I have listened over and over again.

 They sound perfectly like a в to me, when I listen to the CD!!

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## Platinum

> I never had any trouble with these words in Pimsleur. It sounds like you  should get a  new pair of headphones.  
> They sound perfectly like a в to me, when I listen to the CD!!

 DDT, I have listened about a hundred times to this word in several different lessons.  The в in живёт sounds just a little bit like a г.  Just enough to maybe cause two people to hear different sounds.  But when they say  живёте...there's no doubt about it.  Perhaps you have a different edition that I have...perhaps my speakers are faulty...perhaps one of us needs our hearing checked (probably me)...or perhaps one of us is losing his mind (again, probably me). 
Anyway, the main point is that no matter what I think i hear, it should be жи*B*ёте.  And that was my question.  Thanks for clearing it up.

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## Leof

You are welcome!  ::    PS: As far as I tried to say жигёте aloud I got жгёте instead.

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## Оля

> Сегодня must be said like се_в_одня.

 Rather _сиводня_. 
(А то ещё не дай бог "сьеводня" получится.   ::  )  
P.S. Frankly speaking, "где" can sound like гдзе, because of the softness of д here. It is not so awful.

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## DDT

I had this one lady in my Russian class, who always said где as, "гъде" and it sounded retarded to me.

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## Rtyom

> and it sounded retarded to me.

 +1

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## TATY

A couple of people in my class can't, or won't pronounce consonant clusters properly and insert some kind of vowel or schwa. Like they'll say въкуско. The problem is it renders вход and выход indistinguishable when they say them. 
There's one woman who pronounces где, *гъджэй*

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## kamka

> I had this one lady in my Russian class, who always said где as, "гъде" and it sounded retarded to me.

 I can't imagine how would it sound like   ::

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## Lampada

> Originally Posted by DDT  I had this one lady in my Russian class, who always said где as, "гъде" and it sounded retarded to me.   I can't imagine how would it sound like

 У меня не получается произнести г*ь*де.  Я не могу вспомнить ни одного слова с "гь" в нём. http://sayandpost.com/5muqhcqlx4.mp3

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## DDT

> I can't imagine how would it sound like     У меня не получается произнести г*ь*де.  Я не могу вспомнить ни одного слова с "гь" в нём. http://sayandpost.com/5muqhcqlx4.mp3

 не "ь" а, "*Ъ*"

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## chaika

Не забывайте, что живёт etc. произносятся с Ы, то есть жывёт, хотя пишется И после шипящих. 
I suggest you take a few lessons with a real, live native speaker. Oh, shucks, even a nonnative speaker like me can say /v/ where it is supposed to be. Your ears are certainly playing tricks on you if you hear a /g/ there!!  
Speaking of /g/, in genitive singular nonfeminine adjectives with the ending spelled -ого and -его the г is always pronounced /v/ in Standard Russian (oops, grammar terms! I forgot you don't know what I am talking about).  
There are a handful of words like сегодня, итого where the г is pronounced /v/.  
In a few liturgical words г is pronounced very differently, and, remembering a discussion somewhere about how you pronounce the name of the composer Bach and the Scottish word 'loch',  I'm not going to even try. Господь, Господи, Бога.

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## TATY

> Originally Posted by kamka        Originally Posted by DDT  I had this one lady in my Russian class, who always said где as, "гъде" and it sounded retarded to me.   I can't imagine how would it sound like     У меня не получается произнести г*ь*де.  Я не могу вспомнить ни одного слова с "гь" в нём. http://sayandpost.com/5muqhcqlx4.mp3

 We are using *ъ* to indicate a schwa or some kind of short indestinct vowel sound (as it used to be in Russian, and still is in Bulgarian).

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## TATY

> Не забывайте, что живёт etc. произносятся с Ы, то есть [color=red] 
> In a few liturgical words г is pronounced very differently, and, remembering a discussion somewhere about how you pronounce the name of the composer Bach and the Scottish word 'loch',  I'm not going to even try. Господь, Господи, Бога.

 Liturgical words?? 
The most common three words in which Г is pronounced X are  *Бог, мягкий, лёгкий*  [_Бох, мяхкий, лёхкий_] 
I hope Господь, Господи, Бога aren't also given as examples, because the Г is a Г in all three of them, unless you are a Ukrainian  :P

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## kamka

> We are using *ъ* to indicate a schwa or some kind of short indestinct vowel sound (as it used to be in Russian, and still is in Bulgarian).

 so, basically they just produce a short "ы" sound after the "г"?

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## TATY

> Originally Posted by TATY  We are using *ъ* to indicate a schwa or some kind of short indestinct vowel sound (as it used to be in Russian, and still is in Bulgarian).   so, basically they just produce a short "ы" sound after the "г"?

 
Well not namely a short ы. Basically a schwa. In English we don't have such consonant clusters, so people will often erroneously insert a vowel sound between certain consonants to facilitate pronunciation.

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## kamka

> Originally Posted by kamka        Originally Posted by TATY  We are using *ъ* to indicate a schwa or some kind of short indestinct vowel sound (as it used to be in Russian, and still is in Bulgarian).   so, basically they just produce a short "ы" sound after the "г"?   
> Well not namely a short ы. Basically a schwa. In English we don't have such consonant clusters, so people will often erroneously insert a vowel sound between certain consonants to facilitate pronunciation.

 thanks, I think I get it now  ::

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## chaika

Мне казалось что Г в Господь и т.д. - звонкий фрикативный. 
Господи помилуй, Господи помилуй, Господи помилуй, ... 
Г происносится как г? 
Спасибо за мягкий, лёгкий - о них совсем забыл!

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## Оля

> Мне казалось, что Г в Господь и т.д. - звонкий фрикативный. 
> Господи помилуй, Господи помилуй, Господи помилуй, ... 
> Г произносится как г?

 Да, в слове "Господи" звук "г" обычно как раз звонкий фрикативный, ты прав.
(Но можно произнести и обычный, русский звук "г").

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## TATY

> Originally Posted by chaika  Мне казалось, что Г в Господь и т.д. - звонкий фрикативный. 
> Господи помилуй, Господи помилуй, Господи помилуй, ... 
> Г произносится как г?   Да, в слове "Господи" звук "г" обычно как раз звонкий фрикативный, ты прав.
> (Но можно произнести и обычный, русский звук "г").

 I've lived with a number of babushki, who always were exclaiming Господи!, and I have only ever heard a Г. 
Also, while *Бог* is pronounced [_бох_], when endings are added the *г* returns to being pronounced *г*.

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## Оля

> I've lived with a number of babushki, who always were exclaiming Господи!, and I have only ever heard a Г.

 I am not a "babushka", but I usually say exactly a fricative Г in this word. Maybe I should wait abt. 50-60 years?.... Mmm, good idea.   ::

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## TATY

> Originally Posted by TATY  I've lived with a number of babushki, who always were exclaiming Господи!, and I have only ever heard a Г.   I am not a "babushka", but I usually say exactly a fricative Г in this word. Maybe I should wait abt. 50-60 years?.... Mmm, good idea.

 Is there a difference in religious usage and everyday usage? Because I am sure I read that in churches they pronounce Г sometimes differently? 
Also:
благ = [блах] да?

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## Оля

> Also:
> благ = [блах] да?

 I say [блак].
But it can be also [блах], I think.

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## Remyisme

блах is sometimes said by some people, but technically it is a misspelling, also Хосподи is a misspelling but sometimes, said that way, but not by everybody as if it's correct. A lot of times, people talk like this without thinking about it.
But of course блак и Господи is the correct usual normal way.

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## TATY

> блах is sometimes said by some people, but technically it is a misspelling, also Хосподи is a misspelling but sometimes, said that way, but not by everybody as if it's correct. A lot of times, people talk like this without thinking about it.
> But of course блак и Господи is the correct usual normal way.

 We weren't talking about spelling, we were talking about *pronunciation*.

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## Оля

> We weren't talking about spelling, we were talking about *pronunciation*.

 I think Remyisme meant pronunciation.

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## TATY

> Originally Posted by TATY  We weren't talking about spelling, we were talking about *pronunciation*.   I think Remyisme meant pronunciation.

 Ah, I see.

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## Remyisme

> Originally Posted by TATY  We weren't talking about spelling, we were talking about *pronunciation*.   I think Remyisme meant pronunciation.

 Yes, of course! Thank you Olya.

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## Ultracity

> A couple of people in my class can't, or won't pronounce consonant clusters properly and insert some kind of vowel or schwa. Like they'll say въкуско. The problem is it renders вход and выход indistinguishable when they say them. 
> There's one woman who pronounces где, *гъджэй*

 I have the same problem in my class   ::   
Some more that drive me bonkers are:
гъди instead of где
в*е*чера instead of вчер*а*
Pronouncing every "o" as if it's under stress
And the terrible offence to the ears that is pronouncing hello as "здраваджа" or "здаствеча"

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