SPECIFICATION OF SOUNDS [G] AND [SH] IN RUSSIAN AND AVAR LANGUAGES

Abstract

The work establishes features of sounds [g] and [sh] in Russian and Avar languages. With all the outward similarity of these sounds in the languages being compared, they reveal significant discrepancies. The emphasis in the Russian speech of the Avars in the pronunciation of combinations with these sounds is due to the articulation-acoustic feature of them in the Russian and Avar languages. To identify the specifics of these sounds in comparable languages, it is necessary to give them an articulation-acoustic and functional characteristic. In Russian, consonant sounds are correlated by hardness – softness; consonants [g] and [sh] in Russian are acoustically hard, although they are not materially opposed to soft. In the Avar language, there is no correlation of hardness and softness in the system of consonantism. Therefore, the consonants [g] and [sh] in Avar are neutral on this basis. The sounds [g] and [sh] in Russian and Avar are also articulate: in Russian, these sounds are the posterior localization of articulation, in Avar, they are the anterior localization of articulation and are subject to accommodation under the influence of neighboring vowels.