↑Russian distinguishes soft (palatalized) and hard (unpalatalized or plain) consonants. Soft consonants, denoted by a superscript j, ⟨ʲ⟩, are pronounced with the body of the tongue raised toward the hard palate, in a manner similar to the articulation of the y sound in yes. /j/. /ɕː/, /tɕ/, /ʑː/ are always considered soft.
↑ ୨.୦୨.୧୨.୨୨.୩୨.୪Consonants in consonant clusters are assimilated in voicing if the final consonant in the sequence is an obstruent. All consonants become voiceless if the final consonant is voiceless, or voiced if the final consonant is voiced (Halle 1959:31).
↑ ୩.୦୩.୧୩.୨୩.୩୩.୪୩.୫୩.୬୩.୭The voiced obstruents /b,bʲ,d,dʲ,ɡ,v,vʲ,z,zʲ,ʐ,ʑː/ are devoiced word-finally unless the next word begins with a voiced obstruent (Halle 1959:22).
↑ ୪.୦୪.୧୪.୨⟨г⟩ is usually pronounced [ɣ] or [x] in some religious words and colloquial derivatives from them, such as Господи! and Бог, and in the interjections ага, ого. /ɡ/ devoices and lenites to [x] before voiceless obstruents (dissimilation) in the word roots -мягк- or -мягч-, -легк- or -легч-, -тягч-, and also in the old-fashioned pronunciation of -ногт-, -когт-, кто.
↑The soft vowel letters ⟨е, ю, я⟩ represent /jejuja/ when initial, or after other vowels or a yer. When these vowels are unstressed, the /j/ may be deleted.
↑⟨щ⟩ is sometimes pronounced as [ɕː] or [ɕɕ], and sometimes as [ɕtɕ], but no speakers contrast the two pronunciations. This generally includes the other spellings of the sound, but the word считывать sometimes has [ɕtɕ] because of the morpheme boundary between the ⟨с-⟩ and the ⟨ч⟩.
↑Intervocalic ⟨г⟩ represents /v/ in certain words and affixes.
↑In many dialects, the phoneme /ʑː/ is replaced with /ʐ/.
↑ ୧୦.୦୧୦.୧୧୦.୨୧୦.୩୧୦.୪Vowels are fronted in the context of palatalized consonants: /a/ and /u/ become [æ] and [ʉ], respectively, between palatalized consonants; /e/ is realized as [e]before palatalized consonants; and /o/ becomes [ɵ]after palatalized consonants.
↑[ɑ] appears between a hard consonant (or a pause) and /l/.
