In a stressed syllable every vowel is clear. In an unstressed syllable many vowels become weaker. The most important change is о: without stress it sounds like а. So вода́ is written with о but said “vadá”, and молоко́ is said “malakó”. Before the stress the sound is a short, clear а; after the stress it is a very weak, short sound, like the a in “about”. Unstressed е and я are also weaker: they sound like a short и, so язы́к is said “yizýk”. The spelling never changes: you still write the о, even though you say а.
Written
Said like
Meaning
вода́
vadá
water
молоко́
malakó
milk
голова́
galavá
head
хорошо́
kharashó
good, well
Москва́
maskvá
Moscow
Worked examples
Listen to the first о in each word: you hear a, not o.
Unstressed е and я sound like a short и. Press Listen.
When о is stressed, it stays a clear o. Compare the two о in окно́.
Class activity
Say it twice. Take five words from this lesson. Say each one the way it is written (o-o-o), then the way Russians say it (a-a-ó). Notice how the first way sounds foreign. Practise with молоко́, вода́ and голова́ until the weak а comes easily.
Practice
1
Press Listen. The first letter of this word is с, then о. Do you hear o or a?
a: соба́ка is said “sabáka”, “dog”.
2
How is the first о in молоко́ said?
Like a: malakó.
3
Is the о in дом said o or a? Why?
o: the word has one vowel and it is stressed.
4
The picture means “good!”. Write the word and say how it sounds.
