On this page we sketch out the basics of the phonological systems of our featured languages. Click on the text to hear audio clips.
Phonology is the study of the sound systems of languages.
Some languages have a 3 vowel system and others have a 12 vowel system. Most are between these extremes. Although Russian and English are both Indo-European languages, Russian has several significant phonological differences from English which are difficult for native English speakers to master. Perhaps the most significant differences from English is the existence of both a hard and soft version of nearly all consonant phonemes. A second difference of Russian which is troubling for English speakers is stress.