[General] Russian "х"

[edvalais]

Hello!

I'm trying to apply a phonetic sound to the Russian letter "х". I've looked at various sites and have found "voiceless velar fricative". Is that correct? I don't want to make a blunder. Thanks in advance!

 

[probus]

Many of us English teachers know what a voiceless velar fricative is. But I'll wager that few if any of us know what sound the letter "x" denotes in Russian. We used to have one guy but he hasn't been heard from recently.

Can you give us an example of the Russian pronunciation?

 

[Esredux]

Many would say it's very close to the English [h] but more articulate. The sound quality will also depend on the following vowel sound - it can be hard or soft.

 

[edvalais]

Many of us English teachers know what a voiceless velar fricative is. But I'll wager that few if any of us know what sound the letter "x" denotes in Russian. We used to have one guy but he hasn't been heard from recently.

Can you give us an example of the Russian pronunciation?

Oops, sorry, forgot to add that bit. It's like the "ch" in "loch", or in the German "ich". It occurs in the name CheKHov.

The word I'm interested in is "glooKHar", with the stress on the second syllable. It's a type of grouse.

 

[Roman55]

The symbol for a voiceless velar fricative is ɣ, if that's what the sound really is.

In case it's a voiceless uvular fricative, (as in loch) the symbol for that is χ.

 

[edvalais]

The symbol for a voiceless velar fricative is ɣ, if that's what the sound really is.

In case it's a voiceless uvular fricative, (as in loch) the symbol for that is χ.

Thanks. What's the difference in sound between the two?

 

[probus]

Thanks. What's the difference in sound between the two?

I'll take a flyer on that. I think that ɣ borders on the sibilant, and χ on the guttural. But I am not an academic.

 

[4elsik]

Hello there. I'm neither an academic but being a native speak can provide you with a short video where some variations of the word are said (I should notice the narrator sounds muddy if that's the right word)

0:12-0:13 (Glookharyovo -- as if it was the name of a village), 0:37 (Glookharyom -- who with)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aG9b66RAETQ

 

[Alex S]

The letter "X" in Russian makes a [h] sound. Sometimes they transliterate this letter as "kh" but not "ch". The sound "ch" is for the Russian letter "Ч". Russians do not use "ch" to transliterate their "X" letter otherwise Чехов (Сhekhov) would look like Chechov.

[h] is the closest sound for this letter, I think...