4.1 Let’s learn the vowels!
Audio 25 transcript
There are 6 vowels in Ukrainian: а, о, у, е, і, и.
Let’s look at the letters more closely
The Ukrainian letter y looks like the lower-case English letter y, but it is a false friend. In Ukrainian it indicates sound oo. Now listen to the sound again. It is the same sound as in the English word ‘book.’ The last of the vowels looks like a mirror reflection of upper-case N in English, but in fact it is a vowel. Listen to this sound again and repeat after me: и and once again и. There is no exact equivalent in English, but it is close to ‘i’ in ‘sit.’
Activity 9: Listen and repeat
Listen and repeat to train your face muscles for the pronunciation. Read the table at the same time. You will hear the sounds read in columns.
Listen and repeat to train your face muscles for the pronunciation. Read the table at the same time. You will hear the sounds read in columns.
Audio 27 transcript
| To practise a | To practise o | To practise y | To practise e | To practise i | To practise и |
| а – о – а | о – а – о | у – а – у | е – а – е | і – а – і | и – а – и |
| а – у – а | о – у – о | у – о – а | е – о – е | і – о – і | и – о – и |
| а – е – а | о – е – о | у – е – у | е – у – е | і – у – і | и – у – и |
| а – і – а | о – і – о | у – і – у | е – і – е | і – е – і | и – е – и |
| а – и – а | о – и – о | у – и – у | е– и – е | і – и – і | и – і – и |
Answer
You can hear the pronunciation on the recording and there is a written version in the transcript.
Activity 10: Can you hear the difference?
Listen attentively. Can you hear the difference? Repeat after me.
Audio 28 transcript
Listen attentively. Can you hear the difference? Repeat after me.
Ти – тут, ви – звуть. Ty – tut, vy – zvut.
Well done if you spotted the difference between у and и!
Answer
You can hear the pronunciation on the recording and there is a written version in the transcript.
OpenLearn - Introduction to Ukrainian language and culture
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