How оканье and аканье affect pronunciation
A Deep Dive into Russian Dialects and Accents: How оканье and аканье affect pronunciation
Оканье and аканье are two different patterns of vowel pronunciation in unstressed syllables in Russian, affecting how unstressed “o” and “a” are pronounced.
Акание (Akanye)
- Акание is the phenomenon in Russian where unstressed “o” and “a” tend to merge and be pronounced very similarly, usually as a sound close to [ɐ] (a reduced vowel near “a”) or schwa [ə].
- This means that after hard (non-palatalized) consonants, unstressed “o” and “a” are not clearly distinguished in pronunciation.
- For example, the word “потолок” (ceiling) is pronounced [pətɐˈɫok], where the first unstressed “o” is reduced to [ɐ] or [ə].
- Акание is common in most Russian dialects and the standard pronunciation, creating a lack of distinction between unstressed /a/ and /o/ sounds in speech. 1, 2, 3
Оканье (Okanye)
- Оканье is the absence of аканье, where unstressed “o” is pronounced more distinctly and does not merge with “a”.
- This occurs primarily in some northern Russian dialects, where unstressed “o” is pronounced closer to [o] even if it is unstressed, unlike аканье dialects.
- Speakers withokane tend to clearly distinguish unstressed “o” and “a” sounds in their pronunciation, preserving the “o” sound more faithfully.
- This leads to a clearer differentiation of unstressed vowels compared to аканье speakers. 2, 1
Summary of Effects
| Feature | Акание (Akanye) | Оканье (Okanye) |
|---|---|---|
| Unstressed “o” & “a” | Merge and sound similar (often as [ɐ] or [ə]) | “o” pronounced distinctly as [o], no merge |
| Dialect region | Most of Russia, including Standard Russian | Some northern Russian dialects |
| Example | ”потолок” pronounced [pətɐˈɫok] | “потолок” with clearly pronounced [o] in unstressed syllables |
In essence, аканье leads to the neutralization of unstressed vowels “o” and “a,” making them sound alike, while оканье preserves the distinction of these vowels in unstressed positions.