Exercises to distinguish г and ґ for English speakers

Understanding Ukrainian Pronunciation: A Beginner's Tutorial: Exercises to distinguish г and ґ for English speakers

For English speakers aiming to distinguish and practice the Ukrainian letters г and ґ, it is important to note these key differences:

The letter г in Ukrainian is pronounced like a voiced [h] sound, similar to the English ‘h’ in “hot” or “happy,” but with vocal cord vibration, making it voiced rather than voiceless. It is pronounced with a more energetic, throaty sound, not found exactly in English but close to an English ‘h’ with voice.¹^{, 2}
The letter ґ represents the voiced velar plosive [g], exactly like the English ‘g’ in “go” or “garden”. It sounds like the hard ‘g’ sound familiar to English speakers.³^{, 4}^{, 5}

Exercises to distinguish and practice:

Pronunciation practice:
- For г: try a voiced ‘h’ by placing the hand on the throat and producing a breathy sound with vocal cord vibration, like a growl or a voiced ‘h’ sound.
- For ґ: pronounce as the English ‘g’ in “go” or “garden.”
Word practice:
- Repeat Ukrainian words with г: газета (newspaper), герой (hero), гітара (guitar), гуляти (to walk) using the voiced ‘h’ sound.
- Repeat words with ґ: ґудзик (button), ґрати (bars), ґрунт (soil), pronounced with the hard ‘g’.
Listening and repetition:
- Use online sound examples and listen carefully to words with each letter, then repeat mimicking the distinct sounds.
- Practice minimal pairs where only the г or ґ sound differs to train ear and mouth, e.g., грати (hard ‘g’) vs гуляти (voiced ‘h’).⁶^{, 1}^{, 3}
Visual and tongue position cues:
- For г, the sound is produced more in the throat with vocal cords vibrating.
- For ґ, the back of the tongue contacts the soft palate to produce a clear ‘g’ sound.

These methods and distinctions will help English speakers effectively distinguish and pronounce Ukrainian г and ґ correctly.²^{, 3}^{, 6}

References