big iщue

[yers.livejournal.com]

A question to all *learners* of Russian: how are you taught to pronounce щ?

99.9% of Russians pronounce it, simply, as a long soft [sh], without the slightest trace of a [ch] at the end. The [shch] pronounciation isn't even "very formal" - it's practically obsolete. But as far as I know a lot of students are taught the old pronounciation. I guess it's a kind of pedantism per se with all professors who teach a language that's foreign to them.

Did You Know: the only Russian word of non-Slavic origin in which щ occurs is крещендо, from the Italian.

Comments

[langwidere.livejournal.com]

My first year Russian professor who was a native of Moscow taught us to pull back the corners of our mouth so it sounded a little harder, like you were trying to force it out.

I notice that now my tongue pulls back a little bit too. *shrug*