Е has three different sounds: 1. In Russian words, and in all syllables in which it is preceded by a vowel, _е_ has a sound like that of _yai_, when the _y_ is nearly sunk in the pronunciation, as in ему́, _to him_; read _yaimoò_. 2. At the beginning of words from foreign languages, and at the middle and end of a word when preceded by a consonant, it has the sound of _e_ in _met_, as in берегу́, _I guard_; read _bayregoò_. 3. In the termination екъ of diminutives, in all the characteristic inflections of cases in the nouns, and of persons in the verbs, in fact, in almost all words, this letter when accented has a sound nearly like that of short _yo_ or _o_; as in куле́къ, _a little sack_; веде́шь, _thou leadest_; медъ, _the honey_; read _koolyòk_, _vaidyòsh_, _myod_. This sound _yo_ or _o_ of the letter _е_ is commonly distinguished by a diæresis over the vowel, as кулёкъ, ведёшь, мёлъ. Л has a guttural sound nearly analogous to the English _w_. Писарлъ, _he wrote_, read _pisaw_ or _pisou_. Ль has a soft sound, as in the French word _bouillon_. Х corresponds to the German ~ch~. It is a strong aspiration that nearly resembles the sound _k_ when pronounced hastily from the throat; as in хвала́, _the praise_; read _khvahlàh_. Щ unites the sound of ш and ч, as in щитъ, _the shield_; read _shtcheet_. Ъ. This letter has no sound; the preceding consonant, the last letter of the word, ought to be pronounced a little hollow, as in боо́ъ, _a bean_; read _bop_. Ы has a sound nearly like _we_ when the _w_ is pronounced rapidly; as in бу́квьшы, _the letters_, read _boòkwe_. It has this sound after the consonants б, в, м, п, ф; but after another consonant it is a thick _e_, as in сынъ, _the son_; read _seen_. Ь. This letter at the end of a word has a sound nearly like that of the very short _e_. When followed by a consonant in the middle of a word it is mute, but is pronounced when followed by a vowel; as in знатъ, _to know_; read _znaht_. Ѣ at the beginning of a word has the sound of _yai_; as in Ѣсть, _to eat_; read _yaist_. In the middle of a word it is pronounced _yai_, the sound of _y_ being almost sunk; as in нѣтъ, _no_; read _nyaitt_. At the end of a word it is sounded _ay_. Я when accented has the sound of the diphthong _yah_; as in я́ма, _a pit_; read _yàhmah_. But if not accented it is pronounced _yai_, as in ядро́, _a ball_; read _yaidrò_. The pronoun ея́, _of her_, is pronounced _yaiyò_, and the syllable ся of pronominal verbs is pronounced _sah_, as in стара́ться, _to exert one’s self_; read _stahràhtsah_. О is pronounced as English _o_; but if unaccented it takes the sound of _ah_, as in ко́локолъ, _a bell_; колокола́, _bells_; read _kòlahkall_, _kahlakahlà_. Й is a short _e_, pronounced very rapidly, as in дай, _give_; read _dàï_ or _die_, giving utterance to a short _e_ after the vowel.