Explain the pronunciation rules of the Russian alphabet and provide examples.

The Russian alphabet consists of 33 letters, each with its own unique pronunciation. Understanding the pronunciation rules is essential for accurate and confident Russian language communication. Here is an in-depth explanation of the pronunciation rules of the Russian alphabet, along with examples:

1. Consonants:

* Most Russian consonants have similar sounds to their English counterparts. However, there are a few exceptions:
+ Ж (zh): Pronounced as the "s" sound in "measure." Example: жизнь (zhizn') meaning "life."
+ Ц (ts): Pronounced as the "ts" sound in "cats." Example: цвет (tsvet) meaning "color."
+ Ч (ch): Pronounced as the "ch" sound in "cheese." Example: человек (che-lo-vek) meaning "person."
+ Ш (sh): Pronounced as the "sh" sound in "shoe." Example: школа (shko-la) meaning "school."
+ Щ (shch): Pronounced as a soft "sh" sound. Example: щука (shchuka) meaning "pike" (a type of fish).
2. Vowels:

* Russian vowels have different sounds compared to English vowels:
+ А (a): Pronounced as the "a" sound in "father." Example: мама (ma-ma) meaning "mother."
+ Е (ye): Pronounced as the "ye" sound in "yes." Example: есть (yest') meaning "to have."
+ И (ee): Pronounced as the "ee" sound in "see." Example: книга (knee-ga) meaning "book."
+ О (o): Pronounced as the "o" sound in "on." Example: собака (so-ba-ka) meaning "dog."
+ У (oo): Pronounced as the "oo" sound in "boot." Example: улица (oo-lee-tsa) meaning "street."
+ Ы (ih): Pronounced as a short "i" sound. Example: бык (bik) meaning "bull."
+ Э (eh): Pronounced as the "e" sound in "pet." Example: это (eh-ta) meaning "this."
+ Ю (yoo): Pronounced as the "you" sound in "you." Example: юность (yoo-nost') meaning "youth."
+ Я (ya): Pronounced as the "ya" sound in "yard." Example: яблоко (ya-blo-ko) meaning "apple."
3. Soft and Hard Consonants:

* Russian has a distinction between soft and hard consonant sounds, which affects vowel pronunciation:
+ Soft consonants are followed by the "ee" sound (и) and alter the preceding vowel sound to a palatalized form.
+ Hard consonants are not followed by the "ee" sound and maintain the original vowel sound.
* Example:
+ Soft: кит (kit) meaning "whale" vs. кить (keet') meaning "lace."
+ Hard: пир (peer) meaning "feast" vs. пирь (peer') meaning "sorrel" (a plant).
4. Word Stress:

* Russian is a phonetically stressed language where the stress falls on certain syllables of words.
* The stress can change the vowel sound and affect the meaning of words.
* There are no fixed rules for word stress in Russian, and it must be learned