Pointless ь symbol in Russian

[Óttar]

This letter "ь" makes me angry. Whenever I see a Russian word with a ь in it, I have to mentally push it out of the way to read the word. I don't understand the point of this stupid symbol.

Would компьютер sound any different if it were written компютер?

[Sarmatian]

Would компьютер sound any different if it were written компютер?

Yes it's pronounced different. Don't forget there is another even more 'pointless' symbol Ъ and letter Ы you'd never be able to pronounce properly

[Rumata]

компьютер and компютер are pronounced differently indeed.
A more obvious example: try to pronounce конь and кон. These words sounds different and have different meanings as well.

[Root]

We have about 50 letters in the alphabet.. in my native language there are too many "ь" and "ъ", and "ы" which depends on the dialect. Also we have letter "1", don't mistake it with the number one

[Root]

компьютер and компютер are pronounced differently indeed.
A more obvious example: try to pronounce конь and кон. These words sounds different and have different meanings as well.

запомните, дети, слова "булька", "вилька" и "тарелька" пишутся без мягкого знака, а слова "сол", "фасол", "каструлка", "малчык" и "палчык" с мягким знаком

[Rumata]

запомните, дети, слова "булька", "вилька" и "тарелька" пишутся без мягкого знака, а слова "сол", "фасол", "каструлка", "малчык" и "палчык" с мягким знаком

Ха-ха

We have about 50 letters in the alphabet.. in my native language there are too many "ь" and "ъ", and "ы" which depends on the dialect. Also we have letter "1", don't mistake it with the number one

Well, Circassian language(s) also have the letter "I" (palochka). It's not "1" as Internet users usually put it lacking the proper symbol in the layout
And soft and hard signs in Circassian usually modify the preceding consonant in a different way (not like in Russian). I guess in Chechen language it's similar.
Ы is still Ы though.

[Dandelion]

I'm no expert on Russian, but the soft sign is a very important symbol. Not understanding it won't make you able to understand the grammar of the language. Phonology is very important. Not pronouncing palatalised consonants as such is considered erroneous.

I'd suggest to take them seriously. Won't be the toughest hurdle in learning Russian anyway.

[Rumata]

Opps, I see Chechen alphabet has ь after vocals.

[Root]

Opps, I see Chechen alphabet has ь after vocals.

Caucasian languages are very difficult languages in the world, but most people tend to think it's the Chinese


Chechen





Maarulal (Avar)






Lezgi







Lak






Dargin






Kabardian (Circassian)






Adyghe (Circassian)






Abkhaz









pronunciation of letters are very similar to Navajo and other Na-Dene languages

[silentkiller]

НЬ is like Ñ in Spanish, Н is like N. There's a difference. If you are going to talk like ь doesn't exist you are going to sound like some mountain nigger. I guess, Russian alphabet was made by Russians to make foreigners feel scary and think twice before learning Russian. If you go red you never go back.