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.
In general the pronunciation of Russian words depends especially upon the tonic accent, which is no longer printed in Russian books, except to distinguish some homonymous words, or some grammatical inflections of similar forms; as за́мокъ, a castle, and замо́къ, a lock; read zàhmok and zahmòk.