In a similar pattern to -ль, when soft-sign follows н (-нь), you add a soft 'y' sound. Be careful not to add a definite 'y' sound or you are effectively adding a Й, which is incorrect. The slight 'y' sound is almost said under your breath; it is best described as a hint of 'y'!
Again this is best achieved by the same tongue position previously described. Put the tip of the tongue at the base of the bottom front teeth and use the middle of the tongue to pronounce the -н.
Женя from Websight.ru notes that there is a good English approximation of this tongue position in our word "bang" [ng]. Compare this with the tongue position for "ban". You can use this technique to become familiar with the new tongue position, but just be careful not to say the 'g' when pronouncing Russian -нь words. You do not say день as "dyeng"!
One anomaly, which you can hear below, occurs when -нь follows 'е' (-ень). Not only does the soft-sign change the quality of the 'н', but the 'е' sound changes slightly too. In essence it becomes closer to an English 'e' sound ('eh'), rather than the strong Russian 'е' (pronounced 'ye').
I believe this occurs because of the tongue position. It's difficult to vocalise a strong 'ye' when the tip of the tongue is at the base of the bottom teeth and you are using the middle of your tongue to form the sounds. This position tends to make the whole -ень soft.
Day - [nonsense word]
день - ден
Pronounced:
den' - den
Listen:
(Lena)
Listen:
(Lena)
Life - [nonsense word]
жизнь - жизн
Pronounced:
zhI-zn' - zhI-zn
Listen:
(Lena)
Listen:
(Lena)
Stink - There
вонь - вон
Pronounced:
von' - von
Listen:
(Lena)
Listen:
(Lena)
Money - [nonsense word]
деньги - денги
Pronounced:
dEn'-gi - den-gi
Listen:
(Lena)
Listen:
(Lena)
Guy - [nonsense word]
парень - парен
Pronounced:
pAr-in' - par-in
Listen:
(Lena)
Listen:
(Lena)
Mid-day - [nonsense word]
полдень - полден
Pronounced:
pOl-den' - pol-den
Listen:
(Lena)
Listen:
(Lena)
Stressed?
We probably don't need to remind you again ... when the Russian letter 'o' appears in a word, but is not stressed, then it is pronounced as a Russian 'a'.
If the 'o' is stressed (the syllable which is emphasised), then it is pronounced normally as a Russian 'o'.
