Verified answer

Dear Gaby,it's a little bit difficult to put those Russian words into English transcription with such a preciseness.I'll try to explain it to you, though my English is still not as good as I would it like to be."T" with this sign after it sounds softer.When you pronounce "T" without this sign, you suddenly, or may be, explosively "detach" your tongue's back from your upper gum.Presence of this sign after "T" makes you do it smoothly,beginning with the tip of your tongue.In the first case explosive flow of air suddenly runs between your tongue and your palate.In the second case this flow appears slowly and softly.Try to imagine it;-)))

Well, the name says it all. It is supposed to give the preceding consonant a softer sound. Sometimes, however, it is just there for historical resons and does not play much of a role.

here is an example of the position of the tongue when pronouncing the letters b and p:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/de/5/5d/Non-...

and this is how the tongue position changes when the b and p are followed by a soft sign:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/de/7/7e/Pala...

For example the words цеп [ʦɛp] („flail(agr.)“) und цепь [ʦɛpʲ] („chain“) only differenciate by the pronunciation of the letter п. Try practicing with those two words as they are short and therefor make it easier to grasp the concept.

Personally, I would try to not too much into it, though.

Hard and Soft Consonants are explained here with the sounds:

http://www.russianforeveryone.com/Rufe/Lessons/Cou...