How to pronounce `щ`?

Question

I've heard щ to be pronounced in Ukrainian exactly like it pronounced in modern standard Russian (as a single phoneme) or like /ʃt͡ʃ/ (shch) - this screenshot is some kind of evidence that it also can be pronounced like /ʃt/

My question would be - is there a single acceptable form of pronouncing щ. If yes, which one? If no - how acceptable are alternatives (like acceptable in colloquial speech, not acceptable at all etc.)

Answer 1

No, a commercial software can't serve an evidence of pronunciation.
Especially, if it is about toponyms, which are usually transliterated, not transcribed (see the difference between the two).

In Standard Ukrainian, «щ» is pronounced as a consonant cluster, unlike the standard Russian:

• UA: [ʃ t͡ʃ]
• RU: [ɕː]

In Eastern Ukraine, where many people speak surzhyk sociolect, if it easy to hear the [ɕː] instead. Assuming the number of speakers, someone may consider it a dialect already.

More phonetic differences are listed here.

And no, «щ» is not the same thing as «шт» [ʃt] (however, there is some historic relation). There's even a pair of words to see the difference:

• щука — a pike fish
• штука — a thing

As usual, adding dialectal words/pronunciation may add some emotional flavor to one's speech. It can be a double-edged weapon however, so a language learner should probably strive to keep the Standard language unless they master the language well enough.

Answer 2

Here you can listen to probably a perfect pronunciation by Mykola Pohribnyi.

Words in "repeat after me" section:

горщок

гуща

дещо

дощ

дощечка

ліщина

лящати

нащадки

піщаний

прищ

прощатися

пуща

товща

урочище

хрущ

щавель

щастя

щедрий

щирий

що

щоб

щука

щур

ящик

Answer 3

Not answer, but just additional information about letter щ in variation writing.

As we already know, the letter can sound like:

• ʃt in South Slovs language and is writed as шт, but only Bulgars has as 1 letter;
• ʃ-tʃ in North, exept Muscowian, and is writed as шч, but only Ukrainian has as 1 letter; but some Ukrainian old spellings ^ukr also had щ as шч or сч which still is used in Muscowian; one of spellings and known as drahomaniwka is on 20 ₴, look at image bellow.
• ɕ(:) in Muscowian.

It’s a very strange letter, which no one need, even for Muscowian:

• stop a rule ^msc about to write жы, шы as жи, ши: шына, шит, ши, шастать, шявель…;
• write сч as шь: шястье.

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Не відповідь, а просто додаткові відомості про щ в способах написаннях.

Як вже знаємо, буква звучить як:

• ʃt в південих слов’янах і пишуть шт, окрім болґарів, де 1 буква;
• ʃ-tʃ в північних, окрім московської, і пишуть шч, лиш українська має як 1 букву; але деякі українські старі правописи також мали щ як шч or сч, котрого московська досі вживає; один з таких правописів, знаний як драгоманівка, надрукований на 20 ₴;
• ɕ(:) in Muscowian.

Вельми дивна буква, котрої ніхто не потрeбує, навіть московська:

• відмінити правило ^мск про напису жы, шы як жи, ши: шына, шит, ши, шастать, шявель…;
• писати сч відповідно шь: шястье.

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Земле, моја всеплодьучаја мати!
Сили, шчо в твојіј движель глубині,
Крапльу, шчоб в боју сміліјше стојати,
дај i міні!