English consonants

(CONSTRICTION – a narrowing made in the vocal tract, in order to produce a speech sound.

OBSTRUENT – sounds made with a constriction: plosives, fricatives, affricates)

All consonants have certain properties in common, which identify them in contrast to vowels. From a phonetic point of view, they are articulated in one of two ways: either the vocal tract is so constricted (narrowed) that there is audible friction, or the vocal tract is totally blocked. The constriction (closing) may involve the lips, the tongue, or the throat. From a phonological point of view, they are units of the sound system which typically occupy the edges of a syllable, as in DOGS and GLAD. Consonants may appear in sequences (clusters). Some consonants have no vocal cord vibration (VOICELESS consonants as /p t/), they are produced with force and are called FORTIS, or strong. Other consonants involve the vibration of the vocal cords (VOICED consonants as /b d/), they are produced with less force and are termed LENIS, or weak.

Four principal questions for English consonants 1. Place: Bilabial, Labiodental, Dental, Alveolar, Palatal, Velar, or Glottal? 2. Closure (constriction); Stop, Fricative, Affricate, Nasal, Lateral, or Approximant? 3. Larynx:voiceless or voiced? 4. Nose:oral or nasal?

As for the vowels, the empty cells in the table represent possible speech sounds that are not used in English.

Each consonant in the table can be uniquely described by answering the four questions. For example: [m] = voiced nasal bilabial stop; [l] = voiced oral alveolar lateral; [k] = voiceless oral velar stop

PLACE (Place of articulation - where the vocal tract is constricted and the sound is made):

Bilabial, Labiodental, Dental, Alveolar, Palatal, Velar or Glottal?

Bilabial: a consonant made with both lips [m b].

Labiodental: The bottom lip contacts the teeth [f v].

Dental: The tongue is moved toward the upper teeth [θ ð].

Alveolar: The tip of the tongue makes contact with the alveolar ridge (the gum just behind the upper teeth) [t d s z n r].

Palatal: The tip of the tongue is moved toward the hard palate [ʃ ʒ ʧ ʤ j]

Velar: The body of the tongue is moved toward the soft palate [k g ŋ].

Glottal: At the larynx. The vocal cords are moved together, with glottis closed or narrowed [h].

2. CLOSURE (constriction) (Called also ‘Manner of articulation’. Defines how the tongue, lips, etc. restrict the air passage to produce the sound): Stop, Fricative, Affricate, Nasal, Lateral, or Approximant?

The degree of narrowing of the mouth can vary. The following possibilities are recognized:

Stop: The mouth is closed completely. The consonants are called ‘stops’ because the airflow is stopped, or ‘plosives’ because they are released with a burst of sound. [p b t d k g].

Fricative: The mouth is nearly closed, so that the air flows turbulently through the channel and the sound arises from the friction this produces. [f v s z θ ð ʃ ʒ h].

Affricate: A stop followed immediately by a fricative. [ʧ ʤ].

Nasal: The mouth is blocked, the air is allowed to pass through the nose. [m n ŋ].

Lateral: The tip of the tongue contacts the alveolar ridge, and the air escapes from the sides of the tongue. [l]

Approximant: The mouth is fairly open. Approximants do not impede the flow of air. They are counted as consonants chiefly because of how they function in syllables. [w r j ].

3. Larynx: voiceless or voiced

Voiceless: The vocal folds are pulled apart, so that they do not vibrate.

Voiced: The vocal folds are pressed lightly together, so that they do vibrate.

The obstruent sounds (stops, affricates, fricatives) come in voiced and voiceless varieties. The sonorant sounds (nasals and approximants) are normally voiced.

4. Nose: oral or nasal?

The soft palate (or velum) at the back of the throat can be moved like a valve to open or close the opening to the nose. Oral consonants: The velum is closed /b d k g l s z,… /, etc. Nasal consonants: The velum is open /m n ŋ /

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