Chapter 2.

  Consonants and vowels 27

Table 2.1.  The Consonants of English

Place of Articulation

Labio­ Alveolo­
Manner of Articulation Bilabial dental Dental Alveolar palatal Palatal Velar Glottal

Stop voiceless p t k ô
voiced b d :
Nasal m n ŋ
Flap n
Fricative voiceless f θ s ∫ h
voiced v ð z Š
Affricate voiceless t∫
voiced dŠ
Approximant lateral l
retroflex r
glide or j w h
semivowel

In the stop series of English, there are paired voiced and voiceless stops produced in
three locations:

1. bilabial: the voiced bilabial stop /b/ (as in band, ember, mob) and the voiceless bilabial
stop /p/ (as in pound, open, coop);
2. alveolar: the voiced alveolar stop /d/ (as in danger, eddy, loud) and the voiceless alveo-
lar stop /t/ (as in tangle, otter, moat); and
3. velar: the voiced velar stop /:/ (as in grass, rugged, rug) and the voiceless velar stop /k/
(as in carrot, election, luck).

As you can see, all stop sounds are represented in the IPA with Roman alphabet symbols.
The bilabial stop is made by bringing the lips together, the alveolar by bringing the tip of
the tongue up against the alveolar ridge, and the velar by bringing the back of the tongue
up against the soft palate. Because the air stream is completely blocked, you cannot actu-
ally hear stops until you open your mouth to release them into a vowel. Released stops are
called “plosives”. Furthermore, the articulation of stops cannot be maintained; their articu-
lation is instantaneous. Practice saying all of these sounds.
The stops share certain features. First, the voiced stops are articulated for a shorter
period than the corresponding voiceless stops. Compare the final voiced stops in
Column 1 with the voiceless stops in Column 2:3

.  Conversely, as we shall see later, vowels that precede voiced consonants are slightly longer than
those that precede voiceless consonants.