A consonant is a speech

sound caused by the stoppage

or hindrance of the voiced or
voiceless breath.
 Voicing
Consonant sounds may be voiced or
voiceless. In producing voiced sounds, the
vocal folds are set in vibration by the outgoing
breath stream. In producing voiceless sounds,
the vocal folds do not vibrate.
 Points of
Articulation
tells where the sound is produced
1. Bilabials are produced with the lower lip near or
against the upper lip. [p, b, m]
2. Labio – dentals are produced with the lower lip
near the upper teeth. [f, v]
3. Interdentals are produced with the tongue tip
between the upper and lower teeth. [θ, ð]
4. Alveolars are produced with the tip of the tongue
near the alveolar ridge. [ t, d, s, z, n, l, r]
5. Alveo – palatals are produced with the front of the
tongue near the hard palate. [ ʃ, ʓ, ʧ, ʤ, y/j]
6. Retroflex is produced with the tip of the tongue
going upward and backward towards the hard
palate. [r]
7. Prepalatal is produced with the dorsum or upper
surface of the tongue near the velum.
8. Velars are produced with the back of the tongue
against the velum. [ k, g, ɳ]
9. Glottal is produced with the narrowing of the glottis
so that the air passing through causes friction but not
sufficient vibration to produce voice. [ h, hw]
 MANNER of
Articulation
tells how the sound is produced
1. Stops are produced by closing both oral and nasal
cavities completely and then opening the mouth
with an explosion. [p, b, t, d, k]
2. Nasals are produced by the explosion of the
vocalized breath stream through the noise instead
of through the mouth. [m, n, ɳ]
3. Fricatives are produced by forcing the air in a
continuous stream through a restricted
passageway. [f, v, θ, ð, s, z, ʃ, ʓ, ʧ, ʤ]
4. Affricates are produced when the articulatory
mechanism combines the movements for the stop
and fricative so rapidly that two sounds are heard
as a single unit.[ ʧ, ʤ]
5. Semi – vowels are produced by a smooth but
marked and rapid movement of the articulators
during the production of the sound. [j/y, w]
6. Lateral is produced with the tip of the tongue
pressed lightly against the upper teeth thus
allowing the vocalized breath stream to pass
laterally over both sides of the tongue and out of
the mouth.[l]
/p/ Polite people ask pardon when pushing past.
/b/ Bobby’s big brother bought him a rubber ball.
/m/ Men make marvelous music with machines.
/hw/ Why do you go whistling through the wheat?
/w/ Twenty wagons winded wearily westward.
/f/ On first Friday, she left a fine fresh loaf.
/v/ Vowing a vain vengeance, the villain vanished.
/t/ Waiter, put bitter on the table.
/d/ Do close the door and draw down the shade.
/n/ Neither rain or snow can hinder the plane.
/l/ Yellow leaves lie loose among the ledge.
/r/ Round the rough rock ragged rascal ran.
/s/ Sam and his sisters sold stamps to sailors.
/z/ Please use the other door.
/ʃ/ Shepherds wish their sheep were shorn.
/ʒ/ Treasure the leisure give occasional pleasure.
/t̬ʃ/ The butler chose the shops for the child.
/dʒ/ George and Gerald jumped over the hedge.
/j/ Educating the youth is our duty.
/k/ Cousin Kate Kelly comes from Kentucky.
 ʒ] & [dʒ]
[z]
• voiced consonants
• air flows through the front teeth
• zebra, physical, analyze, zone

[ʒ]
• voiced consonants
• air flows through the side teeth
• measure, confusion, pleasure, garage, usually

[dʒ]
• voiced consonants
• air flows through the side teeth
• one strong puff of air
• judge, jealous, dodge, major, procedure
/g/ The guard dragged the log to the gate.

/ŋ/ Bring all those things needed for the camping.

/ð/ Her brother is her father’s favorite.

/θ/ Thinking about thanking God everyday is good.

what [hwat] why [hwaI] where [hwεr]
which [hwIt] who [hwu] when [hwn]
What’s your name? When were you born?
Where do you live? Which house is yours?
When did your friend arrive?
 /gz/
exile [gza l ] exotic [gz atk]
exit [ gzt] exist [gz st]
exert [gzərt] exemption [gz mp  ən]
exact [gz ækt] executive [gz k jut v]
exuberance [gz ju bərəns] exude [gz ud]
 /ks/
excavate [ak sk ə vet] expect [ks pct]
excel [ks l] expire [ks pa r]
extend [ks tnd] extra [ks tr ə ]
expose [ks poz] extreme [Iks trim]
extreme [Iks trim] extraordinary [Iks tra ɔr d’nrI]
 Fricatives are types of consonant sound
made by forcing air through a narrow gap
in the mouth which produces a hissing
sound. In English, there are nine fricative
sounds, and they can be grouped as voiced
and voiceless.
 Normally, the vowels of diphthongs occupy the central
position in a syllable and therefore constitute the peak of
stress. In unstressed syllable, the vowels weaken and are
often reduced to schwa sound, but still, they remain the
center of the syllables.
For convenience in articulating the syllables, some
consonants however, perform their syllabic functions without
producing the vowel sound in the syllable. In such instances,
the vowel is skipped. They are called syllabics.
 Syllabics occur in unstressed syllables starting
and ending with consonants of identical points of
articulation; and in unstressed syllables containing a
nasal /m/, /n/, or lateral /l/.
The plosive bilabials can combine with /m/, /n/,
and /l/ to produce the syllabics. The phonetic
transcription of the syllabics is indicated by the TNR
font apostrophe / ’/:
Most syllabics are found in the last syllable:
Most syllabics are found in the last syllable:
Some syllabics are also found in the first syllable:
Some syllabics are also found in the first syllable:
These words have syllabics in the middle position:
These words have syllabics in the middle position:
Girl gargoyle, guy
gargoyle. (3x)
Frivolously fanciful
Franny fried fresh
fish furiously. (3x)
A skunk sat on a stump
and thunk the stump
stunk, but the stump
thunk the skunk stunk
 As he gobbled the cakes on his
plate, the greedy ape said as he
ate, the greener green grapes
are, the keener keen apes are to
gobble green grape cakes.
To sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark
dock in a pestilential prison with a
life-long lock, awaiting the sensation
of a short, sharp shock from a cheap
and chippy chopper with a
big, black block.
Through three cheese trees three free
fleas flew. While these fleas flew,
freezy breeze blew. Freezy breeze
made these three trees freeze.
Freezy trees made these trees’ cheese
freeze. That’s what made these three
free fleas sneeze.