Consonants

I. Consonants
- Are the sounds in the production of which one articulator moves towards another or two
articulators come together, obstructing the airstream and the airstream can’t get out freely

II. Place of articulation

- Where the obstruction occurs in the vocal tract
- Bilabial sounds: the closure with both lips
o /b/, /p/, /m/
- Labiodental sounds: raising the lower lip and upper teeth
o /f/, /v/
- Interdental (dental) sounds: produced by touching the upper front teeth with the tip of the tounge
o /θ/ /ð/
- Alveolar sounds: formed by raising the tip of the tounge to the alveolar ridge, which lies right
behind the teeth
o /t/; /d/; /n/; /l/; /s/; /z/
- Post-alveolar sound: the blade of the tongue rises against the ridge/the font of the tongue rises
against the hard palate
o /ʃ/ ; /ʒ/; /ʧ/ ;/ʤ/: palato-alveolar sounds
o soft /r/
o Rich, horizon, present
- Palatal sound: the front of the tongue rising towards the hard palate
o /j/ in YES
- Velar sound: the back of the tongue moving forward the velum
o /k/, /g/, /ŋ/
- Glottal sound: /h/
- Labio-velar sound: “w” is articulated with both lips approaching each other and the back of the
tongue moving forward the velum (like an /u/ sound)
- Retroflex: the tip of the tongue is curled back in such a way that only its underside rises against the
hard palate
 o hard /r/
o Car, heart

- Voiceless sounds: open vocal folds

o /f/, /k/, /p/, /s/, /t/, /ʧ/, /θ/, / ʃ/
- Voiced sounds:: nearly close vocal folds
o /v, /g/, /b/, /z/, /d/, /ʤ/, /ð/, /ʒ/
III. Manner of articulation
Types of closure Effect of stricture Sounds
Oral stops/plosives (p, t, k, b, d,
Forms obstruction that
Complete closure g)
blocks airstream
Nasal stops (m, n, ŋ)
Forms narrowing giving Fricatives (f, v, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, θ, ð, h)
Close ríe to friction (the force
approximation that stops something Affricates (ʧ, ʤ)
moving)
Forms no obstruction but Lateral approximants (l)
Open changes shape ò the
approximation vocal tract and affect the (Central) Approximants (j, w, r)
nature of resonance
IV. Obstruents and sonorants
- Obstruents: a general name for oral stops (plosives), fricatives and affricates
- Sonorants: a general name for nasals, approximants and vowels
a. Obstruents
- English voiced obtruents (lenis) are fully voiced when they occur between voiced sounds
(nasals, approximants and vowels)
- E.g. rabbit
- English voiced obstruents (lenis) are partially voiced or fully devoiced when they are
preceded or followed by a pause or a voiceless consonant
- E.g. this boy

 Vowels standing before a fortis consonant tend to be shorter than those standing before a
lenis consonant  pre-fortis clipping
o Pay vs bay
- Aspiration is stronger and more energetic in fortis consonants, especially when fortis
plosives (p,t,k) initial in a stressed syllable
- E.g. Papaya
- When fortis plosives /p/, /t/, /k/ are preceded by /s/, they are unaspirated
- E.g. peak and speak
b. Sonorants