Consonants

vTASK 1: Summarize the chapters that you have learnt.

The vowel
• The difference between vowels and consonants
> The obstruction to the airflow:
• If it is easy for the air to pass through the mouth, the sound is a vowel. Try
/a:/.
• If it is difficult to do so, the sound is a consonant. Try /s/ and /d/.
• However, there is a problem. Try /h/. Is it a consonant or vowel?
> The distribution of the sound:
• Only a vowel can appear in the middle position of a word (except for /j/).
• Consonants are normally found at the initial and final position of a word.

• We use three criteria to distinguish between vowels:

1. Tongue height: the distance between the tongue and the palate.
2. Backness of the tongue: which part of the tongue is raised the highest?
3. Roundness of the lips
• Tongue height
When tongue close to the roof → close vowel.
• see [si:]
• When tongue far from the roof → open vowel.
• cat [kæt]
• Backness of the tongue
When the front of the tongue is raised → front vowel.
• bee [bi:]; cat [kæt]
• When the back of the tongue is raised → back vowel.
• or [p:]; car [ka:]
• Roundness of the lips
• When two corners are brought towards each other and the lips are pushed
forward
→ rounded vowel.
° [u:]
• When the two corners are moved away (like smiling)
→ unrounded vowel.
• [e]
• When the lips are in the neutral state
→ schwa [a]
The quadrilateral
• Cardinal vowels = a standard system for reference to compare between
vowels
• Monophthongs = long and short vowels (= single sound in Greek)
• Cardinal vowels are like landmarks that help you cruise through the land of
vowels.
• We use the quadrilateral of cardinal vowels to describe the English short and
long vowels:
Diphthong & triphthong
The diphthong
• Diphthongs = a movement or glide from one vowel to another
• The first part is much longer & stronger than the second part.

The triphthong
• Similar to diphthongs, a triphthong is a glide from one vowel to another and
then to a third vowel.

The consonant 1
• Three criteria to describe a consonant:
1. Place of articulation: where an obstruction of the airflow occurs
2. Manner of articulation: the kind of obstruction
3. Phonation (voicing): whether the vocal folds vibrate or not

• Plosive - âm tắc; âm bật

These consonants are produced by completely blocking the airflow and then
releasing it suddenly. Examples include /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/.
• Fortis vs. Lenis - phụ âm mạnh và yếu
Fortis vs. Lenis: This refers to the contrast between consonants based on the
degree of muscular effort in their articulation. Fortis consonants are stronger or
harder, while lenis consonants are weaker or softer.
• Fricative - âm xát
Fricative consonants are produced by forcing air through a narrow channel,
creating friction or turbulence. Examples include /f/, /v/, /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/.
• Glottal fricative - âm xát hầu
This is a type of fricative where the primary articulation involves the glottis,
causing turbulence in the airflow as it passes through. An example in English is
the "h" sound in "hat" or "house".
v TASK 2:
The words that begin with a bilabial consonant:
mat bat pat
The words that begin with a velar consonant:
hat pot gnat
The words that begin with a labiodental consonant:
fat cat that mat chat vat
The words that begin with an alveolar consonant:
zip nip lip sip tip kip
The words that begin with a dental consonant:
pie thy shy thigh guy high
The words that begin with a post-alveolar consonant:
sigh shy tie thigh thy lie
The words that end with a fricative consonant:
race wreath hush bring breathe bang rave rouge ray rose rough
The words that end with a stop (plosive) consonant:
 pill lip lit limb crab dog hide laugh back
The words that end with an affricate consonant:
much back edge ooze
The words that end with a nasal consonant:
rain rang deaf dumb
The words that begin with a lateral consonant:
nut lull ball rob llama one (which)
The words that begin with an approximant consonant:
we you one run sword
The words with possible glottalization:
love mutton water tatoo beer
The words with possible syllabicity:
veteran lantern sullen thicken handful
Exercise 2: Write the phoneme that corresponds to the following phonetic
descriptions.
Give an English word that contains this sound.
E. g.: voiced bilabial nasal [m] mouth

Voiced bilabial plosive [b] - boy

Voiceless alveolar fricative [s] - sorry
Voiceless labiodental fricative [f] - fun
Voiceless post-alveolar affricate [tʃ] - chip
Voiceless post-alveolar fricative [ʃ] - ship
Voiced labiodental fricative [v] - voice
Voiced velar plosive [g] - golf
Exercise 3: Describe the consonants in the word “skinflint”
/s/: Voiceless alveolar fricative.
/k/: Voiceless velar plosive.
/n/: Voiced alveolar nasal.
/f/: Voiceless labiodental fricative.
/l/: Voiced alveolar lateral approximant.
/n/: Voiced alveolar nasal.
/t/: Voiceless alveolar plosive.