Consonant Sounds Characteristics

Consonant Sounds Characteristics

1. Place of Articulation

   • There are two central components playing together to form consonant sounds, the place of articulation and articulators.
     • Articulation
       • There are seven places of articulation used to distinguish consonant sounds.
         • Bilabial
           • Labiodental
             • Interdental
               • Alveolar
                 • Alveo-Palatal
                   • Velar
                     • Glottal
                       • Produced by air passing from the windpipe through the vocal cords: /h/
                         • Ex: hi.
                     • Produced with the tongue body on or near the soft palate: /g, k, ŋ/
                       • Ex: go, kite.
                   • Produced by the body of the tongue touching the roof of the mouth in the area between the alveolar and the palate: /ʃ, ʒ, ʧ, ʤ/
                     • Ex: shin, genre, chef.
                 • Produced with the tongue tip on or near the tooth ridge: /t, d, s, z, n, l/
                   • Ex: to, do, zoo, new.
               • Produced with the tongue tip on or near the inner surface of the upper teeth: / θ/, ð/
                 • Ex: thick and then.
             • Produced with the upper teeth and inner lower lip: /f, v/
               • Ex: feel and veal.
           • Produced with the two lips: /b, p, m, w/
             • Ex: buy, pie, my.
       • Articulators
         • The ‘articulators’ are the instruments used to make a sound once placed on specific locations of the mouth. For example, the two lips.
           • Eric M. Gálvez B.

2. Manner of Articulation

   • The mode of articulation refers to how the sound is produced by blocking the airstream. Some consonant sounds involve the total obstruction of the airstream.
     • for example, the plosive /b/ and /p/ sounds.
   • Modes or manner of Articulation
     • Stops or Plosives: The airstream is stopped or blocked completely prior to release: /p, b, t, d, k, g/
       • Fricative: Air is forced through a narrow passageway in the mouth or throat creating continuous friction: /f, v, θ, ð, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, h/
         • Affricative: The sound begins as a plosive or a stop and is then released as a fricative: /tʃ/, /dʒ/
           • Nasal: Continuous air is released through the nasal cavity while the speech organs assume a stop-like position: /m, n, ŋ/.
             • Liquids: Basically this is a consonant sound that is made when the tongue is obstructing the middle of your mouth so that air can only come out from the sides as in the sounds /l, r/
               • Semi-vowels (or glides): These sounds are known as semi-vowels because they barely obstruct the airflow in a type of gliding motion /w, y/.

3. Voicing

   • Some sounds are made using our voices, and some are not. Vowels are always voiced, but not all consonants are.
     • • These consonants are voiced: b, d, g, z, m, n, ng, l, r, w, y, th.
       • • These are voiceless, or unvoiced: p, t, s, k, h, th, sh.

4. Aspiration

   • Some plosive consonants (e.g. “p”) are aspirated. That means that there is a little puff of air after the sound.
     • In English the aspiration is not significant. There are no minimal pairs where it makes a difference in meaning, and we tend to aspirate at the beginning of words but not in the middle or end.

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