Consonant Sounds

Say ‘mmmm’ – which parts of the vocal tract are involved?

Mainly the lips - it’s a bilabial consonant WHERE = PLACE OF ARTICULATION Pinch your nose – what happens? The sound stops: it’s a nasal (not an oral)

consonant HOW = MANNER OF ARTICULATION Put your fingers in your ears – what do you hear? (Or put them on your larynx – what do you feel?) The vibrations of the vocal cords: it’s a voiced

consonant VOICED or VOICELESS

Using these three variables we can classify any consonant: Place of articulation (where) Manner of articulation (how) Voiced or voiceless In this presentation, voiced sounds are

given red symbols, e.g. /m/

p pie b buy m mute w wood

lips

f fine v vine

upper teeth

lower lip

θ thin ð this

upper teeth

tip of tongue

t tie d die

s Sue z zoo

n night l light

alveolar ridge

tip/blade of tongue

ʃ shoe, pressure Ʒ pleasure

ʧ cheap ʤ jeep r rack

j yes

velum

back of tongue

k curl g girl ŋ rang

Bilabial: p b Alveolar: t d Velar: k g

Labiodental: f v Alveolar: s zPalato-alveolar or post-alveolar: ʃ Ʒ

(Velum is lowered, allowing air to enter the nasal cavity)

(Velum is raised, directing air out through the oral cavity)

Bilabial: m Velar: ŋ Alveolar: n

Affricates (a combination of stop + fricative):

ʧ = voiceless post-alveolar affricate

ʤ = voiced post-alveolar affricate Approximants (articulators approach each

other but do not touch): w r j Lateral (also called lateral approximant; air

flows over sides of tongue): l

Voiced or voiceless Place of articulation Manner of articulation Example 1 : s (sing):= A voiceless, alveolar, (central), (oral)

fricative- A voiceless, alveolar plosive/stop = ? /t/ What is /k/?- A voiceless, velar plosive/stop

The International Phonetic Alphabet: the English consonants

Full IPA with audio illustrations: http://web.uvic.ca/ling/resources/ipa/charts/IPAlab/IPAlab.htm