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ENGLISH CONSONANT SOUNDS

POINT AND MANNER OF ARTICULATION

Consonant sounds:
Sounds which are made by a closure or narrowing of the vocal tract so that the air flow is
completely blocked, or so restricted that audible friction is produced.

POINT OF ARTICULATION:
Reveals which articulators take part in the production of a sound. When the active
articulator is the tongue, the sound receives the name of the passive articulator.
Bilabial: Made with both lips / p, b, m, w /
Labio-dental: The lower lip articulates with the upper teeth / f, v /
Dental: The tip or blade of the tongue articulates with the upper teeth / , /
Alveolar: The blade, or the tip and blade of the tongue articulate with the
alveolar ridge / t, d, n, l, s, z /
Retroflex: The tip of the tongue curls back to articulate with the part of the
palate immediately behind the alveolar ridge, but there is no contact between the
organs / r /
Alveo-palatal: The blade or the tip and blade of the tongue articulate with the
back part of the alveolar ridge, and there is at the same time, a raising of the front
of the tongue toward the hard palate / , , , /
Palatal: The front of the tongue articulates with the palate / j /
Velar: The back of the tongue articulates with the soft palate or velum / k, g, n /
Glottal: The vocal cords narrow the glottis causing friction but not vibration / h /

MANNER OF ARTICULATION:
Describes the type of closure made by the articulators and the way in which the closure is
released
Stop: Produced with a complete closure either in the oral cavity or at the glottis
behind which the air pressure builds up and can be released explosively
/ p, b, t, d, k, g /
Fricative: Produced by forcing the air stream through a passage which has been so
narrowed that audible friction results / f, v, , , s, z, , , h /
Affricate: Produced with a complete closure at some point in the mouth behind
which the air pressure builds up. The separation of the organs is sufficiently slow to
produce audible friction / , /
Lateral: Formed by an obstruction at a point along the center of the vocal tract,
the air being allowed to escape on one or both sides of the contact / l /
Nasal: The velum is lowered closing the entrance to the oral cavity and the air
escapes through the nose / m, n, /
Approximant: There is an approach of one articulator toward another, but
without the tract being narrowed to such an extent that audible friction is
produced / r, j, w /

VOICING:
Whether or not the vocal cords vibrate when producing a sound (Check by putting your
fingers on your throat or by covering your ears as you alternate between voiced and voiceless
pairs as / f, v / or / s, z / )

Voiced: Vocal cords vibrate. When the vocal cords are brought close together, but
not tightly closed, air passing between them causes them to vibrate / b, m, w, j, v,
, d, z, l, n, r, , , g, /
Voiceless: Vocal cords do not vibrate. When the vocal cords are pulled apart, air
passes directly through the glottis without much interference
/ p, f, , t, s, , , k, h /

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