What is a Consonant

­ friction = fricatives

­stopped and then slowly released = affricates

­partial y blocked = a lateral

­blocked in the mouth but air escapes through the nose = nasals

Plosives /

ˈplӘʊsɪvz/

These are consonant speech sounds which are produced by blocking the airstream from
the lungs completely and then suddenly releasing it.

There are a total of six plosives in English. They are /p//b/ /t//d/ /k//g/

The first in each pair is voiceless.

/p//b/ are bilabial plosives

/t//d/ are alveolar plosives

/k//g/ are velar plosives

Aspiration /æspӘˈreɪʃӘn / is a little puff of air which fol ows a speech sound.

Tle voiceless plosives are aspirated in initial position /p/ /t/ /k/

Fricatives

/

ˈfrɪkӘtɪvz/

These are speech sounds which are produced by al owing the airstream from the lungs to
escape with friction. This is caused by bringing two articulators (eg the upper teeth and
lower lip), close together but not so close enough to stop the airstream completely.

There are nine fricatives in English /f/ /v/ /θ//ð/ /s//z/ /ʃ//ʒ/ /h/

The first in each pair, and /h/, are voiceless.

/f/ /v/ are labiodental fricatives

/θ//ð/ are dental fricatives

/s//z/ are alveolar fricatives

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FO1BE WS 16/17 (NSK): What is a Consonant?

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/ʃ//ʒ/ are palato­alveolar fricatives

/h/ is a glottal fricative

Affricates /ˈæ

frɪkӘts/

These are consonant sounds which are produced by stopping the airstream from the lungs,
and then slowly releasing it with friction. The first part is similar to a plosive, the second part
is similar to a fricative. There are two affricates in English: /ʧ/ /ʤ/

Lateral /ˈlætӘ

rӘl/

This is a speech sound which is produced by partial y blocking the airstream from the lungs.
The tongue touches the alveolar ridge. The air can escape on both sides of the blockage.
There is one lateral in English /l/ which is a voiced alveolar lateral.

Nasals /ˈneɪzӘlz/

Nasals are speech sounds which are produced by stopping the airstream from the lungs at
some place in the mouth, for example by closing the lips. The air escapes through the nose.
The three English nasals are /m//n/ /ŋ/. They are al  voiced.

Approximants /ӘˈprɒksɪmӘnts/

The airstream is al owed to pass from the lungs through the mouth with only very slight
friction. There are three such sounds in English. /w/ /r/ /j/ These are voiced.

Last modified: Thursday, 27 September 2012, 1:44 PM