Consonants

COMMENTS ON CONSONANT PHONEMES

The two problems faced in identifying consonant phonemes concern a) spelling, b) Czech phonology.

Some notes to help you. Slash marks // are used for phonemes. Letters are bold and italicised.

1. /p/ a)Only p, unless it is silent: psychology, cupboard. Never ph. Never b; rib is /rIb/ .

2. /b/ Only b, unless it is silent thumb, debt, limb.

3. /t/ Every t, unless it is silent listen, fasten. Progressive assimilation of voice in –ed past

simple tense. After voiceless consonants /p/, /k/, /f/,/s/,/ʃ/, /ʧ/,/θ/ -ed becomes /t/

Example: final d in the following past forms is /t/: stopped, cooked, laughed, kissed, wished watched, bathed. Note: bath /bɑːθ/, means to wash in a bath - he bathed the baby = /bɑːθt/. Bathe /beIđ/ means to swim - he bathed in the sea = /beIđd/

4. /d/ Every d, unless silent - Windsor, handsome, sandwich. Never in simple past –ed after voiceless consonants (see above) except /t/ eg wanted, waited – these end in /tId/

5. /k/ Every k, unless silent: knee, know. Some c, curse, case; but, c can be /s/ cease, ceiling.

6. /g/ Every g, unless silent: gnome, gnat, daughter. Never in final -ng ring /rIŋ/, sing, bang; but in -nger finger /fIŋgƏ/, anger, longer, stronger.

7. /f/ Never v; Sometimes gh: laugh, cough, enough; ph: physics, graph, atmosphere.

8. /v/ Every v: love, live, calves. Exception: of is /v/. Never w.

9. /θ/ Voiceless th. In lexical words: think, thank, thought, thumb, throne, three, moth.

10. /đ/ Voiced th. In non-lexical words: this, there, these those, that, them, their. Voiced when followed by e: the, other, there, bathe, clothe, breathe, mouthe, father, mother.

11. /s/ Voiceless s, unless silent: island, debris. Sometimes c: lice, peace. Plural and 3rd person singular of verb after voiceless consonants /p/, /k/, /f/,/θ/ - stops, cooks, stops, laughs, baths. Double ss: miss, class, loss. Most –oose: goose, moose, loose, papoose. Exception choose /z/. –us bus, octopus, -ouse, mouse, spouse, house but to house /z/

12. /z/ Every z, buzz. Never c. All plurals and 3rd person singular of verb unless the original word ends in /p/, /k/, /f/,/θ/. All these plurals: ribs, bags, beds, loves, clothes, washes /Iz/, watches /Iz/, badges /Iz/, lambs, rings, pools, cars, /kɑːz/, knows /nƏʊz/, joys /ʤɔɪz /.

13. /ʃ/ Letters sh and ti in patience, solution, Medial –ss- mission, nuclear fission.

14. /ʒ/ Not common. Medial position: television, treasure. In a few French words: rouge, beige.

15. /ʧ/ Often ch. chair, watch; but ch is /ʃ/ in French loan words: chef, chauffeur, machine.

16. /ʤ/ Affricate. j: jam, jeep; dg: bridge, edge; ge: genes, genius, generation, German.

17. /h/ Every h, unless silent: why, exhaust, heir, exhibit, vehicle, honour. Not ch, sh or th

18. /m/ Every m.

19. /n/ Most n, unless silent solemn, autumn. Not in final –ng bang

20. /ŋ/ ng /ŋ/ and nk /ŋk/

21. /l/ Every l unless silent: calm, half, folk, chalk.

22. /r/ r pronounced before vowels. Linking r if word beginnings with vowel: far away