Consonants

Consonants

• Produced by blocking the air (obstruction/constriction)

• a popping sound after saying a consonant – the pressure in our body from the constricted air, because the air wants to have the same pressure as the air outside of our body

• Noise – changes are unpredictable

• sykavky – sibilants ( s/š s/z)

• Voiced/voiceless

• Lower amplitudes

Classification of consonants according to the active articulators

• Speech gestures using the lips are called labial articulations (bilabial and labiodental)

• using the tip or blade of the tongue are called coronal articulations (dental, alveolar, retroflex, and post-alveolar)

• using the back of the tongue are called dorsal articulations (velar)

Place of articulation

= the location inside the mouth at which the constriction takes place

Bilabial sounds

• Sounds made by using both (upper and lower) lips

• Represented by the symbols p, b, m

Labiodental sounds

• Formed with upper teeth and the lower lip

• Represented by the symbols f,v

Dental sounds

• Formed with the tongue tip and the upper front teeth

• [θ], usually referred to as “theta” – three, [ð], usually called “eth.” The

• Interdentals = term used for consonants when they are pronounced with the tongue tip between the upper and lower teeth

Alveolar sounds

• Formed with the front part of the tongue on the alveolar ridge

• Represented by T,d,s,z,n

Palatal sounds

• Sounds produced with the tongue and the palate

• The “sh” sound is represented as [ʃ] – shout, the “ch” sound is represented as [ʧ] – child, [j] sound – you, [ʤ], which is the initial sound in words like joke and gem

Velar sounds

• Sounds produced with the back of the tongue against velum

• Sound k – kid, car, g – go, gun, [ŋ], typically referred to as “angma.” – written ng (sing)

Glottal sounds

• One sound in English that is produced without the active use of the tongue and other parts of the mouth, glottis is the space between the vocal folds in the larynx

• H – who

oral, nasal sounds

• oral sounds- soft palate raised to form a velic closure

• nasal sounds- soft palate is lowered

active articulators

• tongue and its parts, lips (active = they are moving)

passive articulators

• hard palate, velum, uvula, teeth, alveolar ridge, upper lip, upper teeth

Manner of articulation

= how the sounds are articulated

• Stops - [p], [b], [t], [d], [k], [ɡ] are all produced by some form of “stopping” of the air stream

• Nasals - when the velum is lowered and the air stream is allowed to flow out through the nose to produce [m], [n] and [ŋ]

• Plosives - Pressure in the mouth will build up and an oral stop will be formed. When the articulators come apart, the airstream will be released in a small burst of sound (oral stop)

• Fricative - The manner of articulation used in producing the set of sounds [f], [v], [θ], [ð], [s], [z], [ʃ], [ʒ] involves almost blocking the air stream and having the air push through the very narrow opening