Manner of Articulation

Manner of Articulation

• The manner of articulation is the way the airstream is affected as it flows from the lungs and out of the mouth and nose.

Manner of Articulation

Stop / Plosives

Fricatives

Affricates

Glides

Liquids

Rhotic

Alveolar Continuant

Stop / Plosives• Produced by completely stopping the air flow.

– Articulators – complete closure, airstream cannot escape through the mouth.

– Can be oral (velum raised) or nasal (velum lowered).

• 3 stages in the production:-

Closing stage

• The two articulators move towards each other.

Closure stage

• The two articulators are in contact with each other.

Release stage

• The two articulators move away from each other.

Stop (cont.)

• Oral Stop (velum raised)– Nasal tract is blocked off, then

airstream will be completely obstructed.

– 3 pairs of oral stop:-

Voiceless Voiced

Bilabial [p] [b]

Alveolar [t] [d]

Velar [k] [g]

Stop (cont.)

• Nasal stop (velum lowered)– Air is stopped in the oral cavity

but velum is down so that air can go through the nose

– Voiced only:-

Voiced

Bilabial [m]

Alveolar [n]

Velar [ɳ]

Stop (cont.)• Glottal stop: is voiceless, vocal folds are

completely closed, can’t vibrate when they are in contact /complete blockage. [ʔ]

• Normally found at the beginning of English words that start with a vowel in spelling.

• Example: Flee east (glottal stop at the beginning of east)

Fricatives• Sounds which are produced with this kind

of constriction entail a bringing together of the two articulators to the point where the airflow is not quite fully blocked: enough of a gap remains for air to escape but the articulators are so close together that friction is created as the air escape

• When they are produced, air escapes through a small passage and make a hissing sound

Fricatives (cont.)

Labiodental Dental Alveolar Post alveolar Glottal

Fortis (voiceless) [f] [θ] [s] [ʃ] [h]

Lenis (voiced) [v] [δ] [z] [ʒ] [h]

Fricatives (cont.)Fricatives according to their place of articulation:-• [f],[v] (Labiodental) : fan, van, safer, saver, half, halve

– Lower lip is in contact with the upper teeth. Fricative is never very strong and is scarcely audible

• [θ], [δ], (dental) : thumb, thus, father, breathe– The tongue is placed between the teeth, normally tongue is

placed behind the teeth with the tip touching the inside of the upper teeth. The air escapes through the gaps between the tongue and the teeth. The fricative noise is weak

• [s], [z] (alveolar): sip, zip, facing, phasing, rice, rise– Same place of articulation as t n d. the air escapes through

a narrow passage along the center of the tongue and the sound produced is comparatively intense

Fricatives (cont.)Fricatives according to their place of articulation (cont.):-• [ʃ ] , [ʒ] ( post-alveolar): ship, Russia, measure, Irish,

garage– The tongue is in contact with an area slightly further

back than that for [s],[ z]. if you make [ʃ ] , you should be able to feel your tongue move backwards.

– The air escapes through a passage along the center of the tongue, as in [s] and [ʃ ] , but the passage is a little wider

• [h] (glottal): head, ahead, playhouse– The narrowing that produces the friction noise is

between the vocal folds

Affricates• Affricates are consonant sounds that begin by

fully stopping the air from leaving the vocal tract, then releasing it through a constricted opening. English has two affricate sounds, ’ch’ sound and ’j’ sound, just like "church" and "judge".

[t∫] - voiceless post - alveolar affricate [dʒ] - voiced post - alveolar affricate

Affricates (cont.)[t∫] and [dʒ]

Affricates (cont.)• [t∫] and [dʒ] are affricate sounds, which you

produce by blocking off the breath - stream between the tongue and gum ridge, for a stop and a fricative.

• The [t∫] is a blend combined of [t] and [∫]: it starts out as a [t] stop and then the tongue moves into the position for [∫].

• Example: cheese

Affricates (cont.)Vowel Lengthening• The ch sound is an unvoiced consonant (the vocal cords

do not vibrate during its pronunciation) and the j sound is a voiced consonant (the vocal cords do vibrate during its pronunciation).

• The vowel sound before an unvoiced consonant sound has a shorter duration than the vowel sound before its voiced counterpart.

• This change in vowel duration subtly helps listeners of English to determine which sound was spoken.

• Some dictionaries will use a colon-like symbol of stacked triangles (ː) to note a vowel with increased duration.

Affricates (cont.)• The [dʒ] is a blend of [d] and [ʒ]: it starts out

as a [d] and then the tongue moves into the usual position for [ʒ].

• Example: joy

Vowel length comparison

• Unvoiced affricate: etch /ɛʧ , rich/rɪʧ/• Voiced affricate: edge /ɛːʤ/ , ridge/rɪːʤ/

Approximant• Approximant: an articulation in which

one articulator is close to another, but without the vocal tract being narrowed to such an extent that a turbulent airstream is produced.

• The articulators approximate a frictional closeness, but no actual friction occurs.

Approximant (cont.)Approximant

Glides[j] , [w]

Semivowels

Liquids[l] , [r]

Lateral approximant: [l]

Central approximant :Alveolar continuant [ɹ]

Rhotic: Alveolar trill [r]Alveolar tap [ɾ]

Approximant (cont.)Glides/ Semivowels [w], [j]• Articulatorily, similar to vowel : there are no contacts

between articulators• Phonologically, behave like consonant as does not

syllable nuclei at the edge of syllable.• After articulating, the tongue quickly into place for

pronouncing the next vowel. Hence the name glides.• The articulation of each of glides varies lightly

depending on the articulation of the following vowel: [wi] vs [ˈwɔːtə]

• [w]: labio-velar: two places of articulation- lips and the back of the tongue and velum [wʌn]

• [j]: palatals [jes]

Approximant (cont.)Liquids Unhindered airflows compared to stops, affricates and fricatives but unlike vowels and glides, are produced with open approximation.• LATERAL APPROXIMANT: no contact between active (tongue)

and passive articulator (roof of a mouth).no contact for at least one side of the tongue. Air is free to flow along both sides of the mouth. [l]

• CENTRAL APPROXIMANT: tongue blade raised towards the alveolar ridge and the sides of the tongue in contact with the molars. [ɹ]

• RHOTIC: – Alveolar trill: tongue blade vibrates repeatedly against the

alveolar ridge. (Scottish accent) [r]– Alveolar tap: a single tap against the tongue blades and the

alveolar ridge. (American accent) [ɾ] (betty, witty, riders)

Approximant (cont.)Liquids • Unhindered airflows compared to stops, affricates and fricatives

but unlike vowels and glides, are produced with open approximation.

• LATERAL APPROXIMANT: no contact between active (tongue) and passive articulator (roof of a mouth).no contact for at least one side of the tongue. Air is free to flow along both sides of the mouth. [l]

• CENTRAL APPROXIMANT: tongue blade raised towards the alveolar ridge and the sides of the tongue in contact with the molars. [ɹ]

• RHOTIC:-– Alveolar trill: tongue blade vibrates repeatedly against the

alveolar ridge. (Scottish accent) [r]– Alveolar tap: a single tap against the tongue blades and the

alveolar ridge. (American accent) [ɾ] (betty, witty, riders)

Exercises

Which of the following end with a stop?

Pill Lip Lit

Graph Crab Dog

Hide Laugh Back

Transcribe the following word phonemically:-

1. These2. Measure

Which of the following end with an affricate?

Much Back

Edge Ooze

Please identify types of approximant for the following:-