7/27/2019 The Articulation of Consonants 1218656338138476 8

1/9

The articulation of

consonants

7/27/2019 The Articulation of Consonants 1218656338138476 8

2/9

In order to articulate a consonant we

should consider the following: In the human larynx there are two flaps of

elastic, connective tissue know as vocal cords, whichcan open and closewhich produce the sound

Consonants can be voicedor unvoiced(voiceless)i.e. a sound is voiced when the vocal cords areopen and unvoiced when the vocal cords are

close and the air which passes makes themvibrate.

7/27/2019 The Articulation of Consonants 1218656338138476 8

3/9

Consonants are formed by interrupting, restrictingor diverting the airflow in a variety of ways.

There three ways of describing the consonantsounds:

The manner of articulationThe place of articulation

The force of articulation

7/27/2019 The Articulation of Consonants 1218656338138476 8

4/9

The manner of articulation

It refers to the interaction between the variousarticulators and the air stream; i.e. The air istemporally trapped and then released.

The manners of articulation are:

PLOSIVE AFFRICATIVE FRICATIVE

NASAL LATERAL APPROXIMANT

7/27/2019 The Articulation of Consonants 1218656338138476 8

5/9

MANNER OF ARTICULATION

PLOSIVEA complete closure is made in the vocal tract and the softpalate is also raised. Air pressure increases behind the closureand is then released explosively, e.g. /p/ and /b/

AFFRICATIVE A complete closure is made in the mouth and the soft palateis raised. Air pressure increases behind the closure, and isreleased more slowly than the plosive, e.g. /t/- //

FRICATIVE When two vocal organs come close enough together for themovement of air between them to be heard, e.g. /f/- /v/

NASAL A closure is made by the lips, or by the tongue against thepalate, the soft palate is lowered, and air escapes through thenose, e.g. /m/- /n/

LATERAL A partial closure is made by the blade of the tongue againstthe alveolar ridge. Air is able to flow around the sides of thetongue, e.g. /l/

APPROXIMANT Vocal organs come near to each other, but no so close as tocause audible friction , e.g. /r/- /w/

7/27/2019 The Articulation of Consonants 1218656338138476 8

6/9

The following table

summarizes the mainmovements of the various

articulators

7/27/2019 The Articulation of Consonants 1218656338138476 8

7/9

PLACE OF ARTICULATION

Bilabial Using closing movement of both lips, e.g. /p/ -/b/

Labio-dental Using the lower lip and the upper teeth, e.g. /f/-/v/

Dental The tongue tip is used either between the teeth orclose to the upper teeth, e.g. ///

Alveolar The blade of the tongue is used close to thealveolar ridge, e.g. /t/- /s/.

Palato-alveolar The blade ( or tip) of the tongue is used justbehind the alveolar ridge, e.g. //-//

Palatal The front of the tongue is raised close to thepalate, e.g. /j/

Velar The back of the tongue is used against the softpalate, e.g. /k/- //

GlottalThe gap between the vocal cords is used to make

audible friction, e.g. /h/

7/27/2019 The Articulation of Consonants 1218656338138476 8

8/9

FORCE OF ARTICULATION

Fortis or strong: it is related to unvoicedsounds, which require a more forcefullyexpelled airstream.

Lenis or weak: it is related to be voicedsounds.

The force of articulation is very difficult todefine and measure

7/27/2019 The Articulation of Consonants 1218656338138476 8

9/9

TABLE OF ENGLISH CONSONANTS

Bilabial Labio-dental

Dental Alveolar Palato-alveolar

Palatal Velar Glotal

Plosive d gAffricative Fricative v zNasal m nLateral lApproxi

mant

(w) r j w

Place of Articulation

Front Back

MannerofArticu

lation

f

p

s

k

h

t

Unvoiced phonemes are on shaded background. Voiced phonemes are normal