1. Consonants
Are sounds produced by making an
obstruction in the air passage, either
closing the air passage then releasing
the breath suddenly, or narrowing the
air passage so that air passes with
difficulty.
2. Consonants and vowels
Consonants are produced ‘by a closure in the vocal tract,
or by a narrowing which is so marked that air cannot
escape without producing audible friction’.
By contrast, a vowel is produced without such ‘stricture’
so that ‘air escapes in a relatively unimpeded way
through the mouth or nose’.
5. In other words
Consonants can be distinguished from one another by
describing their place of articulation (that is, where
two organs of speech come close to each other),
The manner of articulation (i.e. the way these organs
control the air passage), and
Voicing (that is, the vibration of the vocal cords).
6. 1) Plosives
Plosives are made by making a
complete closure between some
point in the vocal tract. Pressure
builds up behind the closure
which is released to create the
speech sound.
7. b & p
soft palate raised, nasal
resonator shut off,
closure by lips
lung air compressed
lip closure released, air
escaped
‘ P’ is voiceless
‘b’ is voiced
Both sounds are known as
Closed
mouth
Bilabial Plosives
8. The sounds k & g are
made by raising the
tongue at the back of
the mouth to make a
complete closure.
1) k is a voiceless sound
2) g is a voiced sound
These are known as
Velar Plosives
9. The sounds of ‘t & d’ are
made by raising the tongue
to touch the front of the
alveolar ridge just behind
the teeth.
1) ‘t’ is voiceless
2) ‘d’ is voiced
These are known as
Alveolar Plosives
Alveolar ridge
10. 2) Fricatives
are produced by an incomplete
closure; the air passage is narrowed
producing an audible friction
11. Labio-dental Fricatives
The closure is made by inner
surface of lower lip and edge
of upper teeth
Lung air compressed,
friction
voiceless: /f/
voiced: /v/
Air releasedThese sounds /f/ - /v/ are known as
12. The voiced sound / ð/
found in this, there ,
feather
The voiceless sound
/ θ / found in think,
thin , thought
The tip of the tongue touches the upper teeth. These
are known as
Dental fricatives
13. These sounds are made by
raising the front of the
tongue to approach the area
between the alveolum and
the hard palate. The sound is
squeezed through the gap
The voiceless sound / /ʃ can
be found in she, wash, sure
The voiced sound / / is found in televiʒ sion, pleasure
& revision
These sounds are known as
Palato-alveolar Fricatives
14. z
s
These sounds are known as
Alveolar Fricatives
The closure is made by blade
of tongue and upper alveolar
ridge
air causes friction between
tongue and alveolar ridge
voiceless: /s/ - voiced: /z/
air released
15. The air from the lungs
is pushed up past the
glottis and through
the small gap making
a hissing sound
The friction is made
throughout vocal tract
The sound is found in – hotel, his, behind, hive etc...
It is known as a
Glottal Fricative
16. 3) Affricates
Affricates are made by making a complete
closure at some point in the mouth, similar to
plosives. However, affricates differ as the air is
released slower than a plosive.
There are only two affricates in English
/ / and / /ʧ ʤ
17. These sounds are made by
combining the two
sounds shown here.
The plosive sounds /t /- /d/
are changed by the
fricative that follows the
release of pressure.
1) / /ʧ church, crunch, lunch
2) / /ʤ Jeans, generator, bridge
These sounds are known as
Palato-alveolar Affricates
18. 4) Nasals
Nasal sounds are made by making a
complete closure in the mouth and
allowing the air to escape through
the nose.
All nasal sounds are voiced
19. The /m/ sound is made
by closing both lips
and allowing the
sound to travel
through the nasal
cavity
My - dream – smile -
remember
This sound is known as a
Bilabial Nasal
20. These sounds are
made by blocking
off part of the mouth
by using the tongue.
The air moving
through the nasal
cavity creates the
sound.
1)
2)
1) no, been, nine & know. It is known as Alveolar Nasal
2) Song, English & thank. It is known as a Velar Nasal
(This sound is common in words that have ‘ng & ‘nk’ spellings.)
21. A sound occurs when the centre of the
tongue makes closure against some
parts in the mouth and the air flow
passes around the sides of the tongue.
The lateral /l/ is voiced
5) Lateral
22. The sound of ‘l’ is divided into two distinct
sounds, which occur according to the following
rules: If the sound occurs at the beginning of
the word or before vowels then ‘clear l’ is made
(e.g. leave- feeling);
- If the sound occurs at the end of the word or
before consonants then the sound is a ‘dark l’
(e.g. feel-felt).
23. In the production of the two sounds the tip of the
tongue touches the alveolar ridge allowing the
air to escape around the tongue sides.
However,
Alveolar Laterals
24. Approximants are a bit of a hotchpotch
category. In producing the approximants the
articulators approach each other without having
a real contact to allow the air escapes with no
audible explosion or friction.
6)The Approximants
All approximant sounds are voiced
25. The sound ‘r’ is made
when the tip of the
tongue is held close
to the alveolar ridge
and the hard palate
(but not touching).
(red, describe, bread, free, drain, trouble)
This is known as a
Palato-alveolar Approximant
26. A ‘w’ sound is similar to the vowel /u / sound but the
lips are rounded to give more tension.
(wedding, window, where, what, wear, rewind & wish...)
Known as a Bilabial Approximant
27. The sound is made by raising the front of the
tongue towards the hard palate .
year, your, yeah...
Known as a Palatal Approximant
