Linguistics( Phonetics & Phonology)

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Describe and classify English consonants and
vowels in detail
Phonology
The study of speech sounds ofa particular language is called Phonology.
Phoneme
The smallest unit of any language which can bring change in meaning is called
phoneme. e.g: /p/, /b/, /t/ etc.
In English language there are 44 sounds. 20 are vowels and 24 are
consonants.
Consonants
These are the sounds characterized by constriction at one or more parts in the
breath channel. In other words, the consonants involve the abstraction of the air
flow in the oral channel.
Vocal tract:
The vocal tract is the area from the nose
and the nasal cavity down to the vocalcords
deep in the throat. It includes the lips, tongue,
throat, and even nose. Understanding the vocal
tract is critical for learning American English
pronunciation and accent reduction and being
able to pronouncethe sounds of English.
Nasal and oral cavities:
The nasal cavity is a large, air-filled space
above and behind the nose in the middle of the

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face. The nasal septum divides
the cavity into two cavities, also
known as fossae. Each cavity is
the continuation of one of the two
nostrils.
Production of speech
sounds:
Kantner and west divided speech
into 5 components: Respiration,
phonation, resonations, and
articulations and neurologic
integrations. The three mechanisms that we use to produce speech are:
 respiration at the lungs,
 phonation at the larynx, and
 articulation in the mouth

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Respiratory system:
The physiological systems involved in speech
include the respiratory system, which provides the air
needed to speak, and when the air is expelled, it passes
through the phonatory system, where the larynx helps to
producea voice, since it's the term for all of these tissues
working together.
Phonatory system:
Phonatory System, also knownas the larynx or
“voice box”, where sound is produced includes:
larynx and, specifically, the vocal folds (also called
“vocalcords”). Resonatory System, also known as the
“vocaltract”, includes: throat, nasal passages, sinuses,
and mouth.
Articulatory system:
Articulation, in phonetics, a configuration of the vocal tract (the larynx and
the pharyngeal, oral, and nasal cavities) resulting from the positioning of the
mobile organs of the vocal tract (e.g., tongue) relative to other parts of the vocal
tract that may be rigid (e.g., hard palate).
Articulation:
There are 7 articulators:
1. Larynx
2. Pharynx
3. soft palate
4. hard palate
5. tongue

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6. teeth
7. lips
Manner of articulation:
It describes the type of obstructioncaused by narrowing or closure of the
articulators.
Stop (Plosive):
They are all produced bysome form of “stopping” of the air stream (very
briefly) then letting it go abruptly. This type of consonantsound, resulting from a
blocking or stopping effect on the air stream, is called a stop (or a “plosive”).
/p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/
Affricates:
If you combine a brief stopping of the air stream with an obstructed release
which causes some friction, you will be able to producethe sounds [ʧ] and [ʤ].
These are called affricates and occurat the beginning of the words cheap and jeep. In

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the first of these, there is a voiceless affricate [ʧ], and in the second, a voiced
affricate [ʤ].
/ʈʃ/, /dʒ/
Fricatives:
The manner of articulation used in producing the fricative sounds involves
almost blocking the air stream and having the air push through the sounds of very
narrow opening. As the air is pushed through, a type of friction is produced and the
resulting sounds are called fricatives. If you put your open hand in front of your
mouth when making these sounds, [f] and [s] in particular, you should be able to
feel the stream of air being pushed out. The usual pronunciation of the word fish
begins and ends with the voiceless fricatives [f] and [ʃ]. The word those begins and
ends with the voiced fricatives [ð] and [z]. The sound [h], as in Hi or Hello, is
voiceless and also usually included in the set of fricatives.
/f/, /v/, /s/, /z/, /θ/, /ð/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /h/
Nasals:
Most sounds are produced orally, with the velum raised, preventing airflow from
entering the nasal cavity. However, when the velum is lowered and the air stream
is allowed to flow out through the nose to produce nasal sounds. Thesethree
sounds are all voiced. The words morning, knitting and name begin and end with
nasals.
/m/, /n/, /ŋ/
Liquids (Lateral):
The initial sounds in ledand red are described as liquids. They are both
voiced. The [l] sound is called a lateral liquid and is formed by letting the air
stream flow around the sides of the tongue as the tip of the tongue makes contact
with the middle of the alveolar ridge. The [r] sound at the beginning of redis
formed with the tongue tip raised and curled back near the alveolar ridge.
/l/
Glides:

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The sounds [w] and [j] are described as glides. They are both voiced and
occurat the beginning of we, wet,you and yes. These sounds are typically produced
with the tongue in motion (or “gliding”) to or from the position of a vowel and are
sometimes called semi-vowels. In some approaches, the liquids [l], [r] and glides
[w], [j] are combined in one category called “approximants.”
/w/, /r/, /j/
Place of articulation:
In articulatory phonetics, the place of
articulation of a consonantis the point
of contact where an obstruction occurs
in the vocal tract between an active
articulator (typically some part of the
tongue), and a passive location
(typically some part of the roof of the
mouth). There are seven places of
articulation: bilabial, labiodental,
dental, alveolar, post-alveolar,
palatal and velar.
Bilabials:
These are sounds formed using
both (= bi) upper and lower lips (= labia). The initial sounds in the words pat, bat
and mat are all bilabials. They are represented by the symbols [p], which is
voiceless, and [b] and [m], which are voiced. We can also describe the [w] sound
found at the beginning of way, walk and world as a bilabial.
/p/, /b/, /m/
Labiodentals:
These are sounds formed with the upper teeth and the lower lip. The initial
sounds of the words fat and vat and the final sounds in the words safe and save are
labiodentals. They are represented by the symbols [f], which is voiceless, and [v],

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which is voiced. Notice that the final sound in the word cough, and the initial sound
in photo, despite the spelling differences, are both pronounced as [f].
/f/, /v/
Dentals:
These sounds are formed with the tongue tip behind the upper front teeth.
The initial sound of thin and the final sound of bath are both voiceless dentals. The
symbol used for this sound is [θ], usually referred to as “theta.” It is the symbol
you would use for the first and last sounds in the phrase three teeth.
The voiced dental is represented by the symbol [ð], usually called “eth.”
This sound is found in the pronunciation of the initial sound of common words like
the, there, then and thus. It is also the middle consonantsound in feather and the
final sound of bathe. The term “interdentals” is sometimes used for these
consonants when they are pronounced with the tongue tip between (= inter) the
upper and lower teeth.
/ð/, /θ/
Alveolars:
These are sounds formed with the front part of the tongue on the alveolar
ridge, which is the rough, bony ridge immediately behind and above the upper
teeth. The initial sounds in top, dip, sit, zoo and nutare all alveolars. The symbols
for these sounds are easy to remember – [t], [d], [s], [z], [n]. Of these, [t] and [s]
are voiceless whereas [d], [z] and [n] are voiced. It may be clear that the final
sounds of the words busand buzz have to be [s] and [z] respectively. Notice also
that despite the different spelling of knot and not, both of these words are
pronounced with [n] as the initial sound. Other alveolars are the [l] sound found at
the beginning of words such as lap and lit, and the [r] sound at the beginning of
right and write.
/t/, /d/, /s/, /z/, /n/, /l/
Alveo-palatal:

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When you retract your tongue back just a bit from the alveolar ridge, the
sounds change enough to be recognized as distinct consonants. So alveo-palatal
consonants are those that occurwhen the tongue blocks or constricts airflow at the
point just beyond the alveolar ridge.
/ʃ/, /ʒ/, /r/, /ʈʃ/, /dʒ/
Palatal:
A palatal consonantis a consonantthat is pronounced with the body (the
middle part) of the tongue againstthe hard palate (which is the middle part of
the roof of the mouth). There is only one palatal consonantin English which is [j],
which is the sound for "y" in the English word "yes".
/j/
Velars:
Even further backin the roof of the mouth, beyond the hard palate, you will
find a softarea, which is called the soft palate, or the velum. Sounds produced
with the back of the tongue againstthe velum are called velars. There is a
voiceless velar sound, represented by the symbol[k], which occurs not only in kid
and kill, but is also the initial sound in car and cold. Despite the variety in spelling,
this [k] sound is boththe initial and final sound in the words cook, kick and coke.
The voiced velar sound heard at the beginning of words like go, gun and
give is represented by [ɡ]. This is also the final sound in words like bag, mug and,
despite the spelling, plague.
The velum can be lowered to allow air to flow through the nasal cavity and
thereby produceanother voiced velar, represented by the symbol[ŋ], typically
referred to as “angma.” In written English, this sound is normally spelled as the
two letters “ng.” So, the [ŋ] sound is at the end of sing, sang and, despite the
spelling, tongue. It occurs twice in the form ringing. Be careful not to be misled by
the spelling of a word like bang – it ends with the [ŋ] sound only. There is no [ɡ]
sound in this word.
/ŋ/, /k/, /w/, /g/

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Glottal:
There is one sound that is produced without the active use of the tongue and
other parts of the mouth. It is the sound [h] which occurs at the beginning of have
and house and, for most speakers, as the first sound in who and whose. This sound
is usually described as a voiceless glottal. The “glottis” is the spacebetween the
vocal folds in the larynx. When the glottis is open, as in the productionof other
voiceless sounds, and there is no manipulation of the air passing out of the mouth,
the sound produced is that represented by [h].
/h/
Voiced and unvoiced:
When vocal cords vibrate, the sounds would be voiced while when vocal cords not
be vibrating the sound would be unvoiced.
Vowels
Vowels are the sounds when vocal cords are in vibrating position, the air
passes out through the oral cavity without interference or constriction at any point
in the oral cavity. There are 20 vowels in English.
Cardinal vowels:
A cardinal vowel is a vowel sound
produced when the tongue is in an extreme
position, either front or back, high or low.
The current system was systematised by Daniel
Jones in the early 20th century, though the idea
goes back to earlier phoneticians, notably Ellis
and Bell.
Primary Cardinal Vowels:
1. Open vowels
2. Close Vowels
3. Front Vowels

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4. Back Vowels
Open vowels:
If the distance between the tongue and the mouth is greater, we regard that
vowel is open vowel, as in case of /ӕ/.
Close Vowels:
If tongue is close to the roof of the mouth, we regard that vowel as close
vowel as /i:/.
Front Vowels:
In the making of the open and close vowels, the front part of the tongue is
raised. We would describe /i:/ and ӕ as comparatively front vowels.
Back Vowels:
A vowel in which the back of the tongue is the highest point is called back
vowel, as in case of the sound /ɑ:/ (in calm), the back of the tongue is raised. The
sound /u:/ in ‘too’ is also a back vowel.
Pure Vowels or Monophthongs
A pure vowel is a sound that is
articulated at the beginning and end of
the word. It is relatively fixed and will
glide in the up and down direction. Pure
vowels are also known
as monophthongs as they provide a
single sound while pronouncing the
words. There are 12 pure vowels.
Long vowels:
Long vowel sounds are vowels that are pronounced the same as their name.
There are 5 long vowels. /ɜ:/, /ɔ:/, /ɑ:/, /u:/, /i:/
Short Vowels:
If a word contains only one vowel, and that vowel appears in the middle of
the word, the vowel is usually pronounced as a short vowel. This is especially true
if the word is very short. Examples of short vowels in one-syllable words include
Hit, Fix. There are 7 short vowels. /i/, /e/, /ʊ/, /ə/, /æ/, /ʌ/, /ɒ/.

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Diphthongs:
A diphthong is a sound that's made up of two distinct vowelsounds,
where the pronunciation glides from one sound to the other in the same
syllable. This word comes from Greek and literally means “double sound.”There
are 8 diphthongs.
i. /aʊ/ as in “Town”
ii. /aɪ/ as in “Light”
iii. /eɪ/ as in “Play”
iv. /eə/ as in “Pair”
v. /ɪə/ as in “Deer”
vi. /oʊ/ as in “Slow”
vii. /ɔɪ/ as in “Toy”
viii. /ʊə/ as in “Sure”
Diphthongs
Centering diphthongs Closing diphthongs
Ending in ə Ending in ɪ Ending in ʊ
ʊə ɪə eə ɔɪ aɪ eɪ oʊ aʊ
Triphthongs:
The nucleus of a single syllable may contain three vowelsounds that
quickly glide together;these sounds are known as triphthongs. There are 3

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triphthongs that are generally agreed upon in English: /aʊə/ (“ah-oo-uh”), /aɪə/
(“ah-ih-uh”), and /jʊə/ (“ee-oo-uh”).