This document provides information about English consonants: 1) It defines consonants and explains their classification based on voicing, place of articulation, and manner of articulation. 2) It discusses the major consonant categories including plosives, nasals, fricatives, and affricates, providing examples of each. 3) It provides practice transcribing words and includes a poem for additional practice identifying consonants.

1. ENGLISH
CONSONANTS
FALL 2012
Copeland

2. CONSONANTS
It’s easy
There are 25
symbols for the
consonants of
English – sixteen
are identical to the
letters in the
English alphabet!

3. CONSONANTS
It’s hard
These are funny words and
you have to remember what
they mean:
Bi-labial
Labio-dental
Dental
Alveolar
Palatal
Velar
Glottis

6. Quiz next class!

7. CONSONANTS
DEFINED
A consonant is a speech sound that is formed when the
articulators interrupt the flow of air through the vocal tract.
The place of articulation, the manner of articulation, and the
voicing of a consonant determine its classification.
Well sung consonants are precise, quick, energetic, and
provide definition of the vocal line.

8. CLASSIFICATION OF
CONSONANTS
1. Voicing: Are they voiced or unvoiced?
2. Place of Articulation
3. Manner of articulation
{Think of consonants as having three names – first, middle,
last}

9. VOICED OR NOT?
Either voiced or unvoiced – if it has pitch or not.
[feel your throat to know the difference]
[z] vs. [s]
[b] vs. [p]
[d] vs. [t]
[g] vs. [k]
[v] vs. [f]

10. PLACE OF
ARTICULATION
Bi-labial: Lips [p] [b] [m]
Labio-dental: top teeth touching bottom lip [f] [v]
Dental: teeth [θ] [ð]
Alveolar: gum ridge [t] [d] [s] [z] [n]
Palatal: hard palate [ʃ] [ʒ] [tʃ] [dʒ]
Velar: soft palate [k] [g] [ŋ]
Glottis: space between vocal folds [h]

11. MANNER OF
ARTICULATION
Manner of articulation – what happens to the structures that
are involved.
STOP-PLOSIVES
FRICATIVES
AFFRICATIVES
NASALS
LATERALS (LIQUIDS)
GLIDES
See text book on page 130

12. STOP-PLOSIVES
The airflow is prevented from passing through the mouth or
nose and is suddenly released.
Pairs of stop-plosive consonants differentiated by their
voicing:
[p] and [b]
[t] and [d]
[k] and [g]

13. PLOSIVES
[p] and [b]
ARTICULATED WHERE?????
[t] and [d]
ARTICULATED WHERE?????
[k] and [g]
ARTICULATED WHERE?????

14. PLOSIVES
[p] and [b]
BI-LABIAL
[t] and [d]
ALVEOLAR
[k] and [g]
VELAR

15. [p]
Sound in context: push, depend, stop
Spellings: pest
1. The everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace
2. Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus
3. Perky Patty picks pretty pink posies

16. [b]
Sound in context: back, about, web
Spellings: best
1. But who may abide the day of his coming
2. We are climbing Jacob’s ladder
3. Brett burned Brian’s buttered breakfast biscuits

17. [d]
Sound in context: deaf, widow, sad
Spellings: done
1. And the ears of the deaf unstopped
2. O Sacred Head, now wounded
3. Doleful David disavows dapper Dan’s disclaimer

18. [t]
Sound in context: took, seated, bright
Spellings: ton, kissed
1. O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion
2. Comfort, comfort ye my people
3. Tiny tots attain terribly tattered mittens

19. [g]
Sound in context: give, begun, big
Spellings: ghost, got
1. Glory to God in the highest
2. God of grace and God of glory
3. Good girls get great gag gifts
Common problem: substitution of unvoiced [k] for voiced
[g], particularly when it is in the final position.
“vigor” should not sound like “vicar”

20. [k]
Sound in context: cost, become, walk
Spellings: cot, chorus, sick, keep, unique
1. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her
2. Come, all Christians, be committed
3. Ken’s calm cow comforted Kathie’s kicking, crying calves

21. NASALS
A nasal consonant is one in which the oral
passageway is blocked at some point and the soft
palate is lowered to allow the air to flow through
the nasal passageway.
Three nasal consonants: [m] [n] [ŋ]

22. [m]
Voiced or Unvoiced?:
Place of articulation:
Manner of articulation:

23. [m]
Voiced or Unvoiced?: Voiced
Place of articulation: Bilabial
Manner of articulation: Nasal
Common Problems: Insufficient nasal resonance. The [m]
sound should be well hummed up through the nose in speech
and singing. Also – inadequate duration or muffledness.

24. [n]
Voiced or Unvoiced?:
Place of articulation:
Manner of articulation:

25. [n]
Voiced or Unvoiced?: unvoiced
Place of articulation: alveolar
Manner of articulation: nasal
Common problems: insufficient nasal resonance;
inadequate duration.

26. [ŋ]
Voiced or Unvoiced?:
Place of articulation:
Manner of articulation:

27. [ŋ]
Voiced or Unvoiced?: voiced
Place of articulation: velar
Manner of articulation: nasal
Common problems: insufficient nasal resonance;
inadequate duration; substitution of [n] for [ŋ]

28. Words with [ŋ]
Hanging [hæŋ ɪŋ]
Singing [sɪŋ ɪŋ]
Long [lɔŋ]
Finger [fɪŋ ɡər]
Single [sɪŋ ɡəl]
Bank [bæŋk]
Drunk [drʌŋk]

29. FRICATIVES (WALL, 161)
A fricative consonant is one in which the air flow is partially
interrupted as it passes through the vocal tract, thus producing
a noisy sound. Because they can be sustained, they are called
continuants. There are four pairs of cognates plus [h].
[v] vs. [f]
[ð] vs [ɵ]
[z] vs [s]
[ʒ] vs [ʃ]
[h]

30. REMEMBERING THE
MIDDLE NAME
[v] vs. [f] voiced or unvoiced labio-dental fricative
[ð] vs [ɵ] voiced or unvoiced dental fricative
[z] vs [s] voiced or unvoiced alveolar ridge fricative
[ʒ] vs [ʃ] voiced or unvoiced palatal fricative

31. [h]
Voiced or Unvoiced?
Place of articulation:
Manner of articulation

32. [h]
Voiced or Unvoiced?
Place of articulation: ɡlottis
Manner of articulation: fricative
Common problems: over aspiration; pushing too much air
through the glottis, resulting in breathiness.

33. AFFRICATIVES: COMBINATION
CONSONANTS
Defined: Consonants that combine the articulation of two
consonant sounds into a single speech unit.
“A composite speech sound consisting of a stop and a
fricative articulated at the same point (as “ch” in chair and “j”
in joy)

34. AFFRICATIVES
In English, there are four combination consonants or two
pairs of cognates:
[tʃ]
[dʒ]
[ts]
[dz]

35. AFFRICATIVES
[tʃ]
Chill, nature, much, ancient, choice, question
1. For unto us a child is born
2. When the church of Jesus
3. But they still got an itch for heavenly graces

36. AFFRICATIVES
[dʒ]
Context: jaw, region, age
Spellings: budge, soldier, gentle, joy
1. Behold a virgin shall conceive.
2. Jesus loves me
3. I shall imagine life.

37. AFFRICATIVES
[ts]
Context: ______, _______, sits
Spellings: eats, waltz, lets
1. The lord of hosts.
2. Christian hearts in love united.
3. My papa’s waltz.

38. AFFRICATIVES
[dz]
Context: _______, ______, weds
Spellings: sends, God’s, solitudes
There were shepherds abiding in the field.

39. SPELLINGS FOR ‘QU’
AND ‘X’
Qu
Two possible sounds in English:
[k] quiche, conquer, baroque
[kw] quite, require

40. SPELLINGS FOR ‘QU’
AND ‘X’
x
In initial position, like “xylophone”
[z]
In medial position, like the word “excuse”
[ks]

41. IN EXCELSIS DEO
How do you say it?

42. IN EXCELSIS DEO
Correct:
[in ɛkʃɛlsis dɛɔ]

43. PRACTICE!
Chose
Jam
China
Bridge
Match
Breech

44. PRACTICE!
Chose [tʃ]
Jam [dʒ]
China [tʃ]
Bridge [dʒ]
Match [tʃ]
Breech [tʃ]

45. PRACTICE!
Share
Chair
Beige
Hedge
Ship
Chip
Match
Breech

46. PRACTICE!
Share [ʃ]
Chair [tʃ]
Beige [ʒ]
Hedge [dʒ]
Ship [ʃ]
Chip [tʃ]
Match [tʃ]
Breech [tʃ]

47. TRANSCRIBE
In the scented bud of the morning – O
When the windy grass went rippling far,
I saw my dear one walking slow
In the field where the daisies are.

48. [ɪn ðə sɛntəd bʌd əv ðə mɔ3nɪŋ oʊ
hwɛn ðə wɪndɪ ɡræs wɛnt rɪplɪŋ fa3
ɑɪ sɔ mɑɪ dɪ3 wʌn wɔkɪŋ sloʊ
ɪn ðə fild hwɛ3 ðə dɛɪzɪz ɑ3]

49. We did not lauɡh and we did not speak
As we wandered happily to and fro;
I kissed mydear on either cheek,
In the bud of the morning – O.