The document provides information on English phonology and the structure of consonant sounds in the English language. It discusses manners of articulation including stops, fricatives, affricates, and approximants. It also discusses voicing, places of articulation including bilabial, labiodental, dental, alveolar, palatal, velar, and glottal. Key pieces of information used to distinguish one consonant from another are listed as voicing, laterality, nasality, place of articulation, and manner of articulation. Examples are provided to demonstrate how to name consonant sounds using these structural features.

1. English Phonology
Structure of Language

2. 1. m
2. n
3. ŋ
4. p
5. b
6. t
7. d
8. k
9. g
10. f
v
θ
ð
h
s
z
∫
ʒ
w
r
j
l
t∫
dʒ
Let’s play
a game!
• Finda partner
• Standbackto back
• Use one hand,andprepare your finger(s).
• On three,you jump, facingyour partner.
• Quickly countthetotalnumber of your
fingers plus your friend’s.
• Look atthenumber  andfind the
corresponding consonant.And choose one.
• As quickly aspossible, saya wordwhichhas
oneof thecorresponding sound.
• Who is faster?

3. Manners of
Articulation
Structure of Language

4. Manners of
Articulation
• howthey are articulated
• the way the airstreamis affectedas it
flows
• whether or notthe vocalcords
vibrate

5. Voiced vs Voiceless
• voiced = vocal cords are together; the
airstream forces its way through and
causes them to vibrate
• voiceless = vocal cords are apart so that air
flows freely through the glottis into the
oral cavity

6. Which one is +V? Which
one is –V?
[p]
[t]
[g]
[θ]
[b]
[d]
[k]
[ð]
[v]
[s]
[ʃ]
[tʃ]
[f]
[z]
[ʒ]
[d ʒ]

7. -V +V
Bilabial
p b
m w
Labiodental f v
(Inter)dental θ ð
Alveolar
t s d z
n l r
Palatal
ʃ tʃ ʒ dʒ
j
Velar
k g
ŋ
Glottal h

8. Manners of
Articulation
• howthey are articulated
• the way the airstreamis affectedas it
flows
• whether or notthe vocalcords
vibrate

9. Manners of
Articulation
1. Stops
2. Fricatives
3. Affricates
4. Approximants

10. Stops, or a ‘plosive’
• consonants;the airstreamis
completelyblockedin the oralcavity
fora short period,releasedwith a
burst of air.

11. Stops, or a ‘plosive’
Bilabial stops [p] [b] [m]
Alveolar stops [t] [d] [n]
Velar stops [k] [g] [ŋ]
Palatal stops [tʃ] [dʒ]

12. [p] vs [b]
[b] vs [m]

13. Nasal and Oral
Sounds
• Oralsounds =velumgoes up, blocking
the air from escapingthrough the nose
• Nasalsounds = velumdoes notraise,
air escapesthrough both nose and
mouth

15. Stops, or a ‘plosive’
Oral Nasal
Voiced b d g m n ŋ
Voiceless p t k

16. Fricatives
• the airflow isso severelyobstructed,
almost blockedand pushedthrough
theverynarrow opening,causing
friction

17. Fricatives
Labiodental frict’s [f] [v]
(Inter)dental frict’s [θ] [ð]
Alveolar frict’s [s] [z]
Palatal frict’s [ʃ] [ʒ]
Glottal frict’s [h]

18. Fricatives
• sibilant (hissing)
[s] [z] [ʃ] [ʒ]
• non-sibilant
[f] [v] [θ] [ð] [h]

19. Affricates
• a briefstopping (stop) of the air
stream,followedwith gradual,
obstructedreleasecausing some
friction (fricative)

20. Affricates
(Alveo)palatal-
affrics. [tʃ] [dʒ]

21. Approximants
• airstream partiallyhindered,the
articulatorsapproximatea frictional
closeness,withoutactualfriction

22. Approximants
Lateral approximants
[l]
Central approximants
[w] [j] [r]

23. PLACESOF ARTICULATION
Bilabial Labiodental Interdental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
-v +v -v +v -v +v -v +v -v +v -v +v -v +v
MANNERSOFARTICULATION
Stop
Nasal m n ŋ
Oral p b t d k g
Fricative
Sibilant s z ʃ ʒ h
Non-sibilant f v θ ð
Affricate tʃ dʒ
Approximant
Central w r j w
Lateral l

24. Naming a
Consonant
Structure of Language

25. Distinguishing a
Consonant
• voicing,nasality,and place-and-
mannerof articulation

26. Distinguishing a
Consonant
1. Vocal cords voiceless voiced
2. Lateral/central
3. Nasality oral nasal
4. Place ofartc. bilabial, dental, …
5. Manner of artc. stop, fricative, …
e.g. [p]
voiceless,central, (oral), bilabialstop

27. Distinguishing a
Consonant
1. Vocal cords voiceless voiced
2. Lateral/central
3. Nasality oral nasal
4. Place ofartc. bilabial, dental, …
5. Manner of artc. stop, fricative, …
e.g. [ŋ]
voiced, central,nasal,velar stop

28. 1. [m] voiced, central, nasal, bilabial stop
2. [l] voiced, lateral, oral, alveolar approximant
3. [r] voiced, central, oral, alveolar approximant
4. [t] voiceless, central, oral, alveolar stop
5. [b] voiced, central, oral, bilabial stop
6. [θ] voiceless, central, oral, dental fricative
7. [k] voiceless, central, oral, velar stop
8. [ʃ] voiceless, central, oral, palatal fricative
9. [ð] voiced, central, oral, dental fricative
10. [dʒ] voiced, central, oral, palatal affricate
11. [v] voiced, central, oral, labio-dental fricative
12. [s] voiceless, central, oral, alveolar fricative
13. [ʒ] voiced, central, oral, palatal fricative
14. [h] voiceless, central, oral, glottal fricative
15. [j] voiced, central, oral, palatal approximant
16. [n] voiced, central, nasal, alveolar stop
+v
-v
lateral
central
oral
nasal
bilabial
labio-dental
dental
alveolar
palatal
velar
glottal
stop
fricative
affricate
approxi-mant

29. Distinguishing a
Consonant
Actually, you don’t have to mentionoral all thetime, but
nasal should be named.
Also, ‘central’ does not have to be mentioned,as we only
have one lateral [l] sound in English.

30. References
• Finegan, E. (2008).Language:ItsStructureandUse,5th
Edition.
• Yule,G. (2010).TheStudyofLanguage,FourthEdition.
• Fromkin,V., Rodman, R., & Hyams, N. (2009).An
IntroductiontoLanguage,9th Edition.