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Classification and Description of English Consonants
English consonants are speech sounds produced with a complete or partial obstruction of the airstream at some point in the vocal tract. Unlike vowels, where air flows freely, consonants involve narrowing, blocking, or diverting the airflow using various speech organs such as the lips, tongue, teeth, alveolar ridge, palate, velum, and glottis. Because of this obstruction, consonants are generally noisier, shorter, and less sonorous than vowels. In English, consonants occur at the beginning or end of syllables and are described using three key parameters:
(1) Place of articulation,
(2) Manner of articulation, and
(3) Voicing and status of the glottis.
These parameters describe where the airflow is restricted, how it is restricted, and whether the vocal folds vibrate.
1. Place of Articulation :
The place of articulation refers to the point in the vocal tract where the airflow is obstructed.
Bilabial consonants are made by bringing both lips together, as in p, b, m.
Labiodental consonants use the lower lip and upper teeth, as in f, v.
Dental consonants involve the tongue touching the upper teeth, as in θ (think) and ð (this).
Alveolar consonants occur when the tongue tip touches the alveolar ridge, as in t, d, n, s, z, l.
Postalveolar consonants are produced just behind the alveolar ridge, as in ʃ (shoe), ʒ (vision), tʃ (church), and dʒ (judge).
Retroflex consonants are made by curling the tongue tip back, as in the retroflex ɹ (a typical English “r”).
Palatal consonants involve the tongue body near the hard palate, as in j (yes).
Velar consonants use the back of the tongue touching the soft palate, as in k, g, ŋ.
Glottal consonants are produced at the glottis, as in h, where the sound comes from airflow between the vocal folds.
2. Manner of Articulation :
The manner of articulation describes how the airflow is controlled, and how much the articulators obstruct it.
Plosives (oral stops) involve full closure followed by a release, as in p, t, k (voiceless) and b, d, g (voiced).
Nasals are stops with the velum lowered, letting air escape through the nose, as in m, n, ŋ.
Fricatives are produced by creating a narrow passage that causes friction, as in f, v, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, θ, ð, h.
Affricates begin as plosives but release into fricatives, as in tʃ and dʒ.
Approximants involve the articulators coming close but not enough to cause friction, as in r, j, w.
Lateral approximants allow air to pass along the sides of the tongue, as in l.
These manners show whether the airflow is stopped, narrowed, or allowed to flow freely.
3. Voicing and the Status of the Glottis :
Voicing depends on whether the vocal folds vibrate while the consonant is produced.
In voiced consonants, the vocal folds vibrate, as in b, d, g, v, z, ð, ʒ, dʒ, m, n, ŋ, l, r, j, w.
In voiceless consonants, the folds are apart, allowing air to pass without vibration, as in p, t, k, f, s, θ, ʃ, h, tʃ.
The glottis acts as the vibrating source for voiced sounds (e.g., z where the folds vibrate) and as an open passage for voiceless sounds (e.g., s where there is no vibration). Some sounds also involve glottal friction itself, such as h, which is produced by airflow through an open glottis without involving the tongue or lips.
Summing up:
Thus, English consonants are classified by identifying where the constriction occurs (such as bilabial or alveolar), how the airflow is shaped (such as plosive or fricative), and whether the vocal folds vibrate (voiced or voiceless). These three parameters—place of articulation, manner of articulation, and voicing with glottal status—provide a complete and scientific system for describing every consonant sound in English.
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