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Consonant Sounds

Consonant sounds are speech sounds produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract using articulatory organs. They can be classified by place of articulation, manner of articulation, and voicing, with 24 consonant phonemes in English. The document also discusses the relationship between sounds and letters, including variations and the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) for consistent representation of sounds.

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7 views

Consonant Sounds

Consonant sounds are speech sounds produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract using articulatory organs. They can be classified by place of articulation, manner of articulation, and voicing, with 24 consonant phonemes in English. The document also discusses the relationship between sounds and letters, including variations and the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) for consistent representation of sounds.

Uploaded by

ASMA AKOUNJIM
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Consonant Sounds

Definition: Consonant sounds are speech sounds produced when airflow is obstructed in some
way by the articulatory organs, such as the tongue, lips, teeth, or throat.

Consonants are speech sounds produced by blocking or restricting the airflow in some way in the
vocal tract.
These sounds are produced when parts of the mouth (like the tongue, lips, or teeth) come
together or get close enough to block or narrow the airflow.
Example: The sound of /b/ in bat or /t/ in top.

26 letters (A-Z)
✪ 5 vowels
✪ 21 consonants
44 pronunciation sounds
✪ 20 vowels sounds
✪ 24 consonant sounds
Articulatory Classification of Consonants
Consonants can be classified based on three primary characteristics:
1. Place of Articulation – where the constriction of airflow happens.
2. Manner of Articulation – how the airflow is restricted or modified.
3. Voicing – whether the vocal cords vibrate (voiced) or not (voiceless).
Place of Articulation
This refers to the part of the vocal tract where the airflow is obstructed.
Common places of articulation include:
Bilabial: Both lips come together.
Example: /p/, /b/, /m/
Labiodental: The lower lip touches the upper teeth.
Example: /f/, /v/
Interdental: The tongue is placed between the teeth.
Example: /θ/ (as in "think"), /ð/ (as in "this")
Alveolar: The tongue is placed against the alveolar ridge (just behind the
upper teeth).
Example: /t/, /d/, /s/, /z/, /n/, /l/
Postalveolar: The tongue is positioned just behind the alveolar
ridge.
Example: /ʃ/ (as in "shoe"), /ʒ/ (as in "measure")
Palatal: The tongue touches the hard palate.
Example: /j/ (as in "yes")
Velar: The back of the tongue is raised to the velum (soft part of
the roof of the mouth).
Example: /k/, /g/, /ŋ/ (as in "sing")
Glottal: The constriction occurs at the glottis (the space between
the vocal cords).
Example: /h/, /ʔ/ (glottal stop, as in the middle sound of "uh-oh")
Manner of Articulation
This refers to how the airflow is modified to produce the sound. The
key manners of articulation are:
Stops (Plosives): Complete obstruction of airflow, followed by a
release.
Example: /p/ (as in "pat"), /b/ (as in "bat"), /t/ (as in "tap"), /d/ (as in
"dog"), /k/ (as in "cat"), /g/ (as in "go")
Fricatives: The airflow is partially obstructed, causing friction.
Example: /f/ (as in "fan"), /v/ (as in "van"), /s/ (as in "sip"), /z/ (as in
"zip"), /ʃ/ (as in "ship"), /ʒ/ (as in "measure"), /θ/ (as in "think"), /ð/ (as
in "this")
Affricates: A combination of a stop followed by a fricative.
Example: /tʃ/ (as in "chop"), /dʒ/ (as in "job")
Nasals: Airflow is directed through the nose due to blockage in the
mouth.
Example: /m/ (as in "man"), /n/ (as in "net"), /ŋ/ (as in "sing")
Liquids: These sounds are produced with a partial closure, allowing
the air to flow around the tongue.
Example: /l/ (as in "lake"), /r/ (as in "run")
Glides (Semivowels): These sounds are produced with minimal
obstruction to the airflow.
Example: /j/ (as in "yes"), /w/ (as in "wet")
Voicing

Voicing refers to whether the vocal cords vibrate during the production of a sound.
Voiced Consonants: The vocal cords vibrate during the articulation.
Examples: /b/, /d/, /g/, /v/, /z/, /ʒ/
Voiceless Consonants: The vocal cords do not vibrate.
Examples: /p/, /t/, /k/, /f/, /s/, /ʃ/
Consonant Phonemes in English
Below is a list of the 24 consonant phonemes in English, categorized by their place of articulation, manner of articulation, and voicing.

Sound Symbol Example Place of Articulation Manner of Articulation Voicing


/p/ p pat Bilabial Stop (Plosive) Voiceless
/b/ b bat Bilabial Stop (Plosive) Voiced
/t/ t tap Alveolar Stop (Plosive) Voiceless
/d/ d dog Alveolar Stop (Plosive) Voiced
/k/ k cat Velar Stop (Plosive) Voiceless
/g/ g go Velar Stop (Plosive) Voiced
/f/ f fan Labiodental Fricative Voiceless
/v/ v van Labiodental Fricative Voiced
/θ/ θ think Interdental Fricative Voiceless
/ð/ ð this Interdental Fricative Voiced
/s/ s sip Alveolar Fricative Voiceless
/z/ z zip Alveolar Fricative Voiced
/ʃ/ ʃ ship Postalveolar Fricative Voiceless
/ʒ/ ʒ measure Postalveolar Fricative Voiced
/tʃ/ tʃ chop Postalveolar Affricate Voiceless
/dʒ/ dʒ job Postalveolar Affricate Voiced
/m/ m man Bilabial Nasal Voiced
/n/ n net Alveolar Nasal Voiced
/ŋ/ ŋ sing Velar Nasal Voiced
/l/ l lake Alveolar Liquid (Lateral) Voiced
/r/ r run Alveolar Liquid (Retroflex) Voiced
/j/ j yes Palatal Glide (Semivowel) Voiced
/w/ w wet Velar Glide (Semivowel) Voiced
/h/ h hat Glottal Fricative Voiceless
/ʔ/ ʔ uh-oh Glottal Stop (Plosive) Voiceless
Sounds and Letters?

Sounds (or phonemes) are the smallest units of speech that convey
meaning. In spoken language, sounds are produced by the vocal
apparatus (e.g., tongue, lips, teeth, etc.).

Letters are symbols used to represent sounds in written language. Each


letter of the alphabet corresponds to a particular sound, but in many
cases, a single letter can represent multiple sounds, and multiple letters
can represent one sound.
Phoneme: The smallest unit of sound in language that can
distinguish meaning.

Grapheme: The written representation of a sound, often a letter or


combination of letters.

For example:
The sound /b/ is represented by the letter b.
The sound /k/ can be represented by the letter c in "cat" or k in
"kite."
There are 26 letters in the English alphabet:
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z
Letters represent graphemes: These are the written symbols we
use to represent sounds, but not all letters represent single
sounds in English.

English contains 44 phonemes (sounds), which are typically


represented by the following:
Consonant sounds (e.g., /p/, /b/, /t/, /k/, /s/, /ʃ/).
Vowel sounds (e.g., /æ/, /ɪ/, /ɔ/, /ʊ/, /ə/).
One Sound, Multiple Letters (Graphemes)
In English, a single sound can be represented by different letter
combinations. For example:
/f/sound:
The letter f in "fish"
The letters ph in "phone"
/k/sound:
The letter k in "cat"
The letter c in "cat"
The letter ck in "clock"
/ʃ/sound:
The letters sh in "shoe"
The letters ch in "chef"
This phenomenon is known as spelling variation.
One Letter, Multiple Sounds
Some letters represent multiple sounds, depending on the
word and context. For example:
The letter c can represent:
/k/ as in "cat"
/s/ as in "cent"
The letter g can represent:
/g/ as in "go"
/dʒ/ as in "giant"
This is known as letter-to-sound variation.
Silent Letters and Irregularities
In some words, letters are written but not pronounced at all,
known as silent letters. Examples:
K is silent in "knight" /naɪt/.
B is silent in "thumb" /θʌm/.
E is silent in "cake" /keɪk/.
These silent letters are a result of historical changes in
pronunciation.
10. Digraphs and Trigraphs
Digraphs: Two letters that represent one sound:
sh as in "shoe" /ʃ/
ch as in "chicken" /tʃ/
th as in "think" /θ/
Trigraphs: Three letters that represent one sound:
tch as in "catch" /tʃ/
igh as in "high" /aɪ/
International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
The IPA is a system used to represent the sounds of speech. Each
sound (phoneme) in any language has its unique symbol, which
helps overcome the confusion between letters and sounds.
For example, the sound /ʃ/ (as in "shoe") is represented by sh in
English spelling, but in IPA, it has a unique symbol: /ʃ/.
The IPA provides a consistent way to describe pronunciation,
regardless of the irregularities in spelling.
exercises
Idioms

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