TOPIC 3 : ENGLISH CONSONANTS Explain in articulatory terms the features of the following consonants : Nasals.

Producing a consonant involves making the vocal tract narrower at some location than it usually is. We classify consonants along three major dimensions. First, is the place of articulation. Second is the manner of articulation and the third one is the voicing. A nasal consonant is a consonant where the airflow is directed through the nose. The nasal consonant in English are m,n,ng. Now, I like to zero in on the place of articulation. The place of articulation of a consonant specifies where in the vocal tract the narrowing occurs. The [m] sound is a bilabial consonant. The lower and upper lips touch each other with the velum lowered to let out through the nasal passage. The [n] sound is a alveolar consonant. The tongue tip touches the alveolar ridge, the ridge immediately behind the upper teeth. The English stops [n] is formed by completely blocking the airflow at this place of articulation. The [ng] sound is a velar consonant. The body of the tongue touches the soft palate, or velum. The manner of articulation for the [m],[n] and [ng] sound are stop consonants. Nasal stops are often simply called nasals. The vocal folds may be held against each other at just the right tension so that the air flowing past them from the lungs will cause them to vibrate against each other. We call this process voicing. Sounds which are made with vocal fold vibration are said to be voiced. Sounds made without vocal fold vibration are said to be voiceless. Oral stops can be either voiced or voiceless. Nasal stops are almost always voiced. So,[m],[n] and [ng] are voiced.