MARIANO MARCOS STATE UNIVERSITY

Consonants and
Vowels
Dr. Mark Fernandez

Balalio, Leinette Gayle

Martinez, Miguel
Salvatierra, Christian Paul
Juris Doctor I
Discussion Outline

1. The spoken versus the written form of language

1.1 English spelling
1.2 The advantages of speech and writing

2. The production of speech sounds

3. Consonant sounds
3.1 Classification of consonants
3.2 Consonants of English and their phonetic notation

4. Vowel sounds
4.1 Classification of vowels
4.2 Vowels of English and their phonetic notation

5. The function of vowels and consonant

Ref: The Linguistic Structure of Modern English

by Laurel J. Brinton and Donna M. Brinton
Nature of spoken and written form of language

Speech Writing
English Spelling

one sound can be meat, meet, machine, city,

represented by a variety key, ceiling, people, niece,
of graphemes evil, Caesar, amoeba, and
(alphabet letters) quay

one grapheme can

as with d in damage, educate,
represent a variety of
picked
sounds
English Spelling (cont’d)

one or more graphemes knee, gnat, lamb, receipt,

may represent no sound right, honor, rhyme, psalm,
at all and salmon

throne, chain, edge, shore,

two or more graphemes
nation, itch, inn, school, eat,
may represent a single
friend, too, leopard, cause,
sound blood, or lieutenant
English Spelling (cont’d)

a grapheme may simply dinner vs. diner

(where a double or single n
indicate the quality of a indicates the quality of the
neighboring sound preceding vowel)

a single grapheme may box

represent two or more (where the letter x represents
sounds the sound sequence “ks”)
Advantages of Speech

indicated by syllable stress in speech and very

EMPHASIS inexactly by underlining in writing-
as in I want thát one, not thís one

indicated by intonation in speech and very crudely by

SENTENCE
end punctuation in writing, as in the difference between
TYPE
He said he would help. and He said he would help?
Advantages of Speech (cont’d)

words that are spelled the same but pronounced

HOMOGRAPHS
differently

PARALANGUAGE tones of voice and vocal qualifiers, indicated by

shouting, growling, whispering, drawling, etc.
Advantages of Speech (cont’d)

• Variations in pronunciation resulting from dialect or idiolect (an

individual’s unique dialect)

• Kinesics: indicated by body movement, facial expressions, and

gestures

• Features of the speech situation, such as the relation of the speaker

and the hearer or intimacy and personal contact.
Advantages of Writing

HISTORICAL
HISTORICAL older pronunciations preserved in the spelling, such
CHANGES
CHANGES as comb, gnat, or taught

indicated by spaces, sometimes

WORDS disambiguating ambiguous phonological
sequences such as nitrate/night rate,
syntax/sin tax, or homemade/home aid
Advantages of Writing (cont’d)

HISTORICAL wordspronunciations
older which are pronounced
preserved
theinsame
the spelling,
but spelled
such
HOMOPHONES
CHANGES as comb, gnat, or taught
differently

permitting the keeping of historical

PERMANENCY annals, the recording of laws, and
the writing of other permanent records
Advantages of Writing (cont’d)

• related words or affixes which sound different, such as photograph,

photography, photographic

• a greater range of vocabulary, more complex syntax, and greater

refinement of style, resulting in part from the planning permitted by the
situation of writing

• language free of performance errors

• a standard language without dialectal differences, allowing easier

communication among diverse groups
Speech Sounds

• Speech sounds are produced using, but modifying, the respiratory

system. When speaking, the number of breaths per minute increases.

• The intake of air (inspiration) becomes shorter while the period of

exhalation (expiration) increases.

• A greater amount of air is expelled, with a gradual decrease in the

volume of air and fairly constant pressure.

• Importantly for the production of sound, the air is often blocked or

impeded at some point or points on its way out.
Speech Sounds (cont’d)

• English and most languages of the world use the egressive pulmonic
system to generate speech sounds.

the fact that sound is produced when

egressive air is exiting, not entering, the lungs

the use of the lungs as the power

pulmonic source
Speech Sounds (cont’d)

• In speaking, air is expelled from the lungs by a downward movement

of the ribs and upward movement of the diaphragm.

• The air travels up the bronchial tubes to the trachea, or “wind pipe”,
and through the larynx, or “Adam’s apple”.

• The larynx contains a valve which functions to close off the trachea
while you are eating. This valve has been adapted for the purposes of
speech; it is known as the vocal cords.

• The vocal cords are two muscles stretching horizontally across the
larynx, attached to cartilage at either end that controls their movement.
Speech Sounds (cont’d)

• The vocal cords are relatively open during normal breathing, but
closed during eating. The space between the cords when they are
open is known as the glottis.

• The vocal cords of men and of women are of different lengths: 1.7 cm
for women, 2.3 for men.

• This accounts in part for the different vocal qualities of men and
women.

• Air continues past the larynx into the pharynx, whose only real function
is as a connector and resonator.
Speech Sounds (cont’d)

The air then moves into the vocal tract (see figure below), consisting of the oral
and nasal cavities. The oral cavity, that is, the mouth, is a resonator and a
generator of speech sounds via the articulators, which may be active (moving) or
passive (stationary).
Speech Sounds (cont’d)

The active articulators include the following:

Divided into (1) the front (consisting of the tip or “apex”

and the blade or “lamina”), (2) the back (or “dorsum”), and
(3) the root: the tongue modifies the shape of the cavity,
Tongue acts as a valve by touching parts of the mouth to stop the
flow of air, and is shaped in various ways to direct the flow
of air.

The lip may be placed against the upper teeth or, together
Lower Lip with the upper lip, may be closed or opened, rounded or
spread.
Speech Sounds (cont’d)

The passive articulators include the following:

▪ The teeth, both upper and lower.

▪ The roof of the mouth, which is divided into (1) the alveolar ridge, which
is 1 cm behind the upper teeth, (2) the hard palate, which is the domed,
bony plate, (3) the soft palate, or velum, which is the muscular flap at the
rear, and (4) the uvula, which is the tip of the velum.

▪ The pharynx, or back of the throat, which is used by some languages -

(but not English) in producing speech sounds
 Speech Sounds (cont’d)

▪ When the cords are widely separated and fairly taut, no noise is produced. This is
known as an open glottis and produces a voiceless sound (see Figure 2.2a).
▪ The vocal cords may also be set in vibration (“phonation”), and this produces a
voiced sound (see Figure 2.2b).
▪ Whispering involves bringing the vocal cords close together, keeping them fairly
taut but not vibrating them. Air is restricted through a small triangular passage
between the arytenoid cartilages, and this produces a hissing sound
(see Figure 2.2c).
Consonant Sounds

phonetic continuum, a continuous, smoothly flowing set of

SPEECH movements, not a set of discrete and isolated movements

consists necessarily of a vowel; optionally, it may

SYLLABLE begin and/or end with a consonant

the nucleus or acoustic high point of a syllable; it is

VOWEL articulated for a longer time than surrounding
consonants
 Classification of Consonants

speech sound which is articulated with some kind of

CONSONANT stricture, or closure, of the air stream

1. the state of the glottis: in vibration (voiced) or open

(voiceless)

2. the state of the velum: lowered (nasal) or raised (oral)

3. the place of articulation: where the stricture occurs (place

of maximum interference) and what articulators are
involved

4. the manner of articulation: the amount of structure,

whether it is complete, partial (called close approximation),
or relatively open (open approximation)
Classification of Consonants (cont’d)
Place of Articulation
Classification of Consonants (cont’d)
Place of Articulation

The lips are brought together (the lower lip is

active); the tongue is not involved but remains in the
Bilabial
“rest position” (its position when you say ah for the
doctor) – e.g. the sound of “b” in English;

The lower lip is brought up against the upper front

Labiodental teeth; again the tongue is in rest position – e.g. the
sound of “f ” in English

The tip of the tongue (or apex) protrudes between

Dental the teeth or touches the back of the upper teeth –
e.g. the sound of “t” in Spanish or “th” in English
Classification of Consonants (cont’d)
Place of Articulation

The tip of the tongue makes contact with or is in

Alveolar close approximation to the alveolar ridge – e.g. the
sound of “d” in English

The front, or blade, of the tongue is raised to an

Alveolopalatal area between the alveolar ridge and the palate –
e.g. the sound of “sh” in English

The front of the tongue is brought up against the

Palatal
palate – e.g. the sound of “y” in English
Classification of Consonants (cont’d)
Place of Articulation

The back, or dorsum, of the tongue is brought into

Velar contact with the velum – e.g. the sound of “g” in
English

Uvular The back of the tongue touches the uvula

The root of the tongue (specifically, the epiglottis) is

Pharyngeal
moved backwards against the wall of the pharynx

The vocal cords, functioning as articulators, make a

Glottal
brief closure
Classification of Consonants (cont’d)
Manner of Articulation

Involving complete closure of two articulators with

Stop
the velum raised (velic closure) – e.g. the sound of
(“oral stop”) “p” in English

Involving complete closure of two articulators with the

Nasal velum lowered (“velic opening”) – e.g. the sound of “n”
(“nasal stop”) in English; for every stop position in English, there is a
nasal articulated in the same position (homorganic)

Fricative The front of the tongue is brought up against the

(“spirant”) palate – e.g. the sound of “y” in English
Classification of Consonants (cont’d)
Manner of Articulation

Consisting of a stop released into a homorganic

fricative – e.g. the sound of “ch” in English; this
Affricate
sound is analyzed either as a complex or a simple
sound

Involving complete closure alternating intermittently

Trill
with open approximation, that is, a rapid vibration of
(“Roll”) the active articulator against the passive articulator

Involving momentary complete closure in which the

Flap
active articulator strikes the passive articulator only
(“Tap”) once
Classification of Consonants (cont’d)
Manner of Articulation

one articulator approaches another but generally

not to the extent that a turbulent air stream is
Approximant
produced; there is usually open approximation in
the three different types of approximants:

involving complete closure of the central portion of the vocal

tract, with the lateral passage of air; the air may pass around
Lateral the sides with no stricture (open approximation)
– e.g. the sound of “l” in English

involving the underside of the tongue curling back behind the

Retroflex alveolar ridge towards the palate – e.g. the sound of “r” in
English; laterals and retroflexes are called “liquids”

involving a glide to or from a vowel; this sound is articulated

Glide like a vowel (with no stricture) but functions as a consonant to
(or semivowel) begin or end syllables – e.g. the sound of “w” in English
Consonants of English and Phonetic Notation
Consonants of English and Phonetic Notation (cont’d)
Stop Series

▪ In the stop series of English, there are paired voiced and voiceless
stops produced in three locations:

the voiced bilabial stop /b/ (band, ember, mob) and

Bilabial
the voiceless bilabial stop /p/ (pound, open, coop)

the voiced alveolar stop /d/ (danger, eddy, loud) and

Alveolar
the voiceless alveolar stop /t/ (tangle, otter, moat)

the voiced velar stop /g/ (grass, rugged, rug) and the
Velar
voiceless velar stop /k/ (carrot, election, luck)
Consonants of English and Phonetic Notation (cont’d)
Stop Series

▪ The bilabial stop is made by bringing the lips together.

▪ The alveolar by bringing the tip of the tongue up against the alveolar
ridge.

▪ The velar by bringing the back of the tongue up against the soft
palate.

▪ Released stops are called plosives.

Consonants of English and Phonetic Notation (cont’d)
Stop Series

▪ The stops share certain features:

▪ First, the voiced stops are articulated for a shorter period than the
corresponding voiceless stops.

• You should find that the final consonants in Column 1 take less time to
pronounce than those in Column 2.
Consonants of English and Phonetic Notation (cont’d)
Stop Series

▪ Second, the three voiceless stops have two variants each. Note the
following underlined sounds:

• Column 2 lists aspirated versions of the stops in Column 1.

• Aspiration means that you release a small puff of air after articulating
these sounds.

▪ Third, voiced stops may be partially “devoiced” at the end of words;

anticipating the following silence, we stop voicing part way through
the sound.
Consonants of English and Phonetic Notation (cont’d)
Alveolar Stop

• The alveolar stops also behave in several distinctive ways:

First, when /t/ occurs between two vowels (in the “intervocalic”:
position)

Examples: pity, Betty, little, latter, better, writer, city, or pretty

Say the following words and note whether they are homophones for you:
Consonants of English and Phonetic Notation (cont’d)
Alveolar Stop

• Second, when /d/ precedes the “th” sound, it is often made as a

dental stop (with the tongue against the back of the teeth) rather than
as an alveolar sound (with the tongue against the alveolar ridge)
Consonants of English and Phonetic Notation (cont’d)
Velar Stop

▪ The velar place of articulation for /k/ and /g/ in fact ranges over quite
a large area of the mouth.

▪ We anticipate the vowel that follows and articulate the velar stop
either further forward towards the palatal region (as in the first two
columns below) or further back in the velar region (as in the second
two columns):
Consonants of English and Phonetic Notation (cont’d)
Glottal Stop

▪ A final stop, which is unpaired, is the glottal stop. It is a stop

produced by bringing the vocal cords together and blocking the air
stream at this point.

▪ A glottal stop is by definition voiceless and is represented by .

▪ A glottal stop quite often precedes a final voiceless stop.

Consonants of English and Phonetic Notation (cont’d)
Nasal Series

▪ The nasal series consists of three nasal consonants articulated in the

same positions as the three sets of oral stops.

▪ The nasals in English are all voiced (though other languages have
voiceless nasals):

Bilabial Nasal /m/ as in mad, omen, room

Alveolar Nasal /n/ as in nose, onerous, loan

Velar Nasal /ŋ/ as in singer, ring (or the Chinese surname Ng)
Consonants of English and Phonetic Notation (cont’d)
Nasal Series

▪ To produce the bilabial nasal, your lips are brought together, as for
/b/, but air is allowed to escape through the nose.

▪ The alveolar nasal /n/ is articulated with the tongue in the same
position as for /d/.

▪ The velar nasal is a bit more difficult to produce in isolation since in

English it never begins a word. Put your tongue in position to
articulate /g/, but then release air through your nose.
Consonants of English and Phonetic Notation (cont’d)
Velar Nasal

• It is represented by an “n” with a tail called an “eng” /ŋ/.

• It is always found before the graphemes k or g, though the “g” sound

is usually not pronounced in final position

examples: anger, sinking, sink, sing

Consonants of English and Phonetic Notation (cont’d)
Alveolar Nasal

• May have a dental variant when it occurs before the dental sound
“th”. Contrast the “n” sounds in the columns below:

The alveolar nasal in Column 1 is articulated with the tongue against the
alveolar ridge, the dental variant in Column 2 with the tongue against the
back of the upper teeth.

• Another feature of the alveolar nasals is called nasal release. This

occurs when the nasal follows a homorganic stop (a stop produced in
the same place of articulation), hence the sequences /tn/ and /dn/.
Consonants of English and Phonetic Notation (cont’d)
Fricative Series

There are voiced and voiceless fricatives produced in four positions:

1. The voiced labiodental fricative /v/ (as in virtue, oven, love) and the
voiceless labiodental fricative /f/ (as in fool, offer, rough).

2. The voiced dental fricative /ð/ (as in then, lather, lathe) and the
voiceless dental fricative /θ/ (as in thigh, author, froth).

3. The voiced alveolar fricative /z/ (as in zero, ozone, ooze) and the
voiceless alveolar fricative /s/ (as in sorry, passive, rice).

4. The voiced alveolopalatal fricative (as in equation, rouge) and the

voiceless alveolopalatal fricative /∫/ (as in shirt, marshal, rush).
Consonants of English and Phonetic Notation (cont’d)
Fricative Series

▪ The labiodental fricatives /v/ and /f/ are made by bringing the lower lip
up against the upper teeth.

▪ The dental fricatives /ð/ and /θ/ by placing the tip of the tongue near
the inner surface of the upper teeth.

Listen carefully to the contrast in the following words:

Consonants of English and Phonetic Notation (cont’d)
Fricative Series

▪ The alveolar fricatives /z/ and /s/ are made by bringing the tip of the
tongue up towards the alveolar ridge, as with /t, d, n/, but not closing
off the flow of air entirely.

▪ The alveolopalatal fricatives and /∫/ are made by bringing the

tongue up towards the region between the alveolar ridge and palate.

Listen carefully to the contrast in the following words:

Consonants of English and Phonetic Notation (cont’d)
Fricative Series

Fricatives can be divided into two subclasses based on the amount of

acoustic energy released in articulating them:

1. One subclass, the sibilants, is produced by constricting the air and

then directing it over a sharp edge, namely the teeth. This yields a
sound with more acoustic energy, hence louder and higher in pitch
than other fricatives; sibilants are perceived as loud hissing sounds.
Sibilants include /s, z, ∫, as well as the affricates

2. The nonsibilants involve constriction of the air but no sharp edge;

they are consequently much quieter with less hissing. They include
/f, v, θ, ð/.
Consonants of English and Phonetic Notation (cont’d)
Fricative Series

The affricate series consists of only two sounds in English:

▪ The voiced alveolopalatal affricate (as in jury, lodger, barge); and

▪ The voiceless alveolopalatal affricate /t∫/ (as in chin, pitcher, itch).

Note: Affricates, fricatives, and stops all belong to a larger class of

sounds called obstruents - so called because their production obstructs
the flow of air through the oral cavity.
Vowels
Definitions

vowels are sounds articulated with no

Articulatory obstruction of the air stream, that is, with
open articulation

vowels are sounds that vary in pitch,

Acoustic which is determined by the quality of the
sound wave

vowels constitute the nucleus, or

Functional necessary, part of the syllable
Classification of Vowels

▪ Vowels are easier to classify than consonants.

▪ For consonants, we must consider four criteria:

voicing, orality/nasality, place, and manner of articulation.

▪ For vowels, we need to consider only one criterion:

place of articulation.

▪ This is due to the fact that all vowels are voiced and oral.
 Classification of Vowels (cont’d)

PLACE OF We determine where the highest point of the tongue is

ARTICULATION during the production of the vowel sound.

• In articulating vowels, the tongue is primary.

• The larynx can move up and down slightly.
• The velum can be raised or lowered.
• The lower jaw is also raised or lowered in conjunction with
the tongue position.
• The lips, also in conjunction with the tongue position, can
be open and closed, as well as rounded (pursed) or
unrounded (spread).
Classification of Vowels (cont’d)

▪ In classifying vowels, it is generally sufficient to talk about the

position of tongue.

▪ The tongue is convex, with the front and back humped and the tip
hanging down.

▪ The high point is measured on two axes: a horizontal, or front-back

axis, and a vertical, or high-low axis.

▪ There are thus 36 possible vowel positions, including the choice

between rounded and unrounded vowels in each position.
Classification of Vowels (cont’d)

• single or simple vowel sound

MONOPHTHONG constituting the nucleus of a syllable

• consists of the tongue gliding from one

vowel position to another within a
DIPHTHONG single syllable;
• it is produced as one continuous
sound, not as a succession of sounds.
Classification of Vowels (cont’d)

always make use of one of the two

DIPHTHONG semivowels, /j/ and /w/, hence their name
of “glide”

consists of a vowel portion followed by a

Falling Diphthong glide portion

consists of a glide portion followed by a

Rising Diphthong vowel portion, thus consisting of a rise or
increase in resonance
Vowels of English and Phonetic Notation
Vowels of English and Phonetic Notation (cont’d)

• produced with the high point of the

Front Vowels tongue in the palatal region
• all unrounded

In the high front area, there are two vowels:

1. The high front tense vowel, represented with a Roman alphabet lower
case i /i/; this is the “long e” sound of words

examples: heed, he, bead, heat, keyed

2. The high front lax vowel, represented with a Roman alphabet small
capital i /I/

examples: hid, bid, hit, kid

Vowels of English and Phonetic Notation (cont’d)

In the mid front area, there are two possible vowels:

1. The upper-mid front vowel, represented with a Roman alphabet lower

case e /e/;

examples: German leben ‘to live’

French été ‘summer’
Spanish leche ‘milk’

Note: Most dialects of English have no “pure e”.

2. The lower-mid front vowel, represented with Greek epsilon /ε/;

examples: head, bed, neck, bet, hair, care

Note: It is a very common vowel in English.

Vowels of English and Phonetic Notation (cont’d)

In the low front area, there is one vowel in English:

The low front vowel represented by the Old English symbol called “æsc”
or “ash” /æ/

examples: lamb, hat, rap, fast, tram

Vowels of English and Phonetic Notation (cont’d)

In the mid central area, there are four sounds. All of these are “uh”
sounds:

1. The upper-mid central vowel, represented by the Hebrew “schwa” /ә/.

This sound is found in unstressed syllables only.

examples: sofa, about, subtract, offend

Note that in the following words, the underlined vowels in the unstressed
syllables tend to reduce to /ә/ (stress is indicated by the acute accent mark ´)
Vowels of English and Phonetic Notation (cont’d)

2. A variant of schwa, the high central vowel, represented by “barred i”

This is the reduced vowel found in very casual speech, as when you
say the adverb just (as opposed to the adjective just):

He just arrived (Adv)

He is a just person (Adj)
in the second syllable in the following words:

chicken, women, roses, college, comic, spinach

Vowels of English and Phonetic Notation (cont’d)

3. The mid central vowel, represented by a “reversed open e with hook”.

This sound occurs only in stressed syllables when followed by an “r”
sound.

examples: herd, her, bird, hurt, pert

4. The lower-mid central vowel, represented by an “inverted v” . This

sound occurs only in stressed syllables

examples: cut, bud, hut, putt, mud

Vowels of English and Phonetic Notation (cont’d)

In the low central area, there is one sound, represented with a Roman
alphabet lower case a /a/

example: German machen

Note: It is somewhat further forward than the mid central vowels, it is

sometimes analyzed as a front vowel in other systems of transcription.
Vowels of English and Phonetic Notation (cont’d)

The back vowels are all rounded, except one. There are two high back
vowels:

1. The high back tense vowel represented by a Roman alphabet lower

case u /u/.

examples: who, booed, boot, hoot, cooed, do

2. The high back lax vowel, represented by Greek upsilon .

examples: hood, put, good, look, could

Vowels of English and Phonetic Notation (cont’d)

Historically, has become in many words, so that words which

appear from the spelling to contain “short u” do not

examples: fun, run, luck, spun, gun, cuff, gull, dull

Exceptions are u’s between labials and /l/, /∫/ or /t∫/, which remain

examples: full, pull, mull, wool, bull, push, bush, butcher

Vowels of English and Phonetic Notation (cont’d)

In the mid back area, there are two possible vowels:

1. The upper-mid back vowel, represented by a Roman alphabet lower

case /o/

examples: German Boot ‘boat’

French eau ‘water’
chaud ‘hot’

2. The lower-mid back vowel, represented by a backwards c, called an

“open o”, .

examples: fort, torte, more

Vowels of English and Phonetic Notation (cont’d)

In the low back area, there are again two possible vowels:

1. The low back unrounded vowel, represented by a lower case script a

/a/.

examples: father, hot, cod, body, bomb, hard, bard, heart, card

2. The low back rounded vowel, represented by an upside down script

Speakers of British and Canadian English may have this sound
in the words given immediately above, except father.
Vowels of English and Phonetic Notation
Diphthong
Vowels of English and Phonetic Notation (cont’d)
Diphthong

1. The low central to high front (lax) diphthong

examples: hide, high, bide, height, eye, sigh, tired, hire

2. The low central to high back (lax) diphthong

examples: how, found, cowed, out, down

Note: Your lips round at the end with a /w/ glide.

3. The (upper-)mid front to high front (lax) diphthong

examples: hay, hate, bayed, mate, gate, late

Note: This sound has traditionally been called “long a”, but it is, in
fact, a falling diphthong.
Vowels of English and Phonetic Notation (cont’d)
Diphthong

4. The (upper-)mid back to high back (lax) diphthong

examples: bode, hoe, boat, coat, no

5. The (lower-)mid back to high front (lax) diphthong

examples: ahoy, Boyd, boy, ploy

6. The high front (lax) to high back (tense) diphthong

examples: hued, cute, cued, few, pure, fury

 Functions of Vowels and Consonants

Syllabic- they constitute the obligatory nucleus of a

VOWELS syllable, which consists minimally one vowel

-acoustically prominent, longer, sonorous

Non-syllabic- shorter and less prominent

CONSONANT -can also be Syllabic, they can stand alone in a syllable
(without any other vowel)

-phonetic notation of consonant's Syllabic function

denoted by a subscript bar