Articulatory and Physiological Classification

of English Consonants

1. Answer the following questions:

1. What is a consonant sound?
2. How do the consonant change on the articulatory level?
3. What are the two consonant classes according to the degree of noise?
4. What is the function of the vocal cords in the production of voiced and
voiceless noise consonants?
5. How does the degree of noise vary according to the force of articulation?
6. What is a sonorant? State the difference between sonorants and noise
consonants.
7. How does the position of the soft palate determine the quality
of a sonorant?
8. What are the four groups of consonants according to the manner
of articulation?
9. Which consonant sounds are called occlusive?
10. Why are plosives called “stops”?
11. Which consonant sounds are called constrictive?
12. How else are constrictive noise consonants called and why?
13. How do the fricatives vary in the work of the vocal cords and
in the degree of force of articulation?
14. How are the constrictive sonorants made?
15. Which consonant sounds are occlusive-constrictive?
16. Enumerate the consonant groups according to the place of articulation.
17. How are the forelingual consonants classified according to the work
of the tip of the tongue?
18. How do the forelingual consonants differ according to the place
of obstruction?

2. Give the definition of the terms:

Consonant sound, noise consonant, sonorant, nasal sonorant, oral sonorant,
lenis consonant, fortis consonant, voiceless consonant, voiced consonant, plosives,
fricatives, affricates, labial consonants, forelingual consonants, palatals, velar
consonants, glottal consonant.

3. Explain the articulation of /p, t, k/ and /b, d, g/ from the viewpoint

of the work of the vocal cords and the force of articulation.

4. Explain the articulation of /m, n, ŋ/ from the point of view of the

position of the soft palate.
 5. Define the consonant phonemes /s, z/. State the articulatory difference
between these two sounds.

6. What consonants are characterized as:

a) lenis, interdental;
b) fortis, labio-dental, fricative;
c) velar, nasal;
d) palatal, sonorant;
e) voiced, palato-alveolar, affricate;
f) aspirated, alveolar, plosive.

Give examples of words with these sounds.

7. State the articulatory differences between /θ – s/, /ð – z/, /θ – f/, /ð –

v/, /θ – t/, /ð – d/.

8. Define the consonant phoneme /h/. State articulatory differences

between the English /h/ and the Russian /x/.

9. Define the consonant phonemes /ʃ, ʒ, ʧ, ʤ/. Describe the bicentral

position of the tongue in the production of these sounds.

10. Define the sonorants /r, l, w, j/.

11. Denote general characteristic features referring to the following

consonants:
a) /p/, /b/, /m/;
b) /ɡ/, /p/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /b/;
c) /t/, /s/, /p/, /k/, /f/, /ʃ/, /ʧ/;
d) /v/, /z/, /n/, /ɡ/, /d/, /b/, /l/, /r/, /j/, /w/, /ʤ/, /ʒ/;
e) /t/, /d/, /s/, /z/, /n/, /l/;
f) /k/, /ɡ/, /ŋ/;
g) /ʤ/, /ʧ/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/.
 12. Decide whether the final sound of the following words is voiced or
voiceless:
bus, use (noun), as, breathe, has, off, buzz, teeth, of, booth

13. In each of the groups of sounds below there is one that is not
produced at the same place of articulation as the others. Identify this odd one
out.
a) /t n d s ʃ l/ b) /k ɡ h ŋ x/ c) /p f m b w/

14. Below are some English words. Follow a suggested change for each
of the words.
a) fight: change a labiodental consonant into any velar consonant
b) take: change an alveolar consonant into a postalveolar consonant
c) bathe: change an interdental consonant into any alveolar consonant

15. Which of the following English words contain no sonorants?

soon, clasp, talked, beauty, sky, cows, thorough, quick, captive, chalk

16. Fill in the table:

medio- back-
according labial forelingual glottal
lingual lingual
to the place
palato-alveolar

of articulation
post-alveolar
labio-dental

inter-dental
bi-labial

alveolar

Palatal

velar
according
to the manner
of articulation
Plosives voiced

voiceless
Occlusive
nasal
resonants
(sonorants)
fricatives voiced
voiceless
medial
Constrictive
sonorants
lateral
sonorants
occlusive- affricates voiced
constrictive
voiceless

17. Read these words. Observe the apical and cacuminal positions
of the tip of the tongue in pronouncing the English /t, r/ and the dorsal
in pronouncing the Russian /т/.
так take rates
тент tent read /red/
тайм time rhyme
ток talk rock
тел tell Wren
Том town round
Тим Tim rim
тон ton run
туу... two room
тир tear rear
Тедди Teddy ready
Антей take rake
Тима team real
тик ticket ricket
тост toast roast

18. Read these words. Mind the pronunciation of /h/ as a pure sound
of breath.
help, hall, house, here, hand, harm, heard, hold, head, hear, hot, hills, high,
whole, he, his, has, him, 'hardship, 'holiday, 'horror, ho'tel, 'human, 'happy,
be'hind, 'heathera, 'handsome, 'hardly, 'horses, 'Henry, 'Holland, 'Hubert, 'Helen

19. Transcribe these words. Read them. Mind the /j/ articulation.
young, youth, your, year, yet, yesterday, used to, news, human, museum, suit,
few, reviews, capsules

20. Underline the letters, which represent in spelling the dark [ł] with
one line and the clear [l] with two lines in the words given below. Read the
words.
felt, hills, always, least, holiday, letter, plans, like, soil, total, gentle, little,
left, explain, slack, coloured, light-headed, small, people, hostel, sleep, believe, lit,
reply, model, hotel, article, lasted, longer, looked, lunch, will, special, restful,
laughed, long, low, smile, nearly, usual, led, final, place, deal, clapping, fell,
glorious, lovely, world, rebuilt

21. Mark the linking /r/ and read these sentences.

1. Hotels are expensive in the South. 2. You can see Moscow grow before
your eyes. 3. There is a theatre and a bar in the building of the new hotel. 4. There
are hostels all over the place. 5. The weather gets nicer and nicer. 6. There are
a number of small islands on the river. 7. There are more sheep in Wales than
anywhere in the British Isles. 8. In Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens you forget
that you are in a big city. 9. The local newspapers were a surprise to me. 10. I
bought it on the spur of the moment. 11. Let’s focus on the matter in hand. 12.
She’s without a care in the world.

22. Sort out the oppositions under the following headings: a) occlusive
vs. constrictive, b) constrictive vs. occlusive-constrictive, c) noise vs.
sonorants.
pine — fine work — jerk vain — lane
fare — chair bee — thee came — lame
boat — moat deed — need pick – thick
seek — seen sick — sing kick — king

23. Sort out the oppositions under the following headings: a) labial vs.
forelingual, b) labial vs. mediolingual, c) labial vs. backlingual.

pat — cat wield — yield mist — list

west – guest supper — succour coming — cunning
leap — leak seem — seen wail — Yale
bard – yard wine – shine Sim – sing

24. State which of the pairs illustrate a) forelingual vs. mediolingual and
b) forelingual vs. backlingual oppositions.

tame — came sinner — singer sung — young

less — yes bitter — bicker bat — back
rudder — rugger clue — cue day — gay
drew — due bad — bag rung — young

25. State what classificatory principles can be illustrated by the pairs

of words given below (consonants opposed initially).
pie — bye been — dean
 pole — coal pine — mine
fell — well debt — net
fee — he tail — veil
sole — role those — rose
pity — city fail — sail

26. Transcribe these words. Underline /ŋ/ with a single line, / ŋɡ/ with
two lines.
bring, lungs, England, singular, anything else, nothing of the kind, willingly,
taking it, mingled, sleeping, thing, hungry, fishing, morning, driving on, longer,
younger, getting on, spring, seeing a friend off, clasping in both hands

Articulatory and Physiological Classification

of English Vowels

1. Answer the following questions:

1. Why do phoneticians distinguish three groups of vowels according
to the stability of articulation?
2. What characteristics do all front vowels have in common that is differing
them from the back vowels?
3. What is the difference between front and front-retracted vowels?
4. What is the difference between back and back-advanced vowels?
5. What makes central and front vowels different?
6. What characteristic makes close vowels unlike mid and open ones?
7. What’s the difference between free and checked vowels?
8. What are the two types of vowels according to the degree of tenseness?
9. How do different phonetic contexts modify vowel length in English?
10. What is the difference between closing and centring diphthongs?
11. Describe the system of cardinal vowels.

2. Give the definition of the terms:

Vowel sound, monophthong, diphthong, diphthongoid, front vowels, front-
retracted vowels, central vowels, back vowels, back-advanced vowels, close (high)
vowels, open (low) vowels, mid vowels, rounded vowels, tense vowels,
lax vowels, checked vowels, unchecked vowels.

3. Give examples to prove that voiceless vowels exist in English and

in Russian.
 4. Define the vowels /ɒ/, /ɪ/, /ɜ:/, /ʌ/ according to the following principles
of classification: a) stability of articulation, b) tongue position, c) lip position,
d) degree of tenseness, e) length.

5. What vowels are characterized as:

a.front, high;
b.back, diphthongoid;
c.central, long;
d.central, low;
e.back-advanced, unrounded

6. Each of the following sets of vowels has an ‘odd one out’. Identify it and
say why it is unlike the others.
a) /æ ɪ eə ʊ e / b) /i: e æ u:/ c) /u: ɜ: ɒ i: ɑ:/ d) / ɑ: æ ɒ i:/

7. Denote general characteristic features referring to the following

vowels:

a) /u:/, /ʊ/, /ɔ:/, /ɒ/; d) /e/, /ɔ:/, /ʌ/;

b) /i:/, /ɪ/, /e/, /æ/; e) /eə/, /ɪə/, /ʊə/;
c) /ɜ:/, /ʌ/; f) /eɪ/, /əʊ/, /aɪ/, /aʊ/, /ɔɪ/.

8. Read these pairs of words. State what principles of vowel

classification they illustrate.

a) cod — cord b) end — and c) fir — for

not — nought ten — tan firm — form
cot — caught hem — ham turn — torn
body — border kettle — cattle bird — bord

d) fool — full e) am — aim f) nor — no

pool — pull add — aid law — low
food — put man — main called — cold
tool — took lad — laid bald — bold
boot — book fat — fate caught — coat
 9. Transcribe these words. Read them. Observe positional length
of the vowel /i:/.

a) see, we, tree, be, me, he, fee;

b) seem, read, clean, seen, deal, people, easily;
c) cheep, sweep, chief, treat, least, creek, week

10. Fill in the table and the vowel trapezium:

Front- Back-
Front Central Back
retracted advanced
Narrow
Close Variation
(high) Broad
Variation
Narrow
Variation
Mid
Broad
Variation
Narrow
Open Variation
(low) Broad
Variation

High

Front Back

Low
 11. Read these words and state what movements of the tongue make
the vowel phonemes /e, з:, ʌ, ɑ:, æ, ɪ, ɔ: / different.

bid — bird — bud — bard

lack — lurk — luck — lark
hat — hurt — hut — heart
big — beg — bag
pot — port — put
kit — curt — caught
torn — turn — tin

12. Read these pairs of words. State what diphthongs are opposed
in the pairs. Define the type of the diphthongs according to the movements
of the tongue from the nucleus to the glide.

hay — high laid — lied no — now

bay — buy tape — type hoe — how
here — hair ear — air rear — rare
fear — fair beer — bear tear — tare
known — noun phoned — found light – late

13. Read these words. Observe the allophonic difference of the vowel
phonemes conditioned by their positional length.

bee — been — beet lay — laid — late

dee — dean — deep
knee — need — neat
see — seed — seat
lee — league — leak
core — cord — caught
saw — sword — sought
four — form — fork
bore — board — bought
may — maid — mate
say — save — safe
sign — side — sight
tie — tide — tight
her — heard — hurt
sir — serve — serf
fur — furl — first
were — girl — purse

14. Transcribe these words and read them. Observe the difference
between the fully front /i:/ and the front-retracted /ɪ/.

seem — since creek — crick

read — rid sleep — slip
meal — mill sleet — slit
steal — still least — list
mean — mince seek — sick
 team — Tim feeling — filling
seen — sin these — this
feel — fill eat — it
dealer — dinner steep — stick
been — chill seats — sits
heat — hit leave — live
cheap — chip he — him
beat — bit fever — fifty
deed — did cheek — chin
fees — fizz steep — stiff
me — missed beat — bit

15. Transcribe these words and read them. Observe the difference
between the mid-open /e/ and the fully open (low) /æ/.

bed — bad ten — tan

head — had men — man
then — than Shelly — shall
ten — tan said — sad
plenty — plan merry — married
else — Alice Henry — happy
letter — ladder chest — chap
select — relax Hetty — hat
end — and central — sandy
then — than vessel — value
twenty — twang any — anxious
bed — back plenty — platform
many — matter flesh — flash
helping — happy

16. What classificatory principle of vowels can be illustrated

by the contrastive pairs given below?
bid — beard pooh — poor too — tour
dead — dared ate — eight law — lower
pod — poured manner — minor letter — later
mass — mouse at — out merry – Mary

17. Transcribe these words and read them. Observe the difference
between the low long vowel of broad variation /ɑ:/ and the vowel /ʌ/.
calm — come
rather — running
barn — button
classes — buses
aunt — under
hard — hundred
dark — dull
basket — above
lark — luck
marvel — money
past — puzzling
market — mug
last — London
darn — done
Bart — but
cart — cut
March — much
Arnold — others
master — monkeys
started — study
enlarge — instructor
hardly — honey
rather — rubbed
last — plus
past — but
France — front
harbours — hundred
advantage — above
half—hut
arm — other
March — much
can't — come
target — two-pence
mask — must
hard — hut
 18. Which of the given examples illustrate a) high, mid, open, b) front,
central, back oppositions?

bead — bed — bad deed — dead — dad

cab — curb — cod tan — turn — torn
bad — bird — board hat — hurt — hot