CONSONANTS | Consonants.are sounds in the product | . ction of whi i obstruction of the air passage. The obstruction ae ie ea ometimes by one and Sometimes by another speech organ ‘and the \ocal cords may be vibrating or not v . ibrating during the production of the sound. English consonants are classified according to : 41.. Manner ofarticulation 2, Theplace of articulation 3.. Voiced or voiceless. 1 Manner of Articulation According to manner of articulation English consonants are divided into six types. 4) Plosives : Plossive sounds are made by stopping the air and then releasing the air with explosion. There are six plosivesin English. They are :- P, b, td, k, g. ) Affricates : The term affricate denotes a concept whichis of /onetic importance. Affricates are articulated by closing the air 161releasing the air rather slowly. There is sloy, passage and then tive and passive articulators. Affricates in English separation of the act are :- Y, & c) Fricatives: Inthe articulation ofa fricative consonant, the active and passive articulators are held sufficiently close together and the air is allowed to escape through the narrow gap with audible friction, The fricative phonemes in English are. . J£vb 16 5b 1s zh 1 Jf. 3band|h| d) Nasals : During the production of nasals the oral passage is blocked and air escapes through the nose. Nasals are :- m,n, : e) Lateral : In the production of lateral, the tip of the tongue touches the centre of the upper teeth ridge and air escapes through both the sides. . L f) Semi Vowel : Semi vowels actually they are treated as consonants. are articulated like vowels but w,1,j Il. Place of articulation a) Bilabial : The sounds produced by using both the lips. p, b,m, w. b) Labio-dental : The sounds produced by usin; and the upper teeth. fy. : c) Dental : The sounds formed by the tip of the tongue an upper teeth. 8,6 4) Alveolar : The sounds formed by the lip or blade of the tongue and the tecth ridge. td, s,z, In. g the lower lip d the 162Palato-alveolar : The sounds formed by the blade of the tongue bid the back of alveolar. f wav fa, J-3 { T pak )) Palatal: Th¢ sound formed by the front of the tongue and hard palate. J c 2) Velar : The sound formed by the back of the tongue and soft palate. ~ kg0 i }) Glottal : The sound formed at the glottis. af Ul. Voicing Voicing is determined by the vibration of the vocal cords. Ifthe * cords vibrate during the production.of a sound, the sound is led a voiced sound. If the vocal cords do not vibrate during the en of the sound, the sound is called voiceless. All vowels in- are voiced sounds. There are only nine voiceless consonants oe They are :- F : Ya, S.ts,h.