University of Basra

College of Arts
Department of English

Second year students

English Phonology
Tutor : Dr. Abdulkareem Al-Hadithi
 Lecture 3

Consonants
Chapters 4, 6 and 7
 What are consonants?

In a previous lecture, we have said that the sounds of any

human language are divided into two main types:
Consonants and Vowels. Consonants are the sounds which
are produced by making some kind of obstruction in one
place in the vocal tract.
This obstruction is either a (full closure), or it is a (very
narrow passage)
 English consonants

In English, there are 24 consonant sounds.

They differ from one another by one or more
than one of the following features:
1. The manner of articulation.
2. The place of articulation.
3. Voicing.
 The manner of articulation
We have said that consonants are produced by making
different positions for the organs of speech inside the vocal
tract in order to obstruct the airflow.
Every group of consonants are produced with a different
method: for example, some consonants are produced by
stopping the air completely by closing the path of air in the
vocal tract, other sounds are produced by making a very
narrow passage in one point in the vocal tract and so on.
The method of producing the consonant is called (the
Manner of Articulation)
 The place of articulation
The obstruction which is made to produce a consonant can
be made in different places in the vocal tract. When we
make the same obstruction in different places, different
sounds are resulted.
Ex. When we make a very narrow passage between the
alveolar ridge and the tip of the tongue, the sound /s/ is
produced. If we make the same narrowing a bit back
(between the tongue and the back part of the alveolar ridge)
the sound /ʃ/is created
The place in which the obstruction is made is called (the
place of articulation)
 Voicing

As we know, voice is the sound generated in the larynx be

the vibration of the vocal cords. Some sounds are
produced with such a vibration, and other sounds are
produced without this vibration.
The consonant that is produced with voice are called
voiced consonants, the consonants which are produced
without voice are called voiceless consonants.
Ex. /s/ is a voiceless consonant, /z/ is a voiced consonant
 The Types of consonants in English

The consonants of English can be

divided into 6 groups according to their
Manner of Articulation:
 1. Plosives

Plosive consonants are produced by:

 Stopping the airstream by making a full obstruction in
one point in the vocal tract.
Waiting until the pressure rises behind the obstruction.
Then the full obstruction is suddenly opened which
allows the air to escape in a form of slight explosion.
The number of plosives in English is six:
 Plosives

Sound Manner of Articulation Place of articulation voicing

/p/ plosive bilabial voiceless

/b/ plosive bilabial voiced
/t/ plosive alveolar voiceless
/d/ plosive alveolar voiced
/k/ plosive velar voiceless
/g/ plosive velar voiced
 2. Fricatives (Friction consonants)

Fricatives are consonants which are produced by making

a very narrow passage in one point in the vocal tract and
pushing the air through this narrow passage.
This will create a friction between the air and the organs
of speech in the narrow point.
This friction is the main feature of the friction
consonants.
The number of fricatives in English is Nine:
 Friction consonants (Fricatives)
Sound Manner of Articulation Place of articulation Voicing
/f/ Fricative Labiodental Voiceless
/v/ Fricative Labiodental Voiced
/θ/ Fricative Dental Voiceless
/ð/ Fricative Dental Voiced
/s/ Fricative Alveolar Voiceless
/z/ Fricative Alveolar Voiced
/ʃ/ Fricative Post-alveolar Voiceless
/ʒ/ Fricative Post-alveolar Voiced
/h/ Fricative Glottal Voiceless
 Affricates
Affricates are sounds which start as Plosives but
end as Fricatives.
These sounds start by closing the path of air
completely to stop airflow.
The pressure behind this closure is raised.
But, instead of opening the full obstruction, we
make a very narrow passage for the air to escape.
This will result in a friction.
 Affricates

Sound Manner of Place of Voicing

articulation articulation

/ tʃ / Affricate Post-alveolar Voiceless

/ dʒ / Affricate Post-alveolar Voiced

 Nasals
Nasals are consonants in which the air leaves the body
through the nose rather than the mouth.
They are produced by making a full obstruction in
one point in the mouth.
Lowering down the soft palate in order to open the
nasal path for the air.
The airstream will leave the body through the nose.
 Nasals of English
In English there are three nasal sounds:

Manner of Place of
Sound Voicing
Articulation Articulation
/m/ Nasal Bilabial Voiced
Nasal
/n/ Alveolar Voiced

Nasal
/ŋ/ Velar Voiced
 Lateral Consonant
This consonant is produced by closing the centre of
the mouth by making a full obstruction between the
tip of the tongue and the alveolar ridge.
The two sides of the tongue are lowered down.
The airstream will leave through the two sides of the
tongue.
There is only one consonant which is produced in this
way in English / l /.
 Lateral consonant

Sound Manner of Articulation Place of articulation voicing

/l/ Lateral Alveolar Voiced
 Lateral consonant

The sound / l / has two different pronunciations in British

English:
1. clear / l / as in the word class, please.
2. dark / l / as in the words cold, wolf.
The rule for pronouncing the / l / sound correctly is
simple:
If the / l / sound is followed by a vowel, it is clear,
otherwise it is dark.
 Approximants
There are three sounds in English which are produced like vowels
but they are classified as consonants / r /, / w /, / j /.
These sounds are produced without making any obstruction in the
vocal tract which means that they are vowels not consonants.
But, in English, these sounds are regarded as consonants because
they behave like consonants in the English sound system.
For this reason these sounds are vowels from the phonetics point
of view, but the are consonants from the phonological point of
view.
 Approximants

sound Manner of Place of Articulation Voicing

Articulation
/r/ Approximant Alveolar Voiced
/w/ Approximant Bilabial Voiced
/j/ Approximant Palatal Voiced