SONORANTS (PART 1)
NASALS AND THE LATERAL
1. Obstruents vs. sonorants
2. Voicing
3. Place of articulation and its contextual modifications
4. Manner of articulation
5. Dark [ɫ] vs. clear [l]
6. Syllabicity
7. Shortening
1. Obstruents vs. sonorants
sonorants include nasals /m, n, ŋ/, the lateral /l/, the frictionless continuant
(approximant) /r/ and semi-vowels (glides) /j, w/
obstruents sonorants
manner of articulation obstruction to the airflow continuous and uninterrupted
(total closure / narrowing oral or nasal escape of air
causing friction) (no friction)
voicing voiceless vs. voiced voiced
force of articulation fortis vs. lenis -
syllabicity - nasals and /l/ may be syllabic
2. Voicing (the general rules below apply to all sonorants)
sonorants are fully voiced in most contexts
devoicing takes place only when the preceding sound is a voiceless obstruent
- sonorants are completely devoiced when the preceding voiceless obstruent is a
plosive initial in a stressed syllable (NOTE: nasals never occur in this context)
play [pl ̥eɪ] *[tl] clean [kl ̥iːn]
pride [pr̥aɪd] tree [tr̥iː] cry [kr̥aɪ]
pure [pj ̊ʊə] tune [tj ̊uːn] cure [kj ̊ʊə]
*[pw] twist [tw̥ ɪst] quick [kw̥ ɪk]
- /j/ is completely devoiced when the preceding voiceless obstruent is /h/ (NOTE:
other sonorants never occur in this context), e.g. huge [hj ̊uːdʒ], humour [ˈhj ̊uːmə]
- sonorants are partially devoiced when the preceding voiceless obstruent is NOT
a plosive initial in a stressed syllable (e.g. a voiceless plosive initial in an
unstressed syllable, a voiceless affricate or a voiceless fricative)
shipment [ˈʃɪpm̥ənt] split [spl ̥ɪt] stew [stj ̊uː]
smile [sm̥aɪɫ] culprit [ˈkhʌɫpr̥ɪt] skew [skj ̊uː]
witness [ˈwɪtn̥əs] street [str̥iːt] few [fj ̊uː]
snow [sn̥əʊ] screen [skr̥iːn] sue [sj ̊uː]
butler [ˈbʌtl ̥ə] fry [fr̥aɪ] upward [ˈʌpw̥ əd]
fly [fl ̥aɪ] thrive [θr̥aɪv] swim [sw̥ ɪm]
slim [sl ̥ɪm] shrink [ʃr̥ɪŋk] square [skw̥ eə]
earthly [ˈɜːθl ̥i] opulent [ˈɒpj ̊ʊlənt] network [ˈnetw̥ ɜːk]
3. Place of articulation and its contextual modifications
the places of articulation of English nasals correspond to the places of articulation
of English plosives, i.e. bilabial /m/ - /p, b/, alveolar /n/ - /t, d/, velar /ŋ/ - /k, g/
the place of articulation of English /l/ is alveolar
A. modification of bilabial /m/
/m/ becomes labio-dental [ɱ] when /f/ or /v/ follows, e.g.
comfort [ˈkʌɱfət] triumph [ˈtraɪʌɱf]
emphasis [ˈeɱfəsɪs] come first [kʌɱ fɜːst]
nymph [nɪɱf] warm vest [wɔːɱ vest]
B. modification of alveolar /n/ and /l/
/n/ becomes labio-dental [ɱ] when /f/ or /v/ follows, e.g.
info [ˈɪɱfəʊ] infant [ˈɪɱfənt]
convent [ˈkɒɱvənt] on fire [ɒɱ faɪə]
canvass [ˈkæɱvəs] in vain [ɪɱ veɪn]
/n/ and /l/ become post-alveolar [n̠] and [l ̠] when /r/ follows, e.g.
Henry [ˈhen̠ri] already [ɔːl ̠ˈredi]
sunrise [ˈsʌn̠raɪz] all right [ɔːl ̠ ˈraɪt]
unrest [ʌn̠ˈrest] rivalry [ˈraɪvəl ̠ri]
/n/ and /l/ become dental [n̪] and [l ̪] when /θ/ or /ð/ follows, e.g.
month [mʌn̪θ] filth [fɪl ̪θ]
anthem [ˈæn̪θəm] wealth [wel ̪θ]
when they [wen̪ ðeɪ] will they [wɪl ̪ ðeɪ]
C. modification of velar /ŋ/
place of contact between the back of the tongue and the soft palate for the velar
nasal depends on the preceding vowel
advanced – when the preceding vowel is front (/ɪ, e, æ/), e.g.
sing [sɪŋ] length [leŋθ]
thing [θɪŋ] bank [bæŋk]
retracted – when the preceding vowel is back (/ɒ/), e.g.
song [sɒŋ]
long [lɒŋ]
important facts about /ŋ/
limited distribution: 1. never initially in a word or morpheme 2. only in post-
vocalic position (i.e. after a vowel) 3. only following short vowels /ɪ, e, æ, ɒ, ʌ/
word-final [g] was lost after [ŋ] around 1700 → [ŋ] gained phonemic status with
minimal pairs such as sin [sɪn] vs. sing [sɪŋ] ([k] has not been lost following [ŋ])
[ŋg] retained in the north-west Midlands
4. Manner of articulation
nasal
nasal consonants resemble oral plosives in that a total closure is made within the
mouth; they differ from such plosives in that the soft palate is in its lowered
position, allowing an escape of air through the nasal cavity
lateral
partial closure, on one or both sides of which the air-stream is able to escape
through the mouth
5. Dark [ɫ] vs. clear [l]
clear [l] – before vowels or /j/ – the front of the tongue is raised in the direction
of the hard palate, e.g.
feeling [ˈfiːlɪŋ] loud [laʊd]
silly [ˈsɪli] will you [wɪl juː]
alive [əˈlaɪv] feel it [fiːl ɪt]
dark [ɫ] – before consonants (except for /j/) or word-finally – the back of the
tongue is raised in the direction of the soft palate, e.g.
milk [mɪɫk] tall [tɔːɫ]
silk [sɪɫk] hell [heɫ]
felt [feɫt] candle [ˈkændɫ̩]
6. Syllabicity
nasals and /l/ may become syllabic (i.e. perform the syllabic function of vowels)
when they follow a consonant in an unstressed syllable, e.g.
rhythm [ˈrɪðm̩ ] settle [ˈsetl ̩]
sudden [ˈsʌdn̩] middle [ˈmɪdl ̩]
thicken [ˈθɪkŋ̍] bottle [ˈbɒtl ̩]
reason [ˈriːzn̩] little [ˈlɪtl ̩]
often [ˈɒfn̩] couple [ˈkʌpl ̩]
listen [ˈlɪsn̩] uncle [ˈʌŋkl ̩]
mission [ˈmɪʃn̩] final [ˈfaɪnl ̩]
vision [ˈvɪʒn̩] camel [ˈkæml ̩]
7. Shortening
nasals and /l/ are shortened when a fortis obstruent follows, e.g.
no shortening shortening
bend [bend] bent [bent]
send [send] sent [sent]
cold [kəʊld] colt [kəʊlt]
