CONSONANT SOUNDS IN ENGLISH –

PLACE OF ARTICULATION
CONSONANT SOUNDS IN
ENGLISH

 CHARACTERISTICS OF CONSONANT
SOUND
1. Place of articulation
2. Manner of articulation
3. Voicing
 Place of • The place of articulation dimension
specifies where in the vocal tract the
articulation constriction is.

• specifies whether the vocal folds are

Voicing vibrating

Manner of • how narrow the constriction is, whether air

articulatio is flowing through the nose, and whether the
tongue is dropped down on one side
n
Place of articulation
 ACTIVE ARTICULATORS
1. An active articulator is the articulator that does all or
most of the moving during a speech gesture.
2. The active articulator is usually the lower lip or some part
of the tongue.
3. These active articulators are attached to the jaw which
is relatively free to move when compared to parts of the
vocal tract connected directly to the greater mass of the
skull.
 PASSIVE ARTICULATORS
1. A passive articulator is the articulator that makes little or
no movement during a speech gesture. The active
articulator moves towards the relatively immobile passive
articulator.
2. Passive articulators are often directly connected to
the skull.
3. Passive articulators include the upper lip, the upper
teeth, the various parts of the upper surface of the
oral cavity, and the back wall of the pharynx.
The Places of articulation used in English :
 Bilabial
 Labio-dental
 Dental
 Alveolar
 Post-alveolar
 Palatal
 Velar
 Glottal
 Bilabial

The articulators are the two lips. (We

could say that the lower lip is the active
articulator and the upper lip the passive
articulator, though the upper lip usually
moves too, at least a little.)

English bilabial sounds include /p/, /b/, /m/ and /w/.

EXAMPLE
p Creepy /kri:pi/
b Bee /bi:/
m Summer /sʌmɚ/
w west /west/
 Labio-dental

The lower lip is the active articulator

and the upper teeth are the passive
articulator. English labio-dental sounds
include [f] and [v].

English labio-dental sounds include [f] and [v].

EXAMPLE
f Fun /fʌn/
v Movie /mu:vi/
 Dental

Dental sounds involve the upper teeth

as the passive articulator. The active
articulator may be either the tongue tip
or (usually) the tongue blade

English dental sounds include [ð ] and [ θ]

EXAMPLE
θ Health /helθ/
ð Then /ðen/
 Alveolar

English alveolar sounds include

[t], [d], [n], [s], [z], [l].

EXAMPLE
t Return /rɪtɜːn /
d Sudden /sʌdən/
s Messy /mesi/
z Lousy /laʊzi/
Alveolar sounds involve the n Gnaw /nɔ:/
alveolar ridge as the passive l Relief /rɪliːf/
articulator. The active articulator r Rest /rest/
may be either the tongue blade
or (usually) the tongue tip
 Post-alveolar

Example
IPA
Orthography IPA
ship [ʃɪp]

vision [vɪʒən]
chip [tʃɪp]
jug [dʒʌɡ]

Postalveolar sounds involve the area just behind the alveolar ridge as the
passive articulator. The active articulator may be either the tongue tip or
(usually) the tongue blade
 Palatal

The active articulator is the tongue

body and the passive articulator is the
hard palate.

The English glide [j] is a palatal.

EXAMPLE
j onion ʌnjən
 Velar

The active articulator is the tongue

body and the passive articulator is the
soft palate

English velars include [k], [g], and [ŋ]

EXAMPLE
k Locker /lɒkə/
g Gun /gʌn/
Singer /sɪŋə/
 Glottal

Glottal sounds are made in the larynx. For the glottal stop, the vocal cords close
momentarily and cut off all airflow through the vocal tract. In [h], the vocal cords
are open, but close enough together that air passing between them creates
friction noise.