TON DUC THANG UNIVERSITY

Faculty of Foreign Languages

Division of Linguistics - Culture - Literature
PHONETICS & PHONOLOGY - 001199

Chapters 3+4+5:
Consonants

Lecturer: Ho Phuong Thao

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 1
CHAPTER 3+4+5: CONSONANTS
• Part 1: The larynx, respiration and voicing
• Part 2: Plosives
• Part 3: Fricatives and Affricates
• Part 4: Nasals and other consonants

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 2

 THE LARYNX
1) What is the larynx also called?
2) Where is the larynx?
3) What is the larynx made of?
4) What are inside the larynx?
5) What is in the front of the larynx?
6) What is glottis?
7) How many states of vocal folds are there? What kinds of
sounds are made?

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 3

 THE LARYNX, RESPIRATION & VOICING
• The larynx (the voice box)
• In the neck
• Made of cartilage
• The front of the larynx:
Adam’s Apple
• Inside are the vocal folds /
vocal cords.

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 4

 THE LARYNX,
RESPIRATION &
VOICING

• The larynx (the voice box)

• Glottis: the opening between the vocal folds.
• 4 states of the vocal folds: wide apart, narrow glottis,
position for vocal fold vibration, vocal folds tightly closed

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 5

 THE LARYNX, RESPIRATION &
VOICING
• 4 states of vocal folds:
• (a) Wide apart: the vocal folds are
apart for normal breathing and for
voiceless consonants (p, f, s…)
• (b) Narrow glottis: when the glottis
is narrowed, the air is passed through
the glottis -> voiceless glottal
fricative (h)

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 6

 THE LARYNX, RESPIRATION & VOICING

• 4 states of vocal folds

• (c) Position for vocal fold vibration: the
edges of the vocal folds are touching each
other -> air passing through the glottis
will cause vibration.
• Voiced sounds

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 7

 THE LARYNX, RESPIRATION & VOICING

• 4 states of vocal folds:

• (d) vocal folds tightly closed:
vocal folds are pressed together so
that air can’t pass -> glottal stop /
glottal plosive -> ?

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 8

 Review: Short answer question
1) What’s the larynx made of?
2) What’s glottis?
3) How many states of glottis are there?

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 9

 THE LARYNX, RESPIRATION AND VOICING
• Respiration and voicing

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 10

 THE LARYNX, RESPIRATION AND VOICING
• Respiration and voicing
• egressive pulmonic airstream -> the most commonly found air
movement in languages.
• The vocal folds vibrate -> voiced sounds
• 3 main differences in the pressure of the air below the vocal folds:
• Variations in intensity: shouting -> high intensity / speaking
quietly -> low intensity
• Variations in frequency: vocal folds vibrate rapidly -> high
frequency / vibrate slowly -> low frequency.
• Variations in quality
30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 11
 Plosive / page 26
• A plosive: A stop made with a pulmonic airstream mechanism,
such as in English [ p ] or [ b ]
• 1 articulator is moved against another / 2 articulators are moved
against each other -> a stricture is formed (no air escapes from
the vocal tract)
• Air has been compressed behind the stricture -> the air is
released
• If the air behind the stricture is still under pressure -> the escape
of the air will produce loud noise -> plosion.
• There may be voicing during part or all of the plosive
articulation.
30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 12
 CONSONANT FEATURES / page 52
1) Voicing: voiceless or Voiced
2) Place of articulation
3) Manner of articulation

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 13

 ENGLISH PLOSIVES / page 26-27-28
• 6 plosive consonants: p, t, k, b, d, g
• Different places of articulation
• p, b: bilabial plosive (lips are pressed together)
• t, d: alveolar plosive (the tongue blade is pressed against the alveolar
ridge)
• k, g : velar plosive (the back of the tongue is pressed against the velum)
• All plosives can occur
• At the beginning of a word: initial position
• Between other sounds: media position
• At the end of a word: final position
30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 14
 PRACTICE
/p/ voiceless bilabial plosive
• Pen push stop
• Happy stopping
1) a piece of paper
2) Push or pull
3) a deep sleep
4) a cheap trip round Europe

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 15

 PRACTICE

/b/ voiced bilabial plosive

• big best rob robber verb
1) big business
2) When was the baby born?
3) It’s better to bake your own
bread than to buy it.

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 16

 PRACTICE
/t/ voiceless alveolar plosive
• tea till ten two twenty
• better bottle
• In past tenses: stopped washed
• In a few names:
Tom and Tim are twins. 

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 17

 PRACTICE
/d/ voiced alveolar plosive
• day deep do add address
ladder
• David didn’t do the dishes
/'dævɪd ˈdɪdnt duː ðə dɪʃɪz/
• She had a bad cold.
/ʃi hæd ə bæd kəʊld/

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 18

 PRACTICE

/k/ voiceless velar plosive

• car keep back school quick
1) Look in the kitchen cupboard.
2) Keep your keys in your pocket.

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 19

 PRACTICE
/ɡ/ voiced velar plosive.
• garden girl egg bigger
guess dialogue
1) Can you guess the beginning of
the dialogue?
2) Are you going jogging again?

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 20

 English FORTIS and LENIS / page 28-29
• p, t, k (voiceless) are produced with more force than b, d, g
(voiced)
• p, t, k are called fortis
• b, d, g are called lenis

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 21

FRICATIVES and AFFRICATES / pages 39-43

• Fricatives:
• consonants with the characteristic that air escapes through
a narrow passage and making a hissing sound.
• Affricates:
• Begin as plosives and end as fricatives

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 22

 THE FRICATIVES OF ENGLISH
• With the exception of glottal /h/
• Different places of articulation.
• Each place of articulation has 1 fortis and 1 lenis.
• Fortis fricatives are articulated with greater force than lenis and
their friction noise is louder.

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 23

 THE FRICATIVES OF ENGLISH
• Labiodental fricative: f, v
• the lower lip is in contact with the upper
teeth.
• The fricative noise is weak.

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 24

 PRACTICE

/f/ is a voiceless labio-dental

fricative.
• feel off phone laugh life
1) forty-five
2) a family photo
3) I’m feeling fine.
4) the fourteen of February

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 25

 PRACTICE

/v/ voiced labio-dental fricative.

• Very travel every have leave Stephen
1) We’re leaving at five past seven
2) a visa for a seven-day visit
3) Stephen lives in a village.

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 26

 THE FRICATIVES OF ENGLISH
• Dental fricative: θ, ð
• the tongue is placed between the
teeth
• Air escapes through the gap
between the tongue and the teeth.
• The fricative noise is weak.

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 27

 PRACTICE
/θ/ voiceless dental fricative.
• thin month birthday
1) I thought April the twelfth was a
Tuesday, but it’s a Thursday.
2) A: I’ve got three birthdays this
month.
B: Three birthdays? What do
you mean?
A: My wife’s, my son’s and my
daughter’s.
30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 28
 PRACTICE
/ð/ voiced dental fricative.
• this weather breathe
1) A: Can I have one of those?
B: These?
A: No, the others, over there.
2) A: Two coffees, please.
B: With milk?
A: One with, and one without.

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 29

 THE FRICATIVES OF ENGLISH
• Alveolar fricative: s, z
• the tongue blade is pressed against
the alveolar ridge
• the air escapes through a narrow
passage along the center of the
tongue
• the sound produced is intense.

30-Jul-20
001199: Chapters 3-4-5 30
 PRACTICE
/s/ voiceless alveolar fricative.
• sit class city place science
psychology
1) summer in the city
2) Have you seen my glasses?
3) So, I’ll see you in the same place
next Saturday.

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 31

 PRACTICE
/z/ voiced alveolar fricative.
• gives zoo scissors jazz close
1) What time does the zoo close?
2) A: My favorite music is jazz.
B: Really? Well, it’s always
interesting, but it isn’t always easy
to listen to.
3) Roses are my favorite flowers.

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 32

 THE FRICATIVES OF ENGLISH
• Post-alveolar fricative: ʃ, ʒ
• the tongue is in contact with an
area slightly further back than the
alveolar ridge
• the air escapes through a passage
along the center of the tongue.
• Lips are rounded.

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 33

 PRACTICE

/∫/ voiceless post-alveolar fricative

• wash ocean machine special sugar Russia
international
1) This is a very special pronunciation
machine.
2) All our food is fresh, and we serve
delicious international specialities.

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 34

 PRACTICE
/ʒ/ voiced post-alveolar fricative
• television Asia usually
• Measure /ˈmeʒə/
• Treasure /ˈtreʒə/
1) Do you like sports?
Yes … but only on television, usually.
2) Take the usual measurements.
/teɪk ðə ˈjuːʒuəl ˈmeʒəmənts/
3) They found the treasure in Asia.
/ðeɪ faʊnd ðə ˈtreʒə ɪn ˈeɪʒə/
30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 35
 THE FRICATIVES OF ENGLISH / pp. 40-41-42
• Voiceless Glottal fricative: h
• the air passes through the glottis when it is narrowed
• found before vowels
• has the quality of the vowel it precedes.

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 36

 PRACTICE
/h/ voiceless glottal fricative.
• hat who
1) Hi, hello, how are you?
2) Whose hat is this?
3) It’s hot in here.
4) We had a whole month’s
holiday.
5) Can you help me for half an
hour?
30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 37
THE AFFRICATES OF ENGLISH / page 43

• The affricates of English

• Affricates: consonants which begin as plosives and
end as fricatives.
• tʃ, dʒ
• Same place of articulation: Post-alveolar
• Rounded lips

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 38

 PRACTICE
/t∫/ voiceless post-alveolar affricate
• Chips future catch
1) Which questions did you choose in the exam?
2) The picture in the kitchen is by a Czech artist.

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 39

 PRACTICE

/dʒ/ voiced post-alveolar

affricate
• jam general large fridge
1) Who’s that wearing a large
orange jacket?
2) There’s some juice in the
fridge.
3) Languages are a bridge
between people.
30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 40
 NASALS

• Nasals
• The air escapes through the nose.
• The soft palate is lowered -> complete closure in the mouth.
• 3 types of closure:
• Bilabial (lips) /m/
• Alveolar (tongue blade against alveolar ridge) /n/
• Velar (back of tongue against the soft palate) /ŋ/
30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 41
 PRACTICE

/m/ voiced bilabial nasal

• me summer comb autumn
some
1) sometimes in summer
2) more for you, most for me

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 42

 PRACTICE

/n/ voiced alveolar nasal

• new dinner know fine
1. a sunny afternoon
2. sun and moon
3. nine months

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 43

 NASALS / pages 46-47

• The nasal /ŋ/

- no English words can begin with /ŋ/
- can occur only within or at the end of a word.
- can be preceded only by the vowels /æ, e, ɪ, ʌ, ɒ /
Ex: sing / finger / hanger / song

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 44

LATERAL / page 48
• A lateral consonant /l/
• There is complete closure between the center of the
tongue and alveolar ridge.
• The only way for air to escape is along the sides of
the tongue.
• 3 positions:
• Initial: love, lips
• Media: clock, click
• Final: little, bottle
30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 45
 PRACTICE
/l/ voiced alveolar lateral
• learn leave tall people
1. When shall we leave?
2. Are you alone?
3. How do you feel?
4. Can I help you?

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 46

 APPROXIMANT /r, j, w/ (pages 49-51)
• /r/:
• post-alveolar approximant
• An articulation in which one articulator is close to another but
it’s not so close to produce a complete consonant such as a
plosive, fricative or nasal.
• In some cases, there is no /r/ in the pronunciation
• Ex: car /kɑː/, ever /ˈevə/, here /hɪə/ , hard /hɑːd/
• /j, w/:
• semi-vowels
• /w/ has strong lip rounding.
30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 47
 PRACTICE
/r/ /ɹ/ voiced post-alveolar
approximant
• red ferry wrap
1) What are you reading?
2) I’m really sorry – your room
isn’t ready.
3) I don’t know if I’m right or
wrong.

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 48

 PRACTICE
/j/ voiced palatal approximant
• yes yesterday year young
1) She is a young university student. 
/ʃiː ɪz ə jʌŋ ˌjuːnɪˈvɜːrsəti ˈstuːdnt/
2) May I use your iron? 
/meɪ aɪ juːz jər ˈaɪərn/
3) Yes, you may use it any time. 
• /jes juː meɪ juːz ɪt ˈeni taɪm/

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 49

 PRACTICE
• /w/ voiced bilabial approximant
• week what one language square
1. swimming in warm water
2. twenty-one words
3. What’s the answer?
4. quarter to twelve on Wednesday

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 50

Homework

• Quizzes on E-learning
• Written exercises
• Review Chapter 1 -> 5
• Chapter 6: The syllable (p.56-63)

30-Jul-20 001199: Chapters 3-4-5 51