WEEK 3+4: CONSONANTS

Instructed by
Phan Thi Thanh Ha
KEY CONTENTS

I. Previous lesson check

II. Consonants

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I. PREVIOUS LESSON CHECK

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1. Name the articulators.
2. What are passive? What are active?

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- Active (mobile)
articulators:
the lower lip
the tongue
- Passive (non-mobile)
articulators:
• the upper lip
• the teeth
• the roof of the mouth
(alveolar ridge, hard
palate, soft palate,
uvula)
• the pharynx wall

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What are the differences between consonants and
vowels?

Vowels Consonants
- None of the articulators - Two of the articulators
come together so that the come together so that the
airstream is not airstream is obstructed
obstructed and can get and cannot get out freely.
out freely.
- E.g. /æ/, /ʊ/, /ɪ/ - E.g. /p/, /s/, /b/, /z/

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Which consonant sounds do not exist in Vietnamese?
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II. CONSONANTS

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FIVE CRITERIA

1. Place of articulation
2. Manner of articulation
3. The state of the vocal cords  voiced/voiceless?
4. The state of the velum  nasal/oral?
5. Force of articulation

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PLACE OF ARTICULATION

What is place of articulation?

Previous lesson:
Refers to the horizontal relationship between the
articulators. It specifies the position of the highest
point of the active articulator (usually some part of the
tongue, but the lower lip may also be the active
articulator) in relation to the passive articulator.

What gives the name to the place of articulation?

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PLACE OF ARTICULATION

1. Bilabial: âm môi
2. Labiodental: âm môi răng
3. Dental: âm răng
4. Alveolar: âm chân/ổ răng
5. Palato-alveolar: âm vòm chân răng
6. Palatal: âm vòm
7. Velar: âm vòm mềm
8. Retroflex: âm đầu lưỡi vòm cứng
9. Glottal: âm hầu/ âm cổ họng

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PLACE OF ARTICULATION

1. Bilabial
• upper lip – lower lip
• /p/, /b/, /m/, /w/

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PLACE OF ARTICULATION

2. Labiodental
• upper teeth – lower lip
• /f/, /v/

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PLACE OF ARTICULATION

3. Dental
• Tongue – upper teeth
• /θ/, /ð/

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PLACE OF ARTICULATION

4. Alveolar
• Tongue tip/blade –
alveolar ridge
• /t/, /d/, /s/, /z/, /n/,
/l/

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/t/, /d/
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/s/ /z/

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/n/

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/l/

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PLACE OF ARTICULATION

5. Retroflex
• Tongue tip – back of
alveolar ridge
• /r/

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PLACE OF ARTICULATION

6. Palato-alveolar
(post-alveolar)
• Tongue blade/front –
back of alveolar ridge/
front of hard palate
• /ʃ /, /ʒ/, /tʃ/, /dʒ/ 

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PLACE OF ARTICULATION

7. Palatal
• Tongue front – hard palate
• /j/

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PLACE OF ARTICULATION

8. Velar
• Back of tongue– soft palate
• /k/, /g/, /ŋ/

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/k/ /g/

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/ŋ/

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PLACE OF ARTICULATION

9. Glottal
• Glottis (thanh môn)
• /h/

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THE STATE OF THE VOCAL CORDS (VOICING)

Voiced sounds Voiceless sounds

- Vocal cords come close - Vocal cords are drawn apart.
together. - The air can pass out freely
- The airstream is obstructed
between vocal cords.
partially, causing the opening
- There is no vibration.
and closing of vocal cords
- Pressure causes vocal cords to - /p/, /t/, /f/, /s/, /k/, /θ/, ʃ /,
vibrate. /tʃ/, /h/
- /b/, /d/, /v/, /z/, /g/, /ð/, /ʒ/,
/dʒ/, /m/, /n/, /ŋ/, /w/, /l/, /j/, /ɹ/

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THE STATE OF THE VELUM/SOFT PALATE

Oral sounds Nasal sounds

- The soft palate is raised,
locking off the nasal
cavity.
- The airstream can only get
out through the oral cavity.
- The other sounds
- The soft palate is
lowered, locking off the
oral cavity.
- The airstream can only
get out through the
nasal cavity.
- /n/, /m/, /ŋ/

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PRACTICE

• List all English consonants and classify them based on:

 Place of articulation
 Voicing
 State of the velum

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NEXT LESSON

• English consonants (cont.)

• Home reading: Unit 2 – Consonants (pp.)

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THANK YOU !

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WEEK 4: CONSONANTS (cont)

Instructed by
Phan Thi Thanh Ha
I. PREVIOUS LESSON CHECK

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List out all
1. Voiced and voiceless consonants;
2. Oral and nasal consonants;
3. Consonants according to places of
articulation.

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35
II. CONSONANTS
(cont.)

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FIVE CRITERIA

1. Place of articulation
2. Manner of articulation
3. The state of the vocal cords  voiced/voiceless?
4. The state of the velum  nasal/oral?
5. Force of articulation

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MANNER OF ARTICULATION

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Previous lesson:
Refers to the vertical relationship between the active
and passive articulators, i.e. the distance between them
(usually known as stricture); anything from being close
together, preventing air escaping, to wide apart,
allowing air to flow through unhindered

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1. Plosive/stop: âm tắc
2. Fricative: âm sát
3. Affricate: âm tắc sát
4. Approximant: bán nguyên âm
5. Lateral: âm mép lưỡi, âm bên
6. Nasal: âm mũi

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https://soundsofspeech.uiowa.edu/

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1. Plosive/stop
• a complete closure of the articulators involved so that the
air stream cannot escape through the mouth.
• /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/

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2. Nasal
• A complete closure at some point in the mouth but the
soft palate being lowered, the air escapes through the
nose. These sounds are continuants and have no noise
component
• /m/, /n/, /ŋ/

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3. Fricative
• two organs approximate to such an extent that the air
stream passes through them with friction.
• /f/, /v/, /s/, /z/, /ʃ /, /ʒ/, /θ/, /ð/

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4. Affricate
• a complete closure at some point in the mouth, behind
which the air pressure builds up; the separation of the
organs is slow compared with that of a plosive, so that
friction is a second element of the sound.
• /tʃ/, /dʒ/

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5. Approximant
• the approach of one articulator toward another but without
the tract being narrowed to such an extent that a turbulence
air-stream is produced, however, from the point of view of
phonetic description they are more properly treated as
vowel glide.
• /j/, /w/, /r/

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5. Lateral
• a partial closure is made at some point in the mouth,
the air-stream being allowed to escape on one or both
sides of the contact.
• /l/

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FORCE OF ARTICULATION

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• Fortis: • Lenis:
+relatively strong energy + relatively weak energy
+ voiceless + voiced
+ shorten the preceding + lengthen the preceding
vowels vowels

E.g: Court E.g: Cord

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 Description
Place, manner, voicing, force, velum
• /p/ bilabial, plosive, voiceless, fortis, oral
• Continue with the rest of consonants

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NEXT LESSON

• English vowels (1)

• Home reading: Unit 3 – Vowels

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THANK YOU !

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