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Description of English Consonants

A consonant is a sound in which the movement of air from the lungs is obstructed when passes through the air passage. Most consonants are called pulmonic consonants because they use air from the lungs.

Plosives Or Stops:

There are six plosive consonants in English language.These are the sounds formed by means of a complete closure of the air passage,which is afterwards released suddenly.

Bilabial Plosives /p/,/b/

These are the sounds used,for example,at the beginning of 'pet' and 'bet' respectively.
  1.   The air passage in the mouth is closed by two lips,and the soft plate is raised to shut off the nasal passage.  
  2. When the lips are opened,the air suddenly escapes from the mouth making an explosive sound. 
  3. The vocal cords vibrate for /b/ but not for /p/.

Alveolar Plosive /t/,/d/

These are the sounds used,for example,at the beginning of 'to' and 'do' respectively.
  1. The air passage is completely closed by raising the tip of the tongue to touch the teeth ridge and by raising the soft palate. 
  2. When the tongue is removed from the teeth ridge,the air suddenly escapes through the mouth making an explosive sound. 
  3. The vocal card vibrates for /d/ but not for /t/.

Velar Plosives /k/,/g/

 These are the sounds used,for example,at the beginning of 'kind' and  'good'.
  1. The air passage is completely closed by pressing the back of the tongue against the area when the hard palate end and the soft palate begins. 
  2. When the closure is released,the air suddenly escapes through the mouth making an explosive sound. 
  3. The vocal cord vibrates for /g/ but not for /k/.

Fricatives:

There are nine fricative consonants in English.These are the sounds formed by narrowing the air passage to such an extent that the air in escaping produces audible friction.

Labiodental Fricatives /f, v/

These are the sounds used ,for example at the beginning of the 'fine' and 'veil'.
  1. The lower lip is placed lightly against the upper teeth. 
  2. The soft palate is raised to shut off the nasal passage. 
  3. When the air is forced out,there is a hissing noise in the case of /f/, and a buzzing noise in the case of   /v/. 
  4. The vocal cords vibrate for /v/ but not fro /f/.

Dental Fricatives /θ, ð/

These are the sounds used,for example at the beginning of 'thin' and 'this' respectively.
  1. The tip of the tongue is placed behind the upper teeth touching them only lightly. 
  2. The soft palate is raised to shut off the nasal passage. 
  3. The air escapes through the narrow opening with a hissing or buzzing noise. 
  4. The vocal cords vibrate for /ð / but not for /θ/.

Alveolar Fricatives /s, z/

These are the sounds used ,for example at the beginning of 'soon' and 'zoo' respectively.
  1.  The blade of the tongue is brought very near the teeth,so that it leaves only a very narrow space for the air to pass through. 
  2. The soft palate is raised to shut off the nasal passage. 
  3. The air escape through the groove along the middle of the tongue with audible friction. 
  4. The vocal cords vibrate for /z/ but not for /s/. 

Palato-alveolar Fricatives /ʃ, ʒ/ 

These are the sounds used,for example at the beginning of 'shop' and middle of 'pleasure' respectively.
  1. The blade of the tongue is raised towards the hard palate with the tip usually about level with the teeth ridge. 
  2. The soft palate is raised to shut off the nasal passage. 
  3. The air escape through the narrow passage with audible friction. 
  4. The vocal cords vibrate for /ʒ /but not for /ʃ /.

Glottal Fricative /h/

This is the initial sound in Happy.
  1. The glottis is open and there is no obstruction in the air passage. 
  2. The soft palate is raised to shut off the nasal passage. 
  3. The sound of the breath of  it passes thorough the open glottis and mouth is that of /h/. 
  4. The vocal cords do not vibrate.

Affricative:

There are two affricative  sounds in English.These are the sound formed by means of a complete closure of the air passage which is afterwards released slowly.

Palate-alveolar Affricate /tʃ, dʒ /

These are the sounds used ,for example,at the beginning of 'child' and 'jug'.
  1.  The air passage is completely closed by raising the front of the tongue towards the hard palate and raising the soft palate. 
  2. The sound is produced by releasing the closure slowly.  
  3. The vocal cords vibrate for /dʒ / but not for /tʃ /.

Nasals:

There are three nasal sounds in English.These are the sounds formed by a complete closure in the mouth while the nasal passage is open.

Bilabial Nasal /m/

This is the initial sound in 'my'.
  1.  The mouth passage is completely closed by the lips. 
  2. The soft palate is lowered to allow the air to escape through the nose. 
  3. The vocal cords vibrate.

Alveolar Nasal /n/

This is the initial sound in 'nasal'.
  1. The mouth passage is completely closed by pressing the tip of the tongue against the teeth ridge.
  2. The soft palate is lowered to allow the air to escape through the nose. 
  3. The vocal cords vibrate.

Velar Nasal /ŋ/

This is the final sound in 'song'.
  1. The mouth passage is completely closed by pressing the tip of the tongue against the soft palate.
  2. The soft palate is lowered to allow the air to escape through the nose.
  3. The vocal cords vibrate. 

Lateral:

There are two varieties of /l/, a clear /l/ which is used in initial positions and before vowels as in life and silly: a dark /l/ which occurs in final positions or when /l/ is followed by a consonant as in mill mind.
  1. For both types the top of the tongue is pressed  against the teeth ridge. But there is a difference in the shape of the main body of the tongue. For clear /l/ the front of the tongue is raised towards the hard palate. For dark /l/ the back of the tongue is raised towards the soft palate. 
  2. The soft palate is raised to shut off the nasal passage.
  3. The tongue is contracted sideways and the air escapes at the tongue.
  4. The vocal cords vibrate.

Approximant:

Bilabial-approximant /w/

This is the initial sound in 'world'.
  1. The back of the tongue is raised towards the soft palate as in vowel.
  2. The soft palate is raised to shut off hte nasal passage.
  3. The lips are rounded.
  4. The vocal cords vibrate.

Palatal-approximant /j/

This is the initial sound in 'young'.
  1. The front of the tongue is raised towards the hard palate.
  2. The soft palate is raised to shut off the nasal passage.
  3. The lips are spread.
  4. The vocal cords vibrate.

Palate-alveolar Approximant /r/

This is the initial sound in 'rose'.
  1. The tip of the tongue is somewhat close to the teeth ridge.
  2. The soft palate is raised to shut off the nasal passage.
  3. The air escapes between the tip of the tongue and the teeth ridge.
  4. The vocal cords vibrate.













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