English Consonants - Place of articulation

1. English Consonants Place of articulation

2. Bilabial The two lips articulate together . If the soft palate is raised , we describe the sound as oral . There are two oral bilabial consonants in English : /p/ and /b/ If the soft palate is low , we describe the sound as nasal . There is one bilabial nasal consonant in English : /m/ [email protected]

3. Labio-dental T he soft palate is raised . There are two oral labio-dental consonants in English : /f/ and /v/ The upper teeth articulate with the lower lip . [email protected]

4. Dental The tip of the tongue articulates with the upper teeth . T he soft palate is raised . There are two oral dental consonants in English : / θ / and /ð/ [email protected]

5. A lveolar The tip of the tongue articulates with the alveolar ridge ( teeth-ridge ) If the soft palate is raised , the consonant is oral . There are four oral alveolar consonants in English : Two plosives / t / and /d/ Two fricatives /s/and /z/ If the soft palate is low , we describe the sound as nasal . There is one alveolar nasal consonant in English : /n/ [email protected]

6. A lveolar The English alveolar lateral /l/ is produced with no friction or obstruction in the mouth cavity . It is described as an approximant . It is also described as a lateral because the sides of the tongue are lowered to let the air escape freely through them . [email protected]

7. [email protected] Post-a lveolar The tip and blade of the tongue articulate with the back part of the alveolar ridge ( teeth-ridge ) T he soft palate is raised , the consonant is oral . There are four oral post-alveolar variants in English : The post-alveolar approximant : /r/ The voiced and voiceless post-alveolar fricatives : [ɹ] and [ɹ̥] The flap [ɾ]

8. [email protected] Palato -a lveolar The tip and blade of the tongue articulate with the alveolar ridge ( teeth-ridge ) and the body of the tongue moves in the direction of the hard palate . The English palato -alveolar consonants are oral . There are two palato -alveolar afficates : / tʃ / and / dʒ / And two palato -alveolar fricatives : / ʃ/ and / ʒ /

9. [email protected] Palatal The front of the tongue articulates with the hard palate . The tip of the tongue is not at work . The soft palate is raised , so it is an oral sound . The English palatal /j/ is produced with no friction or obstruction in the mouth cavity . It is described as an approximant . It is also described as a semi-vowel because it is phonetically like a vowel , but phonologically like consonants . (Roach:2005)

10. [email protected] Velar The back of the tongue articulates with the velum . If the soft palate is raised , we describe the sound as oral . There are two oral velar consonants in English : /k/ and / ɡ / If the soft palate is low , we describe the sound as nasal . There is one velar nasal consonant in English : / ŋ /

11. [email protected] Labial-velar This sound is described as co-articulated because the lips articulate together and the back of the tongue articulates with the velum . The soft palate is raises , so it is an oral sound . The tip of the tongue is not at work . The English labial-velar /w/ is produced with no friction or obstruction in the mouth cavity . It is described as an approximant . It is also described as a semi-vowel because it is phonetically like a vowel , but phonologically like consonants . (Roach:2005)

12. [email protected] Some of the graphs have been borrowed from : Macquirie University Phonetics and Phonology Department http://clas.mq.edu.au/speech/phonetics/phonetics/consonants/index.html References CRUTTENDEN, A. (2001) Gimson’s Pronunciation of English . 6th edition . Arnold . GB COLLINS & MEES (2008) Practical Phonetics and Phonology . A resource book for students . 2nd edition . Routledge . London O’CONNOR, J. (1998) Better English Pronunciation . CUP. London PONSONBY, M (---) How , Now , Brown Cow ? Prentice Hall. London RECAMAN, M (1988) English Phonetics : Segmentals . ABS. Santa Fe ROACH, P.(2005) English Phonetics and Phonology . 3rd. Edition . CUP. London