English Consonants

Place of articulation

BilabialThe 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/

marilimaldonado@gmail.com

Labio-dental

The soft palate is raised.There are two oral labio-dental consonants in English: /f/ and /v/

The upper teeth articulate with the lower lip.

marilimaldonado@gmail.com

DentalThe tip of the tongue articulates with the upper teeth.

The soft palate is raised.There are two oral dental consonants in English: /θ/ and /ð/

marilimaldonado@gmail.com

AlveolarThe 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/

marilimaldonado@gmail.com

AlveolarThe 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.

marilimaldonado@gmail.com

marilimaldonado@gmail.com

Post-alveolarThe tip and blade of the tongue articulate with the back part of the alveolar ridge (teeth-ridge)

The 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 [ɹ+]The flap [ɾ]

marilimaldonado@gmail.com

Palato-alveolarThe 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/

marilimaldonado@gmail.com

PalatalThe 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)

marilimaldonado@gmail.com

VelarThe 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/

marilimaldonado@gmail.com

Labial-velarThis 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)

marilimaldonado@gmail.com

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

ReferencesCRUTTENDEN, A. (2001) Gimson’s Pronunciation of English. 6th edition. Arnold. GBCOLLINS & MEES (2008) Practical Phonetics and Phonology. A resource book for students. 2nd edition. Routledge. LondonO’CONNOR, J. (1998) Better English Pronunciation. CUP. LondonPONSONBY, M (---) How, Now, Brown Cow? Prentice Hall. LondonRECAMAN, M (1988) English Phonetics: Segmentals. ABS. Santa FeROACH, P.(2005) English Phonetics and Phonology. 3rd. Edition. CUP. London