Elements of English Consonants

Elements of English Consonants

• stɒp ˈkɒnsənənts

• ˈneɪzᵊlz

• ˈfrɪkətɪvz

• əˈprɒksɪmənts

​By Kho Chung Wei

​TSLB3523

Multiple Select

What do these consonants have in common?

p t k f θ s ʃ h ʧ

• They are articulated with a vibration on the larynx.

• There is no vibration in the larynx when articulating these consonants.

• The articulation of these consonants is stronger and more energetic, i.e. fortis.

• The articulation of these consonants is weaker, i.e. lenis.

• When articulating these consonants, the vocal cords are fully opened.

Multiple Select

What do these consonants have in common?

b d ɡ m n ŋ r v ð z ʒ j l w ʤ

• They are articulated with a vibration on the larynx.

• There is no vibration in the larynx when articulating these consonants.

• The articulation of these consonants is stronger and more energetic, i.e. fortis.

• The articulation of these consonants is weaker, i.e. lenis.

• They are known as voiced consonants.

Open Ended

What are some of the criteria that you can use to sort the consonants?

To be successful in this topic, I can:

• Sort English consonants into their respective categories according to

  • Energy 👍

  • Place of articulation

  • Manner of articulation

English Phonetics and Phonology

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Place of Articulation

= Where the sound is produced

• Active articulator = the organ that moves

• Passive articulator = the target of the articulation, i.e. the point towards which the active articulator is directed

English Phonetics and Phonology

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Place of Articulation

• Bilabial = p b m

• Labio-dental = f v

• Dental = θ ð

• Alveolar = t s d z n l

• Palato-alveolar = ʃ ʧ ʒ ʤ

• Palatal = j

• Velar = k ɡ ŋ

• Glottal = h

Which consonants are missing?

English Phonetics and Phonology

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Manner of Articulation

= How the sound is produced

• All articulations involve a stricture, i.e. a narrowing of a vocal tract which affects the airstream

• 3 possible types of stricture:

  • Complete closure = forms obstruction which blocks airstream

  • Close approximation = forms narrowing giving rise to friction

  • Open approximation = forms no obstruction, but changes shape of vocal tract, thus altering nature of resonance

English Phonetics and Phonology

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Manner of Articulation

• Complete closure = forms obstruction which blocks airstream

  • Stops

    • Plosives = the articulators part quickly, releasing the air with explosive force, i.e. plosion

    • Affricates = the articulators part relatively slowly, producing homorganic friction, i.e. friction at the point of articulation

  • Nasals = complete closure in the oral cavity, but soft palate is lowered allowing the airstream to escape through the nose

• Close approximation = forms narrowing giving rise to friction

  • Fricatives = the airstream passes through a narrowing, producing audible hiss-like friction

• Open approximation = forms no obstruction, but changes shape of vocal tract, thus altering nature of resonance

  • (Central) approximants = space between articulators is wide enough to allow the airstream through

  • Lateral (approximant) = midline of the tongue forms closure with the roof but the sides lowered

Manner of Articulation

​Obstruents = denote the obstruction of airflow

Sonorants = denote a continuous unobstructed airflow in the vocal tract

​In which categories of consonants does the fortis/lenis distinction matter?

English Phonetics and Phonology

TSLB3523

Energy of Articulation

English Phonetics and Phonology

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​Fortis	Lenis​
​Articulation is stronger and more energetic. (Tense)	​Articulation is weaker. (Lax)
​Articulation is voiceless.	Articulation is potentially voiced.​
​Plosives /p, t, k/ when initial in a stressed syllable have strong aspiration (a brief puff of air), e.g. pip [p h ɪp], intent [ɪnˈt hent].	Plosives are unaspirated, e.g. bib [bɪb], indent [ɪnˈdent].​
​Vowels are shortened before a final fortis consonant, e.g. beat [bit].	Vowels have full length before a final lenis consonant, e.g. bead [biːd].​
​Syllable-final stops, especially /t/, can have a reinforcing glottal stop, e.g. set down [seˀt ˈdaʊn].	Syllable-final stops never have a reinforcing glottal stop, e.g. said [sed].​

e-Learning Task

Individually, without referring to any phonetics textbook or consonant chart, name all the 24 consonants in English in the following order:

1. Energy of articulation

2. Place of articulation

3. Manner of articulation

Example:

• p = voiceless bilabial plosive OR fortis bilabial plosive

• b = voiced bilabial plosive OR lenis bilabial plosive

Then, complete the Practice Set in the Google Classroom under Topic 2.
Finally, in pairs, discuss how you can arrange the English consonants into a chart to help you remember their articulation better.

English Phonetics and Phonology

TSLB3523