Introduction to Consonants

 

Part II: Consonants

Introduction to Consonants

In the previous chapter we studied the vowels of standard American English. In this chapter we learn the pronunciation of consonants. While there are disagreements on the number of vowels, linguists are unanimous on the number of consonants of American English: 24 consonant phonemes. We present these sounds followed by the vowel ‘ah’ for clarity.

 /p/ /t/ /k/ /f/ /θ/ /s/ /ʃ/ /tʃ/ /h/ /b/ /d/ /g/ /v/ /ð/ /z/ /ʒ/ /dʒ/ /m/ /n/ /ŋ/ /r/ /l/ /w/ /j/ 

To study the sounds of these consonants effectively, we need some system. By definition, consonants are sounds that are produced by some obstruction in the vocal tract. Due to the obstruction, there is some blockage in the airflow. Linguists use the obstruction as the key to classify consonants. The obstruction of airflow can be studied in light of where it happens and how it happens. Based on these two aspects, linguists classify consonants in light of the place of articulation and the manner of articulation. In addition to these two aspects, consonants can also be classified into voiced consonants and unvoiced consonants, depending on whether there is a vibration of the vocal fold.

Vocal tract

As you can see, to learn how to pronounce consonants, we first need to be familiar with the physical aspect of the vocal tract. So let’s quickly survey the physics of sound making. Sound production begins in the lungs. When we speak, our lungs push air up past the vocal cords. The vocal cords are two small membranes in the throat. The vocal cords affect the loudness and pitch of the sounds. The muscle around the vocal cords is called the glottis. The sound that comes from the glottis is the deepest possible sound, which we can find in the voice track of a movie trailer. 

 

Above the vocal cords are several parts that move in various ways to change the size and shape of the mouth. To pronounce consonants, we need to use some part of the mouth, specifically, lips, teeth, tooth ridge (= alveolar ridge), hard palate, soft palate (= velum) and tongue. 


The tongue

When we pronounce vowels, the place of the tongue is important. So is it for the pronunciation of consonants. In fact, the tongue is even more involved with consonant pronunciation. The parts of the tongue that are used for the consonant sound production are the tip of the tongue, the blade of the tongue, the back of the tongue, the body of the tongue, and the side of the tongue. The back of the tongue lies under the soft palate when the tongue is at rest; the front lies under the hard palate, and the tip and the blade lie under the alveolar ridge.

 


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