CONSONANTS
Objectives:
Students will learn to pronounce
the correct consonant sound
when seeing the letter associated
with that sound.
Students will learn to identify the
correct consonant letter when
hearing the sound associated with
that letter.
What is Consonants?
are letters that stand for a type of
sound we use in speech. These
sounds involve a partial or
complete closure of the vocal
tract.
Describing Consonants
Voicing
Place of Articulation
Manner of Articulation
Voicing
refers to what the vocal folds are
doing.
speech sounds can be described as
either voiceless (otherwise known as
unvoiced) or voiced.
Voiceless Sound
air through open vocal folds
Voiced Sound
air through vibrating vocal folds
Ex. [s] vs. [z]
(voiceless) (voiced)
Place of Articulation
is about the points of contact between the
articulators and the vocal tract. There are eight
places of articulation: bilabial, labiodental,
dental, alveolar, post-alveolar, palatal, glottal,
and velar.
THERE ARE 8 PLACES OF
ARTICULATION:
Bilabial: contact between the lips
Ex./p/, /b/, and /m/
pat
ball
map
Labio-dental: contact between the lower lip and the upper teeth
Ex. /f/ and /v/
fan
vine
Dental: contact between the tip of the tongue and the area just
behind the upper teeth
Ex. /θ/ and /ð/
think (voiceless th)
that (voiced th)
Alveolar: contact between the tongue and the Alveolar ridge
(this is the ridged area between the upper teeth and the hard
palate)
Ex. /t/, /d/, /s/, /z/, /l/, and /n/
tab
dip
see
zebra
luck
no
Palatal: contact between the tongue and the hard
palate or alveolar ridge
Ex. /j/
yes
Post-alveolar: contact between the tongue and the
back of the alveolar ridge
Ex. /ʃ/ /ʒ/ /tʃ/ /dʒ/
shot
vision
chick
jam
Velar: contact between the tongue and the soft
palate
Ex. /k/ /g/ /ŋ/
kick
go
sing
Glottal: restriction of the airflow at the glottis
Ex. Glottal ‘T’ /ʔ/
written
button
cotton
Place of Articulation - Key takeaways
Place of articulation, or point of articulation, is about the points
of contact between the articulators and the vocal tract.
There are eight places of articulation: bilabial, labiodental, dental,
alveolar, post-alveolar, palatal, glottal, and velar.
Manner of
Articulation
is about how sounds are produced by the
articulators. Articulators are the organs in
the vocal tract which enable human beings
to make sounds. They include the palate,
tongue, lips, teeth etc. When we speak, we
use these articulators to do so.
Types of Manner of Articulation
Plosives- also known as a stop, is made when the vocal
tract is closed and the airflow is blocked as it leaves the
body. The blockage can be made with the tongue, lips,
teeth or glottis.
Ex. p, t, k, b, d, and g
pen
top
car
bat
dog
go
Manner of Articulation into two groups:
Obstruents and Sonorants
Obstruents- are speech sounds created by
obstructing the airflow in the vocal tract.
Sonorants-or resonants, are speech sounds
created by continuous and unobstructed
airflow through the vocal tract.
Fricatives- are restricted as they leave the body. We
can use teeth, lips, or tongue to limit the flow of air.
Ex. /f/, /v,/ /θ/, /ð/, /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/
fan
van
thin
then
sun
zoo
ship
measure
Affricates- are also known as semi-plosives and are
created by combining a plosives and a fricative consonant
Ex. /tʃ/ /dʒ/
church
joy
Nasals- also known as nasals stops, are made by blocking
the airflow from the mouth, so it comes out from the nose
instead.
Ex. /m/, /n/, and /ŋ/
mode
neck
song
Approximants- are also known as frictionless
continuants, created by air moving between the
vocal organs. Approximants, also known as lateral
sounds, are created by allowing the airflow to
leave by the sides of the mouth.
Ex. /l/ /r/
like
right
Manner of Articulation - Key Takeaways
Manner of articulation is about how the 'articulators
produce sounds.
There are two main sound groups: consonants and
vowels.
There are two other important categories: obstructions
and sonorants - the first are produced by obstructing
the airflow, the second without obstruction.
There are five types of consonants: plosives or stops,
fricatives, affricates, nasals and approximants.
Approximants are vowel-like.
THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING!
