2. • Consonants are best described in terms of their
articulation.
• For a better understanding there are a few questions to
be answered to describe the consonants fully.
1. Is the airstream provided by the lungs or by some other
organs?
2. Is the air forced out or drawn inwards?
3. Do the vocal cords vibrate or not?
4. Is the soft palate raised or lowered?
5. At what point does the articulation take place?
6. What is the manner or articulation?
3. • 1. lungs
• 2. out (Pulmonic egressive)
• 3. i. if vibrate –voiced
ii. Don’t vibrate – voiceless
• 4. i. soft palate raised (Velic Closure) – oral
ii. Soft palate lowered – nasal or nasalized
• 5. determined by the passive articulator- if tip of the tongue
(AA) raised to touch teeth ridge (PA) then the place of
articulation is teeth ridge.
• 6.manner is the kind of closure or narrowing involved in the
production of the sound . Initial sound of the English word tin
involve a complete closure in the teeth ridge and followed by a
sudden release.
4. • Determined by the passive articulator, thus the resulting
sound is also named after passive articulator.
• E.g. the k sound in the English word king is called velar,
because the passive articulator involved in its production
is the velum i.e. soft palate
5. • The chief places of articulation of consonant sounds are the following.
Bilabial The articulators are the two lips. The
initial sounds in the English words pin,
big, man, was
Labiodental: The active articulator is the lower lip and the
passive articulator the upper teeth.
The initial sounds in the English words fan
and van
Dental Active articulator :tip of the tongue
Passive articulator : upper teeth
The initial sounds in the English words thin
and that
Alveolar Active articulator :blade or tip and blade
Passive articulator : alveolar ridge
The initial sounds in the English words
6. Post -
alveolar
Active articulator :tip of the tongue
Passive articulator : rear part of the teeth ridge
The r sounds in the English words rail and tree
Retroflex Active articulator : under side of the tip of the tongue
Passive articulator : front or the hard palate
The tip of the tongue is curled back in such a way to touch the
hard palate
The r sound in the American Pronunciation of the English
words rain, rat and right
Palato-
alveolar
Two simultaneous articulators
Active articulator : blade of the tongue
Passive articulator :teeth ridge
Active articulator : front of the tongue (raised)
Passive articulator :hard palate
The initial sounds in the English words chair and , jail and
share and the sound represented by si in the words division,
revision
7. palatal Active articulator : front of the tongue
Passive articulator :hard palate
The initial sounds in the English word yes
velar Active articulator :back of the tongue
Passive articulator : soft palate
The final sounds in the English words back and bag and sing
uvular Active articulator : back of the tongue
Passive articulator :uvula
English has no uvular sounds
Urdu and Arabic has uvular
Glottal Articulators are two vocal cords ( by an obstruction or a narrowing
causing friction (no vibration)
