{"id":1205,"date":"2021-02-18T14:06:04","date_gmt":"2021-02-18T14:06:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/psyclanguage\/chapter\/consonants\/"},"modified":"2023-02-03T17:41:23","modified_gmt":"2023-02-03T17:41:23","slug":"consonants","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/psyclanguage\/chapter\/consonants\/","title":{"raw":"2.3 Consonants","rendered":"2.3 Consonants"},"content":{"raw":"Consonants, as we saw earlier, are produced with some obstruction to the airflow through the vocal tracts. This obstruction is created by brings a variety of articulators together which are called places of articulation. There can also be variation in how the airflow is controlled when travelling through the vocal tract and this is known as [pb_glossary id=\"431\"]manner of articulation[\/pb_glossary]. For example, when we say [p], [t] or [k], the flow of air is stopped for a moment before being released. On the other hand, the flow of air is released with some stricture when we produce [s], [f] or [\u0283] (the sound we write in English as \u2018sh\u2019). We call sounds that stop the flow of air for a moment [pb_glossary id=\"435\"]stops[\/pb_glossary] or [pb_glossary id=\"436\"]plosives[\/pb_glossary]. Sounds that are produced with some kind of frictions, such as [s] and [f], are called [pb_glossary id=\"432\"]fricatives[\/pb_glossary]. When we also let the flow of air to travel through the nasal cavity, we produce [pb_glossary id=\"458\"]nasal[\/pb_glossary] sounds such as [m] and [n]. Try holding your nostrils closed with your fingers while saying \u2018ma\u2019. You will find it difficult to do so as the flow of air needs to travel through your nasal passage to produce it. There are other sounds we produce which bring the articulators together with some degree of approximation. These sounds are called [pb_glossary id=\"454\"]approximants[\/pb_glossary] and include [l] and [w]. When two consonants are produced in close association as if they were one sound, we call them [pb_glossary id=\"453\"]affricates[\/pb_glossary]. English has two affricates which written in English as \u2018ch\u2019 and \u2018j\u2019. However, the International Phonetic Alphabet or IPA transcribes them as [t\u0283] and [d\u0292]. This shows that the \u2018ch\u2019 sound of \u2018chair\u2019 is produced by the combination of [t] and [\u0283]. Similarly, IPA uses [j] to refer to the sound written in English with \u2018y\u2019. The sound used to represent the \u2018j\u2019 sound of \u2018juice\u2019 is [d\u0292]. This shows that this affricate is produced with both [d] and [\u0292]. Another difference between consonants is whether the vocal cords vibrate or not when they are produced. This called [pb_glossary id=\"438\"]voicing[\/pb_glossary] and is seen in the difference between the [pb_glossary id=\"462\"]unvoiced[\/pb_glossary] [p] and the [pb_glossary id=\"463\"]voiced[\/pb_glossary] [b].\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Table 2.1 English Consonants[footnote]Listen to the audio clips at https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/psyclanguage\/chapter\/consonants\/[\/footnote]<\/caption>\r\n
blank<\/span><\/td>\r\nPlace of Articulation<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Manner of Articulation<\/th>\r\n[pb_glossary id=\"456\"]Labial[\/pb_glossary]<\/th>\r\n[pb_glossary id=\"465\"]Dental[\/pb_glossary]<\/th>\r\n[pb_glossary id=\"457\"]Alveolar[\/pb_glossary]<\/th>\r\nPost-alveolar<\/th>\r\n[pb_glossary id=\"459\"]Palatal[\/pb_glossary]<\/th>\r\n[pb_glossary id=\"461\"]Velar[\/pb_glossary]<\/th>\r\n[pb_glossary id=\"455\"]Glottal[\/pb_glossary]<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Nasal<\/th>\r\nm\r\n\r\n[audio<\/a>]<\/td>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\nn\r\n\r\n[audio<\/a>]<\/td>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\n\u014b\r\n\r\n[audio<\/a>]<\/td>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Unvoiced Stop<\/th>\r\np\r\n\r\n[audio<\/a>]<\/td>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\nt\r\n\r\n[audio<\/a>]<\/td>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\nk\r\n\r\n[audio<\/a>]<\/td>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Voiced Stop<\/th>\r\nb\r\n\r\n[audio<\/a>]<\/td>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\nd\r\n\r\n[audio<\/a>]<\/td>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\ng\r\n\r\n[audio<\/a>]<\/td>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Unvoiced Affricate<\/th>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\nt\u0283\r\n\r\n[audio<\/a>]<\/td>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Voiced Affricate<\/th>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\nd\u0292\r\n\r\n[audio<\/a>]<\/td>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Unvoiced Fricative<\/th>\r\nf\r\n\r\n[audio<\/a>]<\/td>\r\n\u03b8\r\n\r\n[audio<\/a>]<\/td>\r\ns\r\n\r\n[audio<\/a>]<\/td>\r\n\u0283\r\n\r\n[audio<\/a>]<\/td>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\nh\r\n\r\n[audio<\/a>]<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Voiced Fricative<\/th>\r\nv\r\n\r\n[audio<\/a>]<\/td>\r\n\u00f0\r\n\r\n[audio<\/a>]<\/td>\r\nz\r\n\r\n[audio<\/a>]<\/td>\r\n\u0292\r\n\r\n[audio<\/a>]<\/td>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Approximate<\/th>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\nl\r\n\r\n[audio<\/a>]<\/td>\r\n\u0279\r\n\r\n[audio<\/a>]<\/td>\r\nj\r\n\r\n[audio<\/a>]<\/td>\r\nw\r\n\r\n[audio<\/a>]<\/td>\r\nblank<\/span><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\nTable 2.1 shows the full range of consonants found in English. The symbols used are from the IPA allowing us to describe and discuss these phonemes across different languages without confusion. Most of the symbols used will be familiar to those who write using the English alphabet though some will be different. Let\u2019s explore this chart and see how we can describe these phonemes. Using the table given in Table 2.1 can classify [m] as a bilabial nasal meaning that it is produced with the two lips coming into contact and the airflow directed through both the mouth and the nasal passage. [p] is an unvoiced bilabial stop. This means that it is produced with the two lips coming into contact with the airflow stopped briefly before release. When the airflow is released, the vocal cords do not vibrate (unvoiced). [b] on the other hand is produced with similar place and manner of articulation but with the vocal cords vibrating; so, it is called a voiced bilabial stop.\r\n\r\nTable 2.2 shows you examples of English words for each consonant. You can see the need for IPA symbols as the English alphabet doesn\u2019t have separate graphemes for such phonemes. For example, \u2018thin\u2019 and \u2018this\u2019 both begin with a grapheme \u2018th\u2019 but are produced differently. The \u2018th\u2019 in \u2018thin\u2019 is an unvoiced dental fricative while the \u2018th\u2019 in \u2018this\u2019 is a voiced dental fricative. Similarly, we don\u2019t have a grapheme to represent the voiced post-alveolar fricative seen in the \u2018s\u2019 of \u2018pleasure\u2019 and \u2018measure.\u2019 The velar nasal is written with two letters \u2018ng\u2019 found in \u2018sing\u2019, \u2018ring\u2019 and \u2018walking.\u2019 Some dialects may pronounce the \u2018g\u2019 while others may not.\r\n
\r\n\r\nTable 2.2 English Consonants with Examples<\/strong>\r\n