Consonants

Question 1

Consonants

Consonants:
24 consonant phonemes in American English

Answer 1

stops (plosives): /p, b, t, d, k, g/

fricatives: /f, v, θ, ð, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, h/

Affricates /tʃ, dʒ/

Nasals: /m, n, ŋ/

Approximant Consonants:

Glides: /j, w/

Liquids: /l, ɹ/

(voiceless phonemes in bold)

Question 2

Consonants Classification:

Answer 2

Manner:Refers to the way in which the airstream is modified during consonant production: stops, fricatives, affricates, nasals, glides, and liquids.

Place: Refers to various places of articulation involved in production of English consonants: labial (lips), labiodental (lips and teeth), dental (teeth), alveolar (alveolar ridge), palatal (hard palate), velar (soft palate),& glottal, (­glottis). The tongue is involved in production of dental, alveolar, palatal, and velar consonants.

Voicing: Consonants that are produced with vibrating vocal folds Voiced: /b/, /z/, /l/

consonants that are produced without vocal fold vibration or Voiceless: /p/, /s/, /f/

Question 3

Stops or Plosives

• *Stops / Plosives**
• */p, b, t, d, k, g, ɾ,ʔ/**

6 consonants that belong to the stop sounds category.

3 Cognate pairs: They are produced in the same manner, with the same place of articulation – just differing in terms of voicing.

• /p, b/
• /t, d/
• /k, g/

/ɾ/ Alveolar Tap, /ʔ/Glotal Stop

Answer 3

Stops are made by completely stopping the airflow. The air release that follows is the “sound” you hear.

Voiced: p, t, k

Voiceless: b, d, g

typical age- 12-18 months

/ʔ/ Glotal Stop

/ɾ/ Aveolar Tap

Question 4

Stops or Plosives

/p/

Lower-Case p

Voiceless, Bilabial Stop

Answer 4

puff- pʌf

apple - æpl

pop - pɑp

Pronunciation Guide:

Press your lips together to stop the air in your mouth. Next, part your lips and release the air with a strong puff. You hear a burst of air.

*Final Stop Rule: At the end of words and syllables is Not aspirated. The /p/ sound is also unaspirated after the /s/ consonant. ( /sp/ combo)

*It has a voiced counterpart, the consonant sound /b/.

Question 5

Stops or Plosives

/b/

Lower-Case b

Voiced, Bilabial, Stop

Answer 5

boy - bɔɪ

bob - bɑb (Bob (the first /b/ is aspirated, the second /b/ is not aspirated). ban - bæn

Pronunciation Guide:

Press your lips together to first stop the air in your mouth. Next, part your lips and release the air with a puff. Remember, the /b/ is a voiced sound, so you need to add your voice.

*Final Stop Rule: At the end of words and syllables is Not aspirated. The /p/ sound is also unaspirated after the /s/ consonant. ( /sp/ combo)

*It has a voiceless counterpart, the consonant sound /p/.

Question 6

Stops or Plosives

/t/

Lower-Case t

Voiceless, Alveolar, Stop

Answer 6

toy - tɔɪ

time -taɪm

tell - tɛl

Pronunciation Guide:

Place the tip of your tongue on the alveolar ridge behind your upper front teeth. Now, stop the air in your mouth with the tip of your tongue and then release it with a strong puff.

*Final Stop Rule: At the end of words and syllables is Not aspirated.

The /t/ is aspirated or, in other words, pronounced with a strong puff of air, at the beginning of words and stressed syllables.

As with all voiceless stops, the /t/ is not aspirated after the /s/ sound at the beginning of words.

The /t/ is a voiceless sound. It has a voiced counterpart, the consonant sound /d/.

*If the phoneme preceding “-ed” is voiceless, then the voiceless /t/ will represent the morpheme “-ed.” Example:“beeped” /bipt/, taped, hiked, lacked, raced

Question 7

Stops or Plosives

/d/

Lower-Case d

Voiced, Alveolar, Stop

Answer 7

dad - dæd

dime -daɪm

buddy - bʌdi

Pronunciation Guide:

Slightly open your mouth and leave your lips in a neutral position. Place the tip of your tongue on the alveolar ridge behind your upper front teeth. Now, stop the air with the tip of your tongue and then release it with a small puff.

/d/ is a voiced sound. It has a voiceless counterpart, the consonant sound /t/.

*If phoneme preceding the “-ed” morpheme is voiced, the final phoneme also will be voiced, that is, /d/. Ex: bagged /bægd/, teamed, crowded, hogged, raised

Question 8

Stops or Plosives

/ ɾ / or / t̬/

Alveolar Tap

allophone of t

Voiceless, Alveolar, Stop

Answer 8

water - wɔt̬ɚ

butter - bʌt̬ɚ

You can also hear this sound in the words: “city,” “auto,” “title”, “beauty”, data, forty, later

The flap ‘T’ is somewhere between the /t/ and the /d/ sounds. It’s basically the /t/ sound which is pronounced in a different way in certain positions in a word.

When /t/ occurs between voiced sounds, it becomes a “flap ‘T’ sound or sounds more like a /d/.

• When the /t/ is between two vowels, as vowel sounds are always voiced: “Betty,” “dated,” “writer”
• Or between a vowel and a voiced consonant sound: “little,” “metal,” “bottom”.

Compare: “kit” - t “kitten”- /ʔ/ (see glottal t card). “kitty.” - kiri or kit̬i

Pronunciation Guide:

Slightly open your mouth and leave your lips in a neutral position. Place the tip of your tongue on the alveolar ridge behind your upper front teeth. Next, release the air and add your voice.

This is where the flap ‘T’ may sound similar to the /d/ sound, but the flap ‘T’ is quicker. The flap ‘T’ is also called a “tap” ‘T’ because it describes how your tongue quickly taps your alveolar ridge, so focus on making a brief voiced sound, much like a fast /d/.

Question 9

Stops or Plosives

/ʔ/

Glotal ‘T’

Voiced, Alveolar, Stop

Answer 9

kitten - kɪʔn

button - bʌʔn

cotton, satin, accountant bitten flatten eaten, latin, certain

When the /t/ is followed by a weak syllable containing the /n/ sound, it may become a “glottal ‘T.

Pronunciation Guide:

First, stop and hold the air in your throat on the glottal ‘T.’ Then make the /n/ sound Don’t forget to leave a short pause between the glottal ‘T’ and the /n/ sound. Don’t pronounce them too quickly.

Question 10

Stops or Plosives

/k/

Lower Case k

Voiceless, Velar, Stop

Answer 10

can - kæn

ki_ck_er - kɪkɚ

school - skul

key- ki

Pronunciation Guide:

Raise the back of your tongue toward your throat. Next, stop the air with the back of your tongue and then release it with a strong puff.

The /k/ sound is made with a strong puff of air at the beginning of words and syllables.

• /k/ follows the final stop rule and is not aspirated at end of words.
• The /k/ is also unaspirated after the /s/ consonant.
• voiced counterpart, the consonant sound /g/.

Question 11

Stops or Plosives

/g/

Lower Case g

Voiced, Velar, Stop

Answer 11

ɛ_gg_ - ɛg

gargle - gаrgle

good - gʊd

Examples Words: “game,” “goal,” “begin” “dog,” “flag,” “gift”

Pronunciation Guide:

Slightly open your mouth and leave your lips in a neutral position. Next you have to stop the air in your mouth by raising the back of your tongue toward your throat.

Stop the air with the back of your tongue and then release it with a small puff.

The /g/ sound is made with a strong puff of air at the beginning of words and syllables.

• /g/ follows the final stop rule and is not aspirated at end of words.
• The /g/ is pronounced with a small puff of air at the beginning of words and syllables.
• voiceless counterpart, the consonant sound /k/.

When ‘G’ is followed by the letters ‘a’, ‘o’ or ‘u’, pronounce the /g/ sound. Example, “game,” “got,” “guy”

Question 12

Nasals:

Answer 12

/m, n, ŋ/

-articulators block flow of air out of the oral cavity and that is what makes airstream flow out nasal cavity and into the nares.

produced similar to stops: with the airstream completely obstructed in oral cavity. Obstruction occurs at same 3 places of articulation:

Sonorants

Question 13

Nasals

/m/

Lower case m

Voiced, Bilabial Nasal

Answer 13

man - mæn

mo_m_- mɑm

rhyme-raim

Pronunciation Guide:

First, press your lips together. Next, keep your lips closed to stop the air from escaping from your mouth and direct it into your nose.

• American /m/ should be pronounced with your lips pressed together, to direct the air through your nose.
• English ‘m’ is always pronounced. Dropping it, you may produce completely different word

Question 14

Nasals

/n/ 

Lower Case n

voiced, alveolar nasal

Answer 14

now- nаʊ

open-opən

animal-ænəml

Pronunciation Guide:

Place the tip of your tongue on the alveolar ridge behind your upper front teeth. Then stop the air in your mouth with the tip of your tongue and direct it into your nose.

• The /n/ is often confused with the /m/ sound. For example: “then” - “them”
• Also, the /n/ is confused with the /ŋ/ sound. Compare: “sin” - “sing”
• Another typical problem is that the /n/ is reduced or even dropped at the end of words: “then” - “the”

Question 15

Nasals

/ŋ/ 

Eng

voiced, velar nasal

Answer 15

thank- ɵæŋk

sing-siŋ

long-lɔŋ

uncle-ʌŋkl

Pronunciation Guide:

Pull the back of your tongue toward your throat. Stop the air in your mouth with the back of your tongue and direct into your nose.

• /ŋ/ is most commonly represented by the combination of letters ‘-ng’ at the end of words.
• ‘ng’ in the middle of a word. For example: “English,” “finger,” “jungle.”
• /ŋ/ as it occurs before the letter ‘k’ or the letter ‘c’ Example: “think,” “thank” or “zinc.”

Question 16

Fricatives: These sounds are made by partially blocking the air moving through your mouth, which creates an audible friction.

Answer 16

/f, v, θ, ð, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, h/

(voiceless phonemes in bold)

Question 17

Fricatives

/f/

Lowercase f

voiceless, labiodental fricative

Answer 17

fun- fun

four- fɔr

fly- flаɪ

coffee - kɔfi

Pronunciation Guide:

Lightly bite your lower lip, leaving a tiny gap between your lip and your teeth. Release a stream of air through that gap, creating lots of friction. Let the air flow over your lip.

• “f” sound is not always represented by the letter ‘f’ and this can sometimes be a problem.
• similar sounds in many languages and some non-native speakers use their native /f/ consonant when they speak English.
• Americans pronounce their /f/ with lots of friction.

Question 18

Fricatives

/v/

Lowercase v

voiced, labiodental fricative

Answer 18

very- vɛri

save - seɪv

voice - vɔɪs

Pronunciation Guide:

Llightly bite your lower lip and leave a tiny gap between your lip and your teeth. Now, release a stream of air through that gap, creating lots of friction. The air should flow over your lip.

• Spanish Language: The letter ‘v’ is pronounced as the /b/
• Devoiced /v/ sound, (usually at the end of words) makes the voiceless /f/ instead.

Question 19

Fricatives

/θ/

Theta

Voiceless, Interdental Fricative

Answer 19

thank - θæŋk

thirteen - θɝtin

bath - bæθ

Examples: thin, thing, think ,third, thorn, three, author, faith, earth, birth

Pronunciation Guide:

Slightly open your mouth and put the tip of your tongue between your front teeth.. Now blow air over your tongue making noise with friction, and air flows between your upper teeth and your tongue.

Mispronunciation mistakes:

• Keeping the mouth closed or “biting” the bottom lip. The /θ/ gets distorted and sounds more like the /f/. - Make sure your mouth is slightly open and that your upper teeth don’t touch your lower lip.
• Not pushing the tongue forward enough or pressing the tongue against the upper front teeth and makes sound in between: /s/, /z/ and the /θ/.
• The /θ/ sound gets distorted and sounds more like /t/ or /d/.

Question 20

Fricatives

/ð/

Eth

voiced, interdental fricative

Answer 20

than - ðæn

there - ðɛr

this - ðɪs

Examples: that, the, their, them, then, there, these, they, this, those, other, rather, smooth, together, weather

‘TH’: Consonant Sound

Pronunciation Guide:

Slightly open your mouth and put the tip of your tongue between your front teeth. The tip of your tongue may gently touch the bottom of your upper front teeth. Now blow air over your tongue making a noise, flowing between your upper teeth and the tongue.

Question 21

Fricatives

/s/

Lowercase s

voiceless, alveolar fricative

Answer 21

stop- stɑp

place- ples

ants- ænts

Examples: dre_ss,_ horse, sleep

Pronunciation Guide:

Raise the tip of your tongue to your alveolar ridge, but don’t touch it. Use the small gap between them to release a stream of air over your tongue and towards your upper teeth,

Question 22

Fricatives

/z/

Lowercase z

voiced, alveolar fricative

Answer 22

zoo- zu

buzzer-bʌzɚ

rose-roʊz

/z/ consonant, this sound is made by partially blocking the air flowing between the tip of your tongue and your alveolar ridge.

Pronunciation Guide:

Slightly open your mouth. Raise the tip of your tongue to your alveolar ridge, but don’t touch it. Use the small gap between them to release a stream of air over the tip of your tongue.

• /z/ is typically longer than before its voiceless counterpart, the consonant sound /s/. (Vowel Length rule)
• Sometimes z/ is distorted or dropped at the end of words.
• Some pronounce the /z/ sound by putting the tip of the tongue between the teeth. As a result, they make a different fricative consonant, the /ð/ sound.

Question 23

Fricatives

/ʃ/

Esh

voiceless, palatal (postalveolar) fricative

Answer 23

show- ʃo

trash -træʃ

mission - mɪʃən

cash, ship option, shy chef, special

Pronunciation Guide:

Slightly open your mouth and round push out your lips a little. Arch your tongue and raise it to the roof of your mouth, but don’t touch it. Through a small gap between them, release a stream of air over your tongue. Let the air flows between the blade of your tongue and the roof of your mouth.

• confuse the /ʃ/ and the /tʃ/ sounds
• replace the /ʃ/ with the /s/ consonant
• Vowel Length rule with voiceless consonant: vowel sounds before the /ʃ/ are typically shorter than they are before voiced consonants.

Question 24

Fricatives

/ʒ/

Yogh

voiced, palatal (postalveolar) fricative

Answer 24

Vision -vɪʒən beige - beiʒmesure - mɛʒɚ

Example words: usual, massage, casual, decision

Pronunciation Guide:

Slightly open your mouth and round push out your lips a little. Arch your tongue and raise it to the roof of your mouth, but don’t touch it. Through the small gap between them, release a stream of air over your tongue. Air flows between the blade of your tongue and the roof of your mouth.

• present in less than 1% of English words.

Question 25

Fricatives

/h/

Lowercase h

voiceless, glottal fricative

Answer 25

hot- hɑt

head- hɛd

who- hu

perhaps pɚhæps

Pronunciation Guide:

Slightly open your mouth; with your lips and your tongue in a neutral position. Next, breathe out while you partially bring your vocal cords together.

• /h/ consonant sound is made by constricting the air flowing between the vocal cords in your throat.

Question 26

Affricates

Merge two consonant sounds to make a different one.

Answer 26

/tʃ, dʒ/ (voiceless phonemes in bold)

The affricates are made by first stopping the airstream and then releasing it through a narrow passage in your mouth with an audible friction.

Question 27

Affricative Consonants

/tʃ/

Merge the stop /t/ with the fricative /ʃ/ into one sound.

voiceless, palatal (postalveolar) affricate

Answer 27

question -kwɛtʃən

chair - /tʃɛɹ/

each -itʃ

child, coach, nature, catch. culture, creature

Pronunciation Guide:

Slightly open your mouth and push out your lips. Place the tip of your tongue on the alveolar ridge behind your upper front teeth. Arch your tongue so it’s near the roof of your mouth.

Affricates are made by first stopping the airstream and then releasing it through a narrow passage in your mouth with an audible friction.

Question 28

Affricative Consonants

/dʒ/ Merge stop sound /d/ and fricative /ʒ/ /d/ /+ /ʒ/ =ʤ

voiced, palatal (postalveolar) affricate

Answer 28

jar- dʒɑɹ

judge - ʤʌʤ

June - ʤun

soldier-soʊlʤɚ

Slightly open your mouth and push out your lips. Place the tip of your tongue on the alveolar ridge behind your upper front teeth. Arch your tongue so it’s near the roof of your mouth. Release the air.

*If the ‘G’ is followed by the letters ‘i’, ‘e’ or ‘y’, pronounce the /dʒ/ sound. Example: “age,” “giant” or “gym.”

Question 29

Approximant:

Answer 29

glides: /j, w/

“A glide is a sound that is made with the air flowing over the tongue when it leaves the mouth.”

liquids: /l, ɹ/

Question 30

Approximant: Glides

/j/

Lower Case j

voiced, palatal glide

Answer 30

jet- jɛt

year- jɪr

yes- jɛs

furry- fjɝri

Pronunciation Guide: Slightly open your mouth with your lips in a neutral position. Arch your tongue and raise it to the roof of your mouth. The tip of your tongue should be lowered behind your bottom front teeth.

• The /j/ is a consonant, pronounced like a vowel.
• Air glides over your tongue.

Common Mispronunciations: /j/ and the /dʒ/ sounds. drop the /j/ sound

Question 31

Approximant: Glides

/w/

Lowercase w

voiced, labiovelar glide

Answer 31

weak - wik

wet - wɛt

twin- twɪn

Pronunciation Guide:

Start with your tongue in a neutral position. When making this sound, tense and pull your tongue far back to your throat. Air will glide over your tongue.

/w/ often called a semivowel: Pronounced more like a vowel- But unlike the vowels, it doesn’t form a syllable. It’s considered to be a consonant but pronounced without blocking the airstream like a vowel.

Question 32

Approximant: Liquids

/l/

lowercase l

voiced, alveolar liquid

Answer 32

yellow - jɛlo

world- wɝld

like- lаɪk

Example words: late, clean please, _l_ow, like, place

Pronunciation Guide:

Slight open mouth. Touch the alveolar ridge behind your upper front teeth with the tip of your tongue. Lower the back of your tongue.

Some confuse the /l/ with the /r/ or replace it with more familiar sounds.

Question 33

Approximant: Liquids

/ɹ/

Turned r

voiced, palatal (postalveolar) liquid

Answer 33

rip - ɹɪp

read-ɹid

red- ɹɛd

Pronunciation Gudie:

Open your mouth a little and slightly round your lips. Raise the front of your tongue toward the alveolar ridge behind your upper front teeth, but don’t touch it. Then curl back just the tip of your tongue. Now slightly lower the center of your tongue and raise its back.

• Tip of your tongue should be curled back
• Do not touch the alveolar ridge behind your upper front teeth.