The English Consonant System
The consonant system of Received Pronunciation (RP) consists of twenty-four consonants.
Phonetically, a consonant is a speech sound in which the airstream from the lungs is obstructed or the mouth passage is so narrow that the air is expelled with audible friction. The sounds /j/ and /w/, which we term semivowels, are classed as consonants on functional grounds, but they have exactly the same articulatory characteristics as vowels.
Classification of Consonants
Consonants are generally classified according to three basic dimensions:
1. State of the Glottis
This refers to whether or not the vocal cords vibrate in the production of the sound. If the vocal cords vibrate, the resulting sound is said to be voiced; if they do not vibrate, the sound is said to be voiceless.
2. Place of Articulation
This refers to the place in the mouth where the airstream is obstructed in the production of the sound. The places of articulation for RP English consonants are:
- Bilabial: Produced with both lips (e.g., /p/, /b/, /m/, /w/)
- Labiodental: Produced with the lower lip and upper teeth (e.g., /f/, /v/)
- Dental: Produced with the tongue tip behind the upper front teeth (e.g., /θ/, /ð/)
- Alveolar: Produced with the blade of the tongue against the alveolar ridge (e.g., /t/, /d/, /n/, /s/, /z/, /l/)
- Post-alveolar: Produced with the blade or tip of the tongue on the rear part of the alveolar ridge
- Palatal: Produced by raising the front of the tongue towards the hard palate (e.g., /j/)
- Velar: Produced with the back of the tongue against the soft palate (e.g., /k/, /g/, /ŋ/)
- Glottal: Produced at the glottis (e.g., /h/)
3. Manner of Articulation
This refers to the way in which the sound is articulated, that is, the type of obstruction involved in its production. The manners of articulation for RP English consonants are:
- Plosive: Produced with complete closure of the articulators, followed by a release of air (e.g., /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/)
- Fricative: Produced with close approximation of two articulators, causing friction (e.g., /f/, /v/, /θ/, /ð/, /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /h/)
- Affricate: A combination of a plosive and a fricative (e.g., /tʃ/, /dʒ/)
- Nasal: Produced with complete closure of the articulators, but air is released through the nose (e.g., /m/, /n/, /ŋ/)
- Approximant: Produced with one articulator close to another, but not close enough to cause friction (e.g., /l/, /r/, /j/, /w/)
Processes Affecting Pronunciation
Plosive Elision and Epenthesis
Pronunciation is influenced by phonetic environment and speaking tempo. The principle of least effort leads to changes in segments for ease of articulation, especially in fast and casual speech.
Elision is the dropping of a phoneme from a word, while epenthesis is the insertion of an extra phoneme. Epenthesis is common in consonant clusters, where an extra segment may be inserted to ease the transition between sounds (e.g., /ˈhæmpstə/ for “hamster”).
Yod Coalescence
Yod coalescence is the fusion of /j/ with a preceding alveolar fricative or plosive, resulting in affricates or fricatives (e.g., /tʃ/ in “church” from /t/ + /j/).
Pronunciation of the -ed Ending
The verbal ending -ed can be pronounced as /t/, /d/, or /ɪd/ depending on the preceding sound. The rules are:
- /d/ after vowels or voiced consonants (except /d/)
- /t/ after voiceless consonants (except /t/)
- /ɪd/ or /əd/ after /t/ or /d/
Adjectives ending in -ed follow the same rules as verbs.