Understanding English Consonant Sounds: Articulation
Understanding Consonant Articulation
The production of consonant sounds involves specific movements and positions of the articulators (tongue, lips, etc.) within the vocal tract. Here’s a breakdown of several consonant sounds:
/tʃ/ Voiceless, Affricate, Post-Alveolar
The air from the lungs travels through the larynx. The glottis (opening between the vocal folds) is wide open, allowing air to pass freely without vocal fold vibration.
The air then reaches the oral cavity, encountering a blockage between the front of the tongue and the rear of the alveolar ridge. The articulators are closed, retaining the air briefly. The air is released more slowly than in a plosive, creating a narrow gap between the articulators, resulting in a strong hissing sound.
/dʒ/ Voiced, Affricate, Post-Alveolar
The air from the lungs travels through the larynx. The vocal folds are closed, and air pressure forces them open, allowing air to pass. The pressure then decreases, causing the vocal folds to close again, restarting the process and creating continuous vibration.
The air continues to the oral cavity, encountering a blockage between the front of the tongue and the rear of the alveolar ridge. The articulators are closed, retaining the air briefly. The air is released more slowly than in a plosive, creating a narrow gap between the articulators, resulting in a strong hissing sound.
/w/ Voiced, Approximant, Labial-Velar
The air from the lungs travels through the larynx. The vocal folds are closed, and air pressure forces them open, allowing air to pass. The pressure then decreases, causing the vocal folds to close again, restarting the process and creating continuous vibration.
The air continues to the oral cavity where the back of the tongue approaches the soft palate (velum), while the lips are rounded. The articulators are not close enough to create turbulence, so the air escapes freely.
/l/ Voiced, Approximant, Alveolar Lateral
The air from the lungs travels through the larynx. The vocal folds are closed, and air pressure forces them open, allowing air to pass. The pressure then decreases, causing the vocal folds to close again, restarting the process and creating continuous vibration.
The air continues to the oral cavity where there is a closure between the tip of the tongue and the alveolar ridge. This forces the air to escape through the sides of the tongue.
/r/ Voiced, Approximant, Post-Alveolar
The air from the lungs travels through the larynx. The vocal folds are closed, and air pressure forces them open, allowing air to pass. The pressure then decreases, causing the vocal folds to close again, restarting the process and creating continuous vibration.
The air continues to the oral cavity where the tongue is slightly curled backwards with the tip raised and directed to the rear part of the alveolar ridge. The articulators (tongue and alveolar ridge) are not close enough to produce friction, so there is no turbulence or hissing noise.
/j/ Voiced, Approximant, Palatal
The air from the lungs travels through the larynx. The vocal folds are closed, and air pressure forces them open, allowing air to pass. The pressure then decreases, causing the vocal folds to close again, restarting the process and creating continuous vibration.
The air continues to the oral cavity where the middle part of the tongue gets very close to the roof of the oral cavity or hard palate. But the closure between the articulators is not enough to produce friction, so there is no turbulence or hissing noise.