Phonetics-consonants

Manners of articulation

Plosive: a plosive is a consonant characterized by a complete obstruction of the outgoing airstream by the articulators, a buildup of air pressure in the mouth, and finally a release of that pressure.  A stop is merely the first part of this sound (the stopping of the airstream).  In other words, in producing these sounds, the air is stopped for a brief moment (say pop over and over and pay attention to what’s happening). 

Nasal: Nearly all nasal consonants are nasal occlusives, in which air escapes through the nose but not through the mouth, as it is blocked (occluded) by the lips or tongue. The oral cavity still acts as a resonance chamber for the sound. Rarely, non-occlusive consonants may be nasalized.

Trill: is a consonantal sound produced by vibrations between the active articulator and passive articulator. 

Tap or flap:  a flap or tap is a type of consonantal sound, which is produced with a single contraction of the muscles so that one articulator (such as the tongue) is thrown against another.

Fricative: are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together.

Lateral: is an L-like consonant, in which the airstream proceeds along the sides of the tongue, but is blocked by the tongue from going through the middle of the mouth.

Approximant: are speech sounds that involve the articulators approaching each other but not narrowly enough nor with enough articulatory precision to create turbulent air flow. Therefore, approximants fall between fricatives, which do produce a turbulent airstream, and vowels, which produce no turbulence.

Examples given in class

Pronunciation practice

More examples...