Homework Sheet 1
Name ________________
Due _______________
Describing consonants
English, like all other languages, makes a distinction between vowels and consonants based on the amount of obstruction encountered
by the air flowing from the lungs. With vowels, the air flows relatively freely through the oral cavity – the different sound qualities are
created by varying the shape of the space through which the air is flowing. With consonants, on the other hand, the air flow is
obstructed, for example, by closing the lips. Rather than a sharp division between vowels and consonants, however, there is really a
continuum of obstruction. Some consonants, like those at the beginning of you and we, are rather vowel-like in that they are sounded
continuously without any audible obstruction. Because of this, these two consonants are sometimes called semi-vowels. Describing the
twenty-four consonants of English requires these questions to be answered: Where in the vocal tract is the obstruction? How (and to
what degree) is the airflow obstructed? Are the vocal folds vibrating?
Places of articulation
The following terms describe the different places of articulation in English:

bilabial: using both lips. Look in a mirror and say many bright planets. See and feel how the lips come together for the first
sound in each of these words.

labio-dental: using the lower lip and the upper teeth. Again look in a mirror, but this time say fifty very fierce flying
vegetables. When you make the first sound in each of these words, notice how your lower lip is raised until it almost touches
the upper front teeth.

dental: using the tongue tip between the teeth or the tongue tip or blade close behind the upper teeth. Say those three
thorny things and feel where your tongue is when you make the first sound in each of these words. Does your tongue
position vary from between the teeth to behind the upper teeth, or is it consistently in one position or the other?

alveolar: using the tip or blade of the tongue and the alveolar ridge. Say two new daggy suits and again feel which of the two
possibilities your tongue uses in making each of the highlighted sounds in these words.

palato-alveolar: using the blade of the tongue and the back of the alveolar ridge. Say she shears chubby sheep cheaply. To
feel the place of articulation more easily, hold the position of the highlighted sound in each of these words and breathe in.
You can feel the incoming air cool the blade of your tongue and the back of your alveolar ridge.

palatal: using the front of the tongue and the hard palate. Say your yellow yowling yak, hold the position of the first
consonant and breathe in. This time you will feel the incoming air cool the front of your tongue and your hard palate.

velar: using the back of the tongue and the velum. Say great gopher kissing kit and feel how the tongue touches the velum
when you say the first sound of each word.

glottal: using the space between the vocal folds. Finally, say huge hot hideous hippogriffs and hear the friction as the air
rushes between the slightly open vocal folds and resonates through the vocal tract.
Manners of articulation
The consonants can be divided into six different manners of articulation based on the degree of obstruction of the airflow. This can vary
from a total closure to a narrowing in the vocal tract.

stop: a complete closure in the oral cavity with the velum raised. Feel where the closure is made as you say the initial sounds
in pail, bail (bilabial closure); tie, die (alveolar closure); and came, game (velar closure). In each of these pairs, the initial
sound of the first word is voiceless and the initial sound of the second is voiced.

nasal: a complete closure in the oral cavity with the velum lowered so that air escapes through the nose. The three nasals in
English are all voiced and you can hear them at the beginning of the words my (bilabial closure), nose (alveolar closure) and
at the end of the word ring (velar closure).

fricative: two speech organs come close together to partially block the airflow and create a turbulence in it that can be heard.
Focus on the highlighted sounds as you say the words fear, veer (labio-dental); thing, them (dental), sink, zinc (alveolar);
and flash, measure (palato-alveolar). In each pair, the sound represented by the highlighted letters in the first word is
voiceless and in the second voiced.

affricate: first a complete closure or stop is made in the oral cavity and then rather than being fully released, it is slackened
so that a fricative sound is made. There are two affricates in English – both are palato-alveolars, but they contrast in voicing.
The voiceless affricate occurs at the beginning of the word choke and the voiced affricate occurs at the beginning of joke.
Feel the series of movements involved in making an affricate as you say these words.

lateral: a partial closure is made by the blade of the tongue against the alveolar ridge so that air can flow between one or
both sides of the tongue and the roof of the mouth. In English there is only one lateral, it is an alveolar and it is voiced. You
can feel how the air flows around your tongue by saying long languid look and holding the tongue position of one of the initial
sounds while you breathe in. The tongue will feel cold on the side or sides not in contact with the roof of your mouth.

approximant: two speech organs come close to each other, but not close enough that an audible turbulence is produced. The
three sounds in English that can be listed as approximants are all voiced and are found at the beginning of the words year
(narrowing between the front of the tongue and the palatal), wear (narrowing the lips by rounding them and narrowing the
velar region), and row (narrowing in the alveolar region for most Australian English speakers).
Summary
To summarise, the consonants of English can be described in terms of three factors that are generally listed in the following order:

state of the vocal folds (voiced or voiceless)


place of articulation
manner of articulation.
In English, the stops, fricatives and affricates can be voiced or voiceless, while the nasals, laterals and approximants are all voiced. The
convention is that the state of the vocal folds is only mentioned for those places and manners of articulation where a voicing contrast
occurs, such as with an alveolar stop. Likewise, it is not necessary to specifically state whether a consonant is oral or nasal given that
the velum is raised for all the manners of articulation, except for nasal (and nasality is already encoded in the name of this term). Thus
the initial consonant sounds in your shiny new beamer can be described as:
your
palatal approximant
shiny
voiceless palato-alveolar fricative
new
alveolar nasal
beamer
voiced bilabial stop
Activity 1
1.
Use this list of words to carry out these activities.
berko
digger
heebiejeebies
chippie
razoo
thunderbox
gotcha
scrounge
a.
flaky
Say each of the words to yourself several times and describe the consonant sound represented by the highlighted
letters in terms of voicing and place of articulation.
Activity 2
1.
Read the following tongue twisters aloud several times, increasing the speed each time.
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?
She sells sea shells on the sea shore.
Swan swam over the sea. Swim swan swim. Swan swam back again. Well swum swan.
When does the wrist watch strap shop shut?
a.
b.
c.
d.
For each of the sounds represented by the highlighted letters, describe the manner of articulation.
What makes tongue twisters difficult to pronounce?
Check your answers with those given at the end of the chapter.
Devise your own tongue twister for another member of the class to try.
Activity 3
1.
Here are a series of examples of humour. Identify which subsystem of the language system is needed to decode each
example. Compare your answers with those at the end of the chapter.
b.
c.
2.
a.
Which word is always spelled wrongly?
Wrongly. (Crystal, 1995: 411)
Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Little old lady.
Little old lady who?
Didn’t know you could yodel. (Crystal, 1995: 411)
Is a Buddhist monk refusing an injection at the dentist’s trying to
transcend dental medication? (Chiaro, 1992: 36)
d.
Trimmets treacle puddings have caused several people to
be taken to hospital with badly scalded feet. It seems that the
instructions read: ‘Open tin and stand in boiling water.’ (Chiaro,
1992: 41)
Which of the jokes in question 1 requires a standard response from the audience as part of the discourse pattern?