The Articulatory Description of Consonants

Мета: to find out about articulatory peculiarities of consonants.

Короткі теоретичні відомості

Definition [p, b] – are occlusive, plosive, bilabial; [p] is strong and voiceless; [b] is weak and voiced, in final position it is partly devoiced.

Articulation

1. The lips are firmly kept together.

2. The soft palate is raised and the air coming into the mouth stops for some time and then breaks the obstruction with the a slight explosion.

3. The vocal cords do not vibrate [p] is produced. For [b] they are tense kept together and vibrate when [b] occurs before vowels or intervocalic positions, eg begin, rubber.

4. The breath effort is very strong for [p], for [b] it is weak .

Tongue Twister: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

Betty Better bought some butter. «But,» she said, «this butter's bitter. If I put it in my batter, it will make my batter bitter. But a bit of better butter will make my bitter batter better.» So she bought a bit of better butter and made her bitter batter better.

Definition [t, d] are occlusive, plosive, forelingual, apical, alveolar; [t] is strong and voiceless, [d] is weak and voiced, in final position is slightly devoiced.

Articulation

1. The complete obstruction is made by the tip of the tongue firmly pressed against the middle of the alveolar ridge.

2. The soft palate is raised and the air coming into the mouth is trapped for short time. Then it breaks the obstruction with a slight explosion.

3. The vocal cords do not vibrate when [t] is formed. For [d] they are drawn together and vibrate when it occurs before vowels of intervocal positions, e.g. done, ladder.

4. The breath effort for [t] is very strong, for [d] it is weak.

Tongue Twister: The two-twenty-two train tore through the tunnel.

When a doctor doctors a doctor, does the doctor doing the doctoring doctor as the doctor being doctored wants to be doctored or does the doctor doing the doctoring doctor as he wants to doctor?

Definition [k, g] are occlusive, plosive, backlingual, velar; [k] is strong and voiceless; [g] is weak and voiced, in final position is partly devoiced.

Articulation

1. The back of the tongue makes a firm contact with the soft palate.

2. The soft palate is raised. The air coming from the lungs is trapped for a short time and then breaks the obstruction with a slight explosion.

3. The vocal cords do not vibrate for [k]. When [g] is produced they are drawn together and vibrate.

4. The breath effort for [k] is very strong, for [g] it is weak.

Tongue Twister: How much caramel can a canny cannonball cram in a camel if a canny cannonball can cram caramel in a camel?

Giggling geese are playing games. They are going to race.

Constrictive Fricative Consonants (Fricatives). They are constrictive because the air passage is constricted and an incomplete obstruction is formed; they are fricative, because the air passes through the narrowing with audible friction.

Definition [f, v] are constrictive fricative, labio-dental; [f] is strong and voiceless, [v] is weak and voiced, in the final position it is partly devoiced.

Articulation

1. The lower lip is very close to the edge of the upper front teeth, thus forming an incomplete obstruction. When the air goes through the narrowing it causes slight friction.

2. For [f] the vocal cords do not vibrate; there may be some vibration accompanying [v] when it occurs in word initial positions as in vast or between vowels as in never

3. For [f] the air force is very strong. Tongue Twister: Five frantic frogs fled from fifty fierce fishes. Vincent vowed vengeance very vehemently

Definition[ө; ð] are constrictive fricative, forelingual, interdental; [ð] is strong and voiceless, [ө] is weak and voiced, in final position it is partly devoiced.

Articulation

1. The tip of the tongue is either close to the edge of the upper teeth or slightly projected between the teeth.

2. For [ө] the vocal cords do not vibrate, they vibrate for [ð] when it occurs in word initial position, before a vowel or in intervocalic positions, eg thus, rather.

3. The air force is very strong for [ө].

Tongue Twister: I thought a thought. But the thought I thought wasn't the thought I thought.
If the thought I thought I thought had been the thought I thought,

I wouldn't have thought so much. Lesser leather never weathered wetter weather better.

Thank the other three brothers of their father's mother's brother's side.

Whenever the weather is cold.

Whenever the weather is hot.

We'll whether the weather, whatever the weather,

whether we like it or not.

Definition [s, z] are constrictive fricative, forelingual, apical alveolar, [s] is strong and voiceless, [z] is weak and voiced, in final position it is partially devoiced.

Articulation

1. The tip of the tongue is close to the teeth ridge. The narrowing is round, because of the groove in the blade of the tongue.

2. The teeth are very close together.

3. The vocal cords do not vibrate when [s] is produced. For [z] they vibrate when it occurs before vowels or in intervocalic positions, eg zone, easy.

4. The friction for [s] is strong, even stronger than for [ө].

Tongue Twister: Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks. Sounding by sound is a sound method of sounding sounds. Shy Shelly says she shall sew sheets.

Definition [S;Z] are constrictive fricative, forelingual, apical, palate-alveolar, bicentral; [S] is strong and voiceless, [Z] is weak and voiced, in final position it is partially devoiced.

Articulation

1. The tip of the tongue is close to the back part of the teeth ridge forming a flat narrowing.

2. The front part of the tongue is raised towards the hard palate, forming the front secondary focus, thus palatalizing the sounds.

3. The lips are neutral or slightly rounded.

4. The vocal cords do not vibrate when [ƒ]is pronounced, for [3] they vibrate when it occurs before vowels, eg pleasure.

Tongue Twister: She saw Sherif's shoes on the sofa.

But was she so sure she saw Sherif's shoes on the sofa?

Definition[h] – is constrictive fricative, glottal, voiceless.

Recommendations for articulation. In order to make [h]-sounds, hold the mouth ready for the vowel and push a short gasp of breath by the lungs; breath the air out weakly adding some slight fricative noise to the vowel

Tongue Twister: Well, you know last Easter, Henry and Helen had a holiday in Honolulu. They had a horrible holiday and when they arrived home, Helen left him.

How much ground would a groundhog hog, if a groundhog could hog ground?

Occlusive Constrictive Consonants (Affricates)

There are only two affricates in English: [CG]. They are occlusive-constrictives because a complete obstruction is formed and it is released slowly, with friction.

Definition [C;G] are occlusive-constrictive, forelingual, apical, palato-alveolar, [C] is strong and voiceless, [G] is weak and voiced. In word final position it is partially devoiced.

Articulation

1. The tip of the tongue touches the back part of the teeth ridge.

2. The front part of the tongue is raised towards the hard palate forming the front secondary focus (a flat narrowing).

3. The soft palate is raised so that the breath is trapped for a short time (because of the complete obstruction between the tongue-tip and the teeth ridge) then the obstruction is released slowly and the friction is heard.

4. The lips are slightly rounded.

Завдання до теми

Read the tongue-twisters:

1. Kanta is a masai girl, she can tie a tie and untie a tie, if kanta can tie a tie and untie a tie, why can’t I tie a tie and untie a tie?

2. Keenly cleaning copper kettles.

3. Ken Dodd’s dad’s dog ‘s dead.

4. King Thistle stuck a thousand thistles in the thistle of his thumb. A thousand thistles King Thistle stuck in the thistle of his thumb. If King Thistle stuck a thousand thistles in the thistle of his thumb, How many thistles did King Thistle stick in the thistle of his thumb?

5. Kiss her quick, kiss her quicker, kiss her quickest!

6. Knapsack straps.

7. Kris Kringle carefully crunched on candy canes.

Контрольні питання

1. What is a consonant sound?

2. How do the consonants change on the articulatory level?

3. What are the two consonant classes according to the degree of noise?

4. What is the function of the vocal cords in the production of voiced and voiceless noise consonants?

5. How does the degree of noise vary because of the force of articulation?

6. What is a sonorant? State the difference between sonorants and noise consonants.

7. How does the position of the Soft palate determine the quality of a sonorant?

8. Define every type of obstruction,

9. What are the four groups of consonants according to the manner of articulation?

10. What consonant sounds are called ‘occlusive’?

11. Why are plosives called ‘stops’?

12. What consonant sounds are called ‘constrictive’? What is the difference between occlusives and constrictives?

13. How else are constrictive noise consonants called and why?

14. How do the fricatives vary in the work of the vocal cords and in the degree of force of Articulation?

15. How are the constrictive sonorants made?

16. What consonant sounds are occlusive-constrictive?

17. How are the Russian rolled consonants [p, p ’] produced?

18. Enumerate the consonant groups according to the place of articulation.

19. How are the forelingual consonants classified according to the work of the tip of the tongue?

20. How do the forelingual consonants differ according to the place of obstruction?

Література: [4, c. 24-54; 2, с. 69-93].

Практичне заняття № 14

Тема. Cонанти

Sonorants

Мета: to find out about articulatory peculiarities of sonorants

Короткі теоретичні відомості

Sonorants are sounds, pronounced with the tone prevails over the noise. Sonorants compromise seven sounds [m, n, ŋ, 1, w, r, j].

According to the manner of articulation sonorants may be occlusive [m, n, ŋ,] when a complete obstruction is formed and constrictive [1, w, j, r] pronounced with incomplete obstruction.Sonorants are subdivided into nasal and oral, depending on the position of the soft palate which defines the direction of the air stream. When the soft palate is raised the air goes to the mouth, so the sonorants are oral: [1, w, j, r]. if the soft palate is lowered the air escapes through the nose the sounds are nasal: [m, n, ŋ].

According to the direction of the air stream oral sonorants may be medial and lateral. If the air stream passes along the sides of the tongue lateral sonorant are produced [1]; if the air goes down the center of the tongue the sounds are medial: [w, j, r].

According to the place of articulation sonorants may be bilabial [m,w] when both lips take part in their formation; forelingual apical alveolar [n, 1] pronounced with the tip of the tongue against the alveolar ridge; post-alveolar [r] pronounced with the tip of the tongue against the back of the alveolar ridge; palatal [j] articulated with the front of the tongue raised to the hard palate; velar [n] when the back part of the tongue is against the soft palate.

Sonorants are voiced consonants but the oral sonorants [1, w, j, r] occur after voiceless consonants they are partly devoiced: little, apple,

Occlusive Nasal Sonorants

Definition[m] is occlusive, nasal, bilabial.

Articulation

1. The lips are firmly kept together.

2. The soft palate is lowered and the air goes through the nose.

3. The vocal cords vibrate.

Tongue Twister: Mary Mac's mother's making Mary Mac marry me.

My mother's making me marry Mary Mac. Will I always be so Merry when Mary's taking care of me? Will I always be so merry when I marry Mary Mac?

Definition [n] is occlusive nasal, forelingual, apical, alveolar.

Articulation

1. The tip of the tongue is pressed against the alveolar ridge.