Speech Work: Revisiting Consonant Sounds - JSS3 English language Lesson Note
Consonant sounds are essential elements of speech that significantly affect pronunciation and comprehension in English. Consonants can be categorised based on their place of articulation (where the sound is produced in the mouth), manner of articulation (how the sound is produced), and voicing (whether the vocal cords vibrate or not).
Categories of Consonant Sounds
1. Place of Articulation:
Bilabial: Both lips come together. Examples: /p/, /b/, /m/, /w/
- /p/ as in "pat"
- /b/ as in "bat"
- /m/ as in "mat"
- /w/ as in "wet"
Labiodental: The lower lip and upper teeth touch. Examples: /f/, /v/
- /f/ as in "fat"
- /v/ as in "vat"
Dental: The tongue touches the teeth. Examples: /θ/ (voiceless), /ð/ (voiced)
- /θ/ as in "think"
- /ð/ as in "this"
Alveolar: The tongue touches the alveolar ridge (just behind the upper front teeth). Examples: /t/, /d/, /s/, /z/, /n/, /l/
- /t/ as in "tap"
- /d/ as in "dog"
- /s/ as in "sip"
- /z/ as in "zip"
- /n/ as in "nap"
- /l/ as in "lap"
Post-Alveolar: The tongue touches just behind the alveolar ridge. Examples: /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/, /dʒ/
- /ʃ/ as in "ship"
- /ʒ/ as in "measure"
- /tʃ/ as in "chop"
- /dʒ/ as in "judge"
Palatal: The tongue touches the hard palate. Example: /j/
- /j/ as in "yes"
Velar: The back of the tongue touches the soft palate. Examples: /k/, /g/, /ŋ/
- /k/ as in "cat"
- /g/ as in "go"
- /ŋ/ as in "sing"
Glottal: The sound is produced in the glottis. Examples: /h/, /ʔ/
- /h/ as in "hat"
- /ʔ/ (glottal stop) as in the middle sound in "uh-oh"
2. Manner of Articulation:
Plosive (Stop): Complete closure and release of air. Examples: /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/
Nasal: Air flows through the nose. Examples: /m/, /n/, /ŋ/
Fricative: Partial closure causing friction. Examples: /f/, /v/, /θ/, /ð/, /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /h/
Affricate: A combination of plosive and fricative. Examples: /tʃ/, /dʒ/
]Approximant: Close to each other but not enough to cause friction. Examples: /w/, /j/, /r/
Lateral Approximant: Air flows along the sides of the tongue. Example: /l/
3. Voicing:
Voiced: Vocal cords vibrate. Examples: /b/, /d/, /g/, /v/, /ð/, /z/, /ʒ/, /dʒ/, /m/, /n/, /ŋ/, /l/, /r/, /w/, /j/
Voiceless: Vocal cords do not vibrate. Examples: /p/, /t/, /k/, /f/, /θ/, /s/, /ʃ/, /h/, /tʃ/, /ʔ/
Examples in Sentences
1. Bilabial:
- /p/: "Please pass the pepper."
- /b/: "Bob bought a big balloon."
- /m/: "Mom made muffins."
- /w/: "We went to the water park."
2. Labiodental:
- /f/: "Fred found five frogs."
- /v/: "Vera loves vanilla ice cream."
3. Dental:
- /θ/: "Think about the theory."
- /ð/: "They enjoyed the weather."
4. Alveolar:
- /t/: "Tom took the toy."
- /d/: "David danced all day."
- /s/: "Sara sings sweetly."
- /z/: "The bees buzzed by."
- /n/: "Nancy knows the answer."
- /l/: "Lucy loves learning."
5. Post-Alveolar:
- /ʃ/: "She sells seashells."
- /ʒ/: "The measure of pleasure."
- /tʃ/: "The children chatted."
- /dʒ/: "Jack enjoys jumping."
6. Palatal:
- /j/: "Yes, you can come."
7. Velar:
- /k/: "The cat climbed the tree."
- /g/: "Gary got a gift."
- /ŋ/: "The song was long."
8. Glottal:
- /h/: "Hannah has a house."
- /ʔ/: "Uh-oh, something's wrong."