Week 2 - Consonants Phonology

What do consonants have?

Lower amplitude, shorter duration, voiced or voiceless, produced with the constriction of the vocal tract

What is the four articulatory criteria for consonants?

Airstream mechanism (Pulmonic vs non pulmonic), Voicing, Place of Articulation, Manner of Articulation

What type of phonemes are bilabial?

p, b

What type of phonemes are labiodental?

v, f

What type of phonemes are dental?

ð (voiced e.g this) and θ (voiceless e.g thing)

What type of phonemes are alveolar?

t, d, n, z, l, s

What are phonemes that are post alveolar?

sh, j

What are velar phonemes?

k, g, ŋ (long n)

What happens during stops?

Complete closure between the passive and active articulator

What happens during fricatives?

The active articulator closely narrowing against passive articulator

What happens with affricates?

Starts with full contact (plosive) and end with close narrowing (fricative)

What happens with approximants?

Narrowing or full closure by active articulator but vocal tract stays relatively open

What is the process of plosives?

The vocal tract is open - articulators are narrowing to close vocal tract (closing phase) - vocal tract is closed, air pressure builds up (hold phase) - articulators open again and air is released (release phase)

What is the process of nasals?

The oral cavity is closed - the nasal cavity is open, allowing for velum to be lowered to let air escape through nasal cavity

How are fricatives produced?

With a very narrow opening between the passive and active articulators

How are affricates produced?

The approximants are narrowing to close the vocal tract (approach phase) - the vocal tract is closed, building air pressure (hold phase) - then articulators open again and air is released, but more narrow compared to plosive production

How are lateral approximants produced? (l)

Complete closure with the centre of the tongue but air escapes slowly through the sides of the tongue - no build up of air pressure as air escapes through other areas

How are median approximants/glides produced? r

No complete closure anywhere, air passes freely over centre

What are natural classes?

Group of sounds in a language that share one or more articulatory properties

What are sonorants in consonant classification?

Do not involve nearly complete or complete strictures of very short duration without rise in air pressure e.g nasals, taps, trills, flaps, approximants

What are obstruents in consonant classification?

They involve complete or nearly complete strictures with rise in air pressure e.g plosives, fricatives, affricates