Partial Closure: Airflow through one route (e.g., nasal cavity), but not others.
Continuous Flow: Airflow is not stopped completely, but turbulence is created.
Types of Consonants
Nasal Stops: Air flows through the nasal cavity but not the oral cavity.
Fricatives: Continuous airflow with turbulence created (e.g., sound like 's').
Approximants: Least constricted airflow.
Types of Approximants:
Central Approximants: Air flows centrally (e.g., 'y' in 'yes').
Lateral Approximants: Constriction occurs in the center, but air escapes laterally (e.g., 'l' in 'like').
Manner of Articulation
Stop:
Complete constriction leading to a momentary airflow stoppage.
Example: Oral consonant 'b'.
Nasal Consonants:
Example: 'm', which cannot be pronounced when pinching the nose due to airflow dependence on the nasal passage.
Fricatives:
Air travels through a narrow constriction resulting in white noise (e.g., 's').
Approximants:
Minimal constriction allowing more airflow.
Affricates
Definition: Combination of a stop and a fricative.
Example Sounds:
'ch' in 'chair' as comprised of 't' and 's' sound.
Types of Stops
Hay Explosive Stops: Common, where airflow stops and then releases (e.g., English stops labeled as plosives).
Ejectives:
Produced by raising vocal folds to build pressure before releasing.
Example: Can produce a loud sound due to air pressure buildup.
Implosives:
Involve lowering vocal folds to create a suction effect, drawing air into the mouth.
Example: Baa as a voiced bilabial implosive.
Clicks:
Use the tongue to modulate pressure instead of vocal folds. Typically found in some African languages.
Short Stops
Taps and Flaps:
Very brief stops, often flicking the tongue.
Example: 'd' in 'atom' (Canadian English).
Trills:
Characterized by rapid repetition of closure, such as flapping the tongue repeatedly.
Example: Spanish 'r' in 'perro'.
Phonetic Symbols and IPA
Phonetics Overview:
Utilize symbols to represent speech sounds.
Voiced and voiceless symbols often appear in pairs in phonetic tables.
Some sounds do not have specific symbols due to rarity in global languages.
IPA Representation:
Proper symbols suitable for International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA); correct usage crucial for accurate communication.
Example of voiceless dental fricative: The symbol "θ" for 'th' in 'think', due to lack of English representative symbol.
Table of Consonants
Structure:
Horizontal: Place of articulation = front to back (e.g., bilabial, dental, alveolar, etc.).
Vertical: Manner of articulation = each row indicates types (plosives, nasals, fricatives, etc.).
Reading the Table:
Identify articulatory features across cells to determine symbols used.
Voiced symbols appear on the right and voiceless on the left; shaded cells indicate impossible sounds.
Evolving Articulatory Patterns
Understanding Context:
Each articulation type is linked to airflow control and modulation.
Explore various closures, how articulatory positions intersect, and ensure correct sound production techniques are used for clarity.
Conclusion
The articulation discussion emphasizes dynamic airflow control as fundamental to understanding phonetics and speech anatomy. Recognizing types of articulation patterns assists in understanding language sound structures on a global scale.