2. Fricatives

Air is passed through a narrow channel, creating turbulence. Turbulence = noise.

English fricatives:

Voiceless: [f] [θ] (“theory”) [s] [ʃ] (“shoe”) [h]

Voiced: [v] [ð] (“this”) [z] [ʒ] (“Zsa Zsa”)

All English fricatives except (maybe) [h] form voiced-voiceless cognates:

[v]-[f] [ð]-[θ] [z]-[s] [ʒ]-[ʃ]

For each pair: Same place, same manner, different voicing.

FRICATIVES

WEAK (not very loud) STRONG (comparatively loud)

(Slit Fricatives) ` (Groove Fricatives)

[f] [v] [θ] [ð] [h] [s] [z] [ʃ] [ʒ]

Long flat constriction = More circular constriction =Inefficient noise generator Efficient noise generator (noise is weak) (noise is strong)

[f]-[v]:

Place = Labiodental (lips-teeth)

Flat constriction (slit fricatives); flat (rather than round or grooved) constrictions produce a weak noise.

[θ]-[ð]:

Place = Linguadental (tongue-teeth) or interdental (linguadental & interdental are synonyms)

Flat constriction (slit fricatives); flat (rather than round or grooved) constrictions produce a weak noise

[s]-[z]:

Place = alveolar

Round-ish, grooved constriction; these produce a strong noise

[ʃ]-[ʒ]

Place = Alveopalatal/Palatoalveolar/Prepalatal

Round-ish, grooved constriction; these produce a strong noise

[h]:

Place = Glottal (whisper)

Tongue, lips & jaw don’t have anything in particular to do in the production of [h] since it is a glottal articulation.

Since the vocal tract can do whatever it pleases during [h], the tongue, lips & jaw will take the position of the following vowel.

[h], then, is simply a whispered vowel:

he [hi]: [h] = whispered [i]who [hu]: [h] = whispered [u]hoe [ho]: [h] = whispered [o] .

. . . . .

3. Nasals

Vocal tract is closed (at the lips, alveolar ridge, or velum); velum is lowered; acoustic energy flows through the nose rather than mouth.

[m]: bilabial

[n]: alveolar

[ŋ]: velar

•[ŋ]: Symbol called engma or long n

•[ŋ] can end words (sing [sɪŋ]; lung [lʌŋ], bang [beŋ], etc.) or appear in the middles of words (singer [sɪŋɚ], sinker [sɪŋkɚ], languid [leŋgwɪd]), but [ŋ] cannot begin words.

NOTE: Spelling convention: ng = [ŋ], but there is no [g] and no [n] in sing, singer, song, hanger, stirring, bang, etc.

A [g] may follow the [ŋ], though:

strangle [streŋgəl]

Bangor [beŋgɔɚ]�languid [leŋgwɪd]

mangle [meŋgəl]

jungle [dʒʌŋgəl]

[k] following [ŋ] is also common:

sinker [sɪŋkɚ]

lanky [leŋki]

blank [bleŋk]

clunker [klʌŋkɚ]

4. Affricates

There are only 2 on these in English:

[tʃ] & [dʒ]

church [tʃɚtʃ]

judge [dʒʌdʒ]

The mechanism of sound production: (1) the vocal tract is completely occluded (with the velum up); the occlusion is released into a short fricative: [ʃ] or [ʒ]. Affricates are stops followed by short fricatives.

Place: Alveopalatal/Palatoalveolar/Prepalatal; the same as [ʃ]-[ʒ], not the same as [t]-[d].

Place is not alveolar, as indicated in the text.

5. Approximants

Two Types of Approximants

Liquids Glides (also called semivowels)

[r] [l] [w] [j]

red [rɛd] led [lɛd] wed [wɛd] yet [jɛt]

These sounds are vowel-ish consonants, though they are definitely consonants. For [r w j] (i.e., all but [l]), there is a vowel with the same sound quality:

[r] : [ɚ] [w] : [u] [j] : [i]

[r] is the consonant version of [ɚ]

[w] is the consonant version of [u]

[j] is the consonant version of [i]

[l] is called a lateral: [l] is the only lateral consonant in English.

[r w j]: these are produced in the same way as

[r]: retroflex or bunched, somewhat rounded [w]: high, back, rounded (like [u])[j]: high, front, retracted lips (like [i])

Notice that these are features of vowel articulation, not features of consonant articulation. But since these really are consonants, somehow we have to force these onto a consonant articulation chart using features such as alveolar, palatal, alveopalatal, etc.

[r] = alveolar (sometimes palatal); [w] = bilabial and velar; [j] = palatal

Classifications are somewhat arbitrary, but you still have to learn them.

Places of Articulation:

LabialAlveolarDentalLabiodentalPalatalVelarUvularPharyngealLaryngeal