2.1 How sound is produced The ways in which we produce the sounds of any language is through articulators, or organs of speech, as the diagrams below show: Diagram Articulators/Speech Organs Consonants in English are pulmonic That is, their formation depends upon an egressive (outward-flowing) airstream initiating in the lungs Pulmonic consonants are described according to three features: • place of articulation; • manner of articulation; • whether the vocal cords vibrate in articulation that is if they are voiced Together, this is known as the voice-place-manner articulation or VPM descriptors The IPA is designed to capture the sounds of all varieties of English Table below shows the consonants to be found in the English spoken in England as they correspond to VPM descriptors 2.2 Place of articulation The column titles above refer to the place of articulation Starting from the left: In producing bilabial consonants, both lips are involved, as exemplified in the [m] of /mute/; such consonants restrict the airflow to a greater or lesser extent Labiodental articulation takes place when the top teeth and the bottom lip come into contact, producing sounds such as [v] as in /vase/ and [f] found in /face/ Dental articulation is where the tongue may protrude between the teeth in order to produce dental sounds, which in English are heard as /th/; represented by phonemes [θ] found in /thing/ and [ðð̠] as in /those/ Alveolar articulation or sounds is where sounds are produced when the blade of the tongue is placed against the alveolar bridge; the bony platform right behind the teeth In English this includes sounds like [d] for instance in /dance/, [z] as in /zoo/ and [n] found in /new/ Post Alveolar articulation or consonants is where sounds are produced further backwards, halfway between the alveolar ridge and hard palate Articulation of these consonants involves the body of the tongue being raised towards the front of the palate In English, these include [ ʃ ] and [ʒ], known respectively as /sh/ and /zj/, for instance in /fish/ and /pleasure/ Uvular and pharyngeal articulation is not found in English, but is present in other languages and varieties of English Retroflex describes when consonants are articulated between the alveolar ridge and hard palate with a tongue positioned in a backward or curled shape, often with the tip raised This curling back process involves the tip of the tongue being placed in a position further back in the mouth; a key feature that distinguishes these types of consonants from the alveolar ones which reflect the same orthographic unit Note though, that although retroflex consonants are not found in RP English for example, they occur in other English accents, like Ulster Irish Palatal sounds are those which involve the body of the tongue rising towards the most domed part of the palate In English, the only palatal sound is [j] which corresponds to the letter /y/, as shown in the word /yacht/ Velar sounds (also known as velum) involve the back of the tongue moving towards the soft palate that lies behind the palate itself (ref4) In English, three velar phonemes exist, including [k] as in /kite/, [g] like in /gang/, and [ŋ]; the latter sounds like, and is orthographically represented as /ng/, occurring at the end of syllables, for instance in /dancing/ Glottal sounds are produced by putting pressure on the airflow in the glottis by closing and pivoting vocal cords In English, two glottal sounds are present; the glottal stop [ʔ] which replaces the /t/ phoneme in words such as /that/ found some accents like cockney, and the voiceless glottal fricative [h], whose sound is indicated in words like /hat/ 2.3 Manner of articulation: The row headings which make up the second main axis of the above chart represent the manner of articulation The plosives, known to be the most consonantal of the manners of articulation (ref5), involve completely closing the vocal tract at one of the points of articulation; the pressure then builds up from the bottom and so an egressive airstream is pushed out of the lungs into the oral cavity This eventually pushes the articulators like the tongue and alveolar bridge apart, producing a small explosive sound (ref6) Plosive sounds in English include [p], [t], [k], [b], [d] and [g] Likewise, nasal consonants are similar to plosives in that they too involve complete closure at some point along the vocal tract however the difference is that with nasals, the velum is lowered away from the back wall of the pharynx Subsequently, air leaves the nose and enters the closed off oral cavity simultaneously (ref7); in this way there is no buildup of pressure thus no plosion as the air leaves the air leaves the nostrils In English, these nasals include [m], [n] and [ŋ] Taps or flaps are produced by a single fast movement of the top of the tongue, typically against the alveolar bridge; the [r[ sound in British accents, notably that of Scotland is an example of this consonant Fricative: these are produced when air flows through a narrow channel, which is created when two articulators (like the lower lip and upper teeth in the case of [f]) come into contact without closure The English fricatives include [f], [s], [z], [v], [h], [ ʃ ] and [ʒ], [θ] and [ðð̠] Approximants are less consonantal, and are produced when articulators move towards closing, though not near enough produce friction or a plosive build-up of pressure (ref9) Approximants in English include [w], [r], and [j], of which the latter is spelt orthographically as /y/ The lateral approximant [l] is also included in this category; it is produced when the tongue touches the alveolar bridge, but the sides of the tongue are lowered in order to allow air to freely leave Within the range of consonants between plosives and fricatives, two other consonants are present in English, known as affricates These tend not to be recognised as single consonants since they are made up of two phonetic consonants, however, they are typically treated as a single sounds These affricates are [ tʃ ] and [dʒ], which are found in, for example, /channel/ and /grudge/; they are produced like plosives in that they begin with a full closure, but instead of air building up leading to an explosive release, it is released slowly In this way, there is a short fricative phase, where the articulators separate, though before they fully part (ref10) ... Within the range of consonants between plosives and fricatives, two other consonants are present in English, known as affricates These tend not to be recognised as single consonants since they... Post Alveolar articulation or consonants is where sounds are produced further backwards, halfway between the alveolar ridge and hard palate Articulation of these consonants involves the body of... feature that distinguishes these types of consonants from the alveolar ones which reflect the same orthographic unit Note though, that although retroflex consonants are not found in RP English for