I will make this
lesson as simple as possible for the benefit of all because I understand the
level of difficulty encountered by second learners of English as regards
English phonetics. By the end of lesson, English learners should be able to:
i. Define a consonant sound.
ii. Define a vowel sound.
iii. Distinguish consonants from vowels.
iv. Pronounce the forty-four English phonemes (or sounds) and give
corresponding examples.
v. Transcribe at least simple English words such as come, go, stay, about,
driver, agree, etc.
The
English Language has forty-four phonemes (or sounds) which are comprised of
twenty-four consonants and twenty vowels.
What Are
Consonant Sounds?
In simple terms, consonant sounds are sounds that are produced with the
obstruction of airflow in the speech tract. In other words, the airstream is
blocked or passed with some friction during the articulation of consonant
sounds. You will understand this better when start pronouncing the consonant
sounds. We have twenty-four consonant sounds in English: /p, b, t, d, k, g, m,
n, ŋ, f, v, θ, ð, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, l, w, r, j, h, tʃ, dʒ/.
Classification
of Consonant Sounds
In classifying or describing consonant sounds, we look at three things:
·
Place of Articulation
·
Manner of Articulation
·
State of the Glottis
1. Place of
Articulation; that is, the organs of speech responsible for the production of
each sound. The places of articulation are eight in number:
a. Bilabials
These are consonant sounds produced with the upper lip and lower lip: /p, b, m,
w/. In other words, during the articulation of these sounds, the upper lip and
lower lip come in contact with each other.
b. Labiodentals
As the name implies, labiodentals are consonant sounds articulated with the
lower lip and upper teeth: /f/ and /v/.
c.
Dentals
This involves the tip of the tongue coming in light contact with the upper
incisor. /θ/ and /ð/ are dentals or dental consonants.
d. Alveolar
The alveolar consonants are produced when the tip of the tongue touches the
alveolar ridge. They are seven in number: /t, d, s, z, n, l, r/.
e. Palato-Alveolar
Articulated with the blade or tip of the tongue approaching or touching the
alveolar ridge and the main body of the tongue near the hard palate: /ʃ, ʒ, tʃ,
dʒ/.
f.
Palatal
The /j/ sound is a palatal consonant, and it is produced with the blade of the
tongue held close to or touching the hard palate.
g.
Velar
Velar consonants are articulated with the back of the tongue held close
to or touching the soft palate (velum): /k, g, ŋ/.
h.
Glottal
This sound is produced when the air which passes through an open glottis
escapes through the mouth: /h/.
2. Manner
of Articulation
Consonant sounds are also classified according to their manners of
articulation. The manner of articulation is the way the airstream is affected
as it flows from the lungs and out of the nose and mouth. Below
are six different manners of articulation in English that distinguishes one
consonant sound from another:
a. Plosives
These are sounds produced
from sudden opening of a previously closed oral passage. The plosives are
/p, b, t, d, k, g/. Three things happen during the production of these sounds:
i. There is a complete closure of the oral passage or vocal tract as a result
of the inevitable contact of the articulators, holding back the air pressure.
For example, when producing the sound /p/, the articulators (the upper lip and
lower lip) must first come in contact with each other.
ii. During this inevitable marriage, the air pressure builds up behind the
closure.
iii. Then, there is sudden release of the closure, and the blocked air puffs
out with an explosive sound.
b. Affricates
Affricates consist of plosives and fricatives; thus, they share something in
common with plosives. Like plosives, before the affricates are released, there
is a complete closure of the mouth behind which air pressure builds up.
However, to release these sounds (affricates), the articulators gradually and
slowly separate unlike that of plosives. The affricates are /tʃ/ and /dʒ/.
c.
Nasals
In producing the nasals, the oral passage is closed, and the soft palate is
lowered in order to allow air escape through the nose. The nasals are three in
number: /m, n, ŋ/.
d.
Lateral
The /l/ sound is a lateral consonant. During its production, the tip of tongue
touches the alveolar ridge with a partial closure of the mouth in order to let
the air escape through either or both sides of the tongue.
e.
Fricatives
Fricatives are sounds produced with the narrowing of two articulators in such a
way that the airstream passes through them with obstruction. The fricatives are
/f, v, θ, ð, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, h/.
f.
Approximants
In producing an approximant, two articulators “approach each other but do not
get sufficiently close to produce a “complete” consonant such as a plosive,
nasal or fricative” (Roach 2000, p. 62). That is why approximants are also
called semivowels. The approximants are /r, w, j/.
3. State of
the Glottis
This has to do with the state or condition of the vocal cords when sounds are
produced. The vocal cords sometimes vibrate and at other times remain still
depending on the type of consonant that is being produced. When the vocal cords
vibrate, the consonant sounds produced are said to be voiced. But
when there is no vibration, the consonant sounds are said to be voiceless.
Therefore, under state of the glottis, consonant sounds are
classified according to whether they are voiceless or voiced.
The voiceless consonants are /p, t, k, tʃ, f, θ, s, h, ʃ/. The voiced
consonants are /b, d, g, dʒ, r, w, l, v, ð, z, ʒ, m, n, ŋ, j/.
Based on the
above classification, each of the twenty-four English consonants can be
described as:
/p/ voiceless bilabial plosive
/b/ voiced bilabial plosive
/t/ voiceless alveolar plosive
/d/ voiced alveolar plosive
/k/ voiceless velar plosive
/g/ voiced velar plosive
/f/ voiceless labiodental
fricative
/v/ voiced labiodental
fricative
/θ/ voiceless dental fricative
/ð/ voiced dental fricative
/s/ voiceless alveolar
fricative
/z/ voiced alveolar fricative
/ʃ/ voiceless palato-alveolar
fricative
/ʒ/ voiced palato-alveolar fricative
/h/ glottal fricative
/tʃ/ voiceless palato-alveolar
affricate
/dʒ/ voiced palato-alveolar
affricate
/m/ voiced bilabial nasal
/n/ voiced alveolar nasal
/ŋ/ voiced velar nasal
/l/ voiced alveolar lateral
/r/ voiced palato-alveolar
approximant
/j/ voiced palatal approximant
/w/ voiced bilabial approximant
How to
Pronounce the Twenty-four English Consonants
This is not a video tutorial where you can hear the actual pronunciation of a
given phonetic symbol. In this case, you have to work out your salvation with
fear and trembling although I will make it easy for you by using a technique
known as the recurring technique. To get the actual pronunciation
of a given phonetic symbol, I will give three word examples against a
given phonetic symbol. These examples have a recurring sound in them. This
recurring sound is the actual pronunciation of that given phonetic symbol.
To make it easier, I will underline the letter(s) or syllable that carries the actual
sound of the given phonetic symbol. Therefore, you have to listen to yourself
as you pronounce the words against each of the twenty-four English consonants
presented below:
/p/ people, ripple, rope
/b/ book, ribbon, rob
/t/ talk, rattle, voiced
/d/ dig, riddle, read
/k/ kettle, racket, talk
/g/ girl, nougat, dig
/f/ physical, ruffle, rough
/v/ voice, revise, love
/θ/
The /θ/ sound is that sound that compels you to bring the tip of your tongue
almost in between your upper teeth and lower teeth in order to sound posh. Lol!
It is found in most 'th' words. Some word examples with this sound are through,
truthful, breath etc.
/ð/
This sound is almost pronounced as /d/. It is found in 'th' words where the
'th' does not compel you to bring the tip of your tongue almost in between your
upper teeth and lower teeth. Some word examples with this sound are father, them,
breathe, they, the, then etc.
/s/ steal, reset, price
/z/ zip, razor, eyes
/ʃ/ shoe, sugar, parachute
/ʒ/ massage, vision, pleasure
To make this sound, you have to first practise the /ʃ/ sound, then use the
voice to pronounce /ʒ/.
/h/ history, high, house
/tʃ/ teach, church, chick
/dʒ/ George, digit, lodge
/m/ man, comb, mammal
/n/ neck, nine, sin
/ŋ/ thank, sing, morning
/l/ luck, plight, kettle
/w/ once, warm, wow
/r/ reign, drain, river
/j/ year, stupid, use
What Are
Vowel Sounds?
Vowels are sounds produced without the obstruction of airflow in the speech
tract. The English language has twenty vowels: /ɪ, iː, e, æ, a:, ɒ, ɔː, ʊ, u:,
ʌ, ɜː, ə, ɪə, eə, ʊə, eɪ, aɪ, ɔɪ, əʊ, aʊ/. These twenty vowels consist of
twelve monophthongs or pure vowels /ɪ, iː, e, æ, a:, ɒ, ɔː, ʊ, u:, ʌ, ɜː, ə/
and eight diphthongs /ɪə, eə, ʊə, eɪ, aɪ, ɔɪ, əʊ, aʊ/.
The twelve
monophthongs (or pure vowels) are further divided into seven short vowels and
five long vowels. The short vowels are /ɪ, e, æ, ɒ, ʊ, ʌ, ə/ whereas the long
vowels are /iː, a:, ɔː, u:, ɜː/.
On the other
hand, the diphthongs are divided into two: centring diphthongs and closing
diphthongs. The centring diphthongs glide towards the ə (schwa)
vowel: /ɪə, eə, ʊə/. The diphthongs ending in ɪ /eɪ, aɪ, ɔɪ/
and those ending in ʊ /əʊ, aʊ/ constitute the closing
diphthongs.
How to
Pronounce the Twenty English Vowels
/ɪ/
Hope you remember the five vowels of the English alphabet (a, e, i, o, u)?
The
/ɪ/ sound, which is a short vowel, is pronounced exactly as the i in
the five vowels of the English alphabet. It is present in words such as sit,
bit, live, chip etc.
/iː/
This is the elder sibling of the /ɪ/ sound. But for its length, it is similar
to the /ɪ/ sound. In other words, the /i:/ sound is the long version of the /ɪ/
sound. You have it in words such as seat, beat, leave, cheap,
see, sea, be, people, quay, chief, piece,
receive, key etc.
/e/ bed, left,
dead
It is pronounced as the e in the five vowels of the English
alphabet.
/æ/
Open your mouth widely and pronounce /æ/ in words such as man, cat,
hand, black, bat, plaid, plait etc.
/a:/
This is the long version of /æ/. Pronounce this sound the way you
pronounce ah. It is present in words such as pass, staff,
cart, heart, car, laugh, clerk, sergeant,
calm, ah etc.
/ɒ/
Pronounce this sound the same way the o in the five vowels of
the English alphabet is pronounced. The /ɒ/ sound is present in words such
as off, dog, cough, quantity, lorry, want
etc.
/ɔː/
The /ɔː/ sound is the long version of the /ɒ/ sound. This sound is
pronounced ‘or’.
Some examples of words with this sound are broad, soar, roar,
before, brought, four, saw, war, salt
etc.
/ʊ/
Pronounce this sound the way you pronounce the oo in 'book,'
the o in 'woman,' the ou in 'could,'
the u in 'put,' etc.
/u:/
This is the long version of /ʊ/. Pronounce the /u:/ sound the way you pronounce
the ew in chew, the ou in
group, the oe in shoe, the u in
rude, the oo in soon, the ue in
sue, the ui in suit, wo in two
etc.
/ʌ/
It is a short vowel and is pronounced uh. It is somewhat similar to
the /æ/ sound, but relaxed. When pronouncing this sound, your tongue should
rest in the middle of your mouth. The jaw is kept in a neutral position, and
the lips are relaxed. It is the o sound in come,
the u sound in cut, the ou sound in country,
the oo sound in blood.
/ɜː/
This sound is pronounced err, as in “To err is
human; to forgive is divine.” It is the ear sound in early,
the er sound in person, the ur sound
in church, the ir sound in bird, the yr sound
in myrtle, the our sound in journey, the or sound
in word.
/ə/
This is the schwa. It is usually weak and is known as the central vowel. It is
the weak form of all the vowel sounds. The /ə/ sound is similar to the /ʌ/, but
unlike the /ʌ/ sound, it usually unstressed. Word examples: allow, about,
extra, beggar, mother etc.
/ɪə/
Pronounce this sound the way you pronounce ear. Word
examples: beer, near, weird, tier, mere, here,
etc.
/eə/ – air
Word examples: air, fair, scarce, care, heir,
where, there, bear etc.
/ʊə/
The /ʊə/ sound begins from the /ʊ/ sound and end in the central vowel /ə/. So,
you should have the /ʊ/ and /ə/ sounds in mind when pronouncing the /ʊə/
sounds. Word examples: poor, moor, tour, rural, manual,
pure, sewer etc.
/eɪ/
Pronounce this sound the way you pronounce the letter 'A'. Word examples: pay,
make, great, eight, grey etc.
/aɪ/ – eye
Word examples: eye, height, time, die, buy,
cry, bye etc.
/ɔɪ/ – oi
Word examples: boy, noise, coil, annoy etc.
/əʊ/ – o
Word examples: go, boat, rose, hoe, soul, foe,
sow, etc.
/aʊ/ – ow
Word examples: how, loud, tout, blouse, cow etc.
Another English sounds of
vowel type are the triphthongs. A triphthong “is a glide from one
vowel to another and then to a third, all produced rapidly and without
interaction” (Roach 2000, p. 24). Triphthongs are made up of the closing
diphthongs and the central vowel ə (schwa). They are five in
number:
·
aɪ + ə = aɪə, as in fire /faɪə/
·
eɪ + ə = eɪə, as in player /pleɪə/
·
ɔɪ + ə = ɔɪə, as in royal /rɔɪəl/
·
əʊ + ə = əʊə, as in lower /ləʊə/
·
aʊ + ə = aʊə, as in hour /aʊə/
Definition of Some Words
Monophthong – A vowel retaining
same quality throughout its duration.
Diphthong – A vowel sound
that begins with the sound of one vowel and ends with the sound of another vowel.
This lesson
has been simplified to benefit all English learners as regards phonetics, at
least the basics. However, if you find it difficult to pronounce any of the forty-four
phonemes (or sounds), don't hesitate to chat with me on Whatsapp (+2348035232017).
