Classification and description of consonant sounds

Classification and description of consonant sounds
To describe consonant sounds we need certain important pieces of information. We need to know the following details.

a) The Air-stream Mechanism: -
All English sounds are produced with pulmonic aggressive air stream mechanism i.e. lung –Air pushed out.

b) The State of Glottis: -
Speech sounds can be classified as voiceless or voiced depending upon whether the vocal cords are wide apart and glottis is open.

c) The Position of Soft Palate: -
Speech sounds can be classified as oral or nasal depending upon whether the soft palate is raised or lowered.

d) The Active and Passive Articulators:-
Of the various articulators that we learnt above at least two are required for the production of speech sound. Some articulators move during the production of speech sounds. They are called active articulators. While some of them remain passive during sound production. They are called passive articulators.

e) The Stricture Involved: -
The term ‘Stricture’ refers to the way in which the passage of lung air restricted during the production of speech. They are:
(1) Complete Closer, (2) Complete Oral Closer, (3) Intermittent Closer, (4) Partial Closer, (5) Open Approximation.

f) Place of Articulation: -
We usually classify consonants according to (a) The place of articulation and (b) The manner of articulation. The place of articulation involves the active and passive articulators used in the production of particular consonants.
There are many types of consonants depending upon the place of articulation some of them are:
(1) Bilabial, (2) Labio-dental, (3) Dental, (4) Alveolar, (5) Post-Alveolar, (6) Retroflex, (7) Palato Alveolar, (8) Palatal, (9) Velar, (10) Uvular, (11) Glotal.

g) Manner of Articulation: -
It refers to the type of stricture involved in the production of consonant sound.
According to Manner of Articulation consonants are usually classified as:
(1) Plosive/ Stops, (2) Affricate, (3) Nasal, (4) Trills & Rolls, (5) Flap, (6) Lateral, (7) Fricative, (8) Frictionless Continuants, (9) Semivowel.
Consonants are described briefly by using the three term lable indication:-
(i) Whether the sound is voiceless or voiced
(ii) The place of articulation
(iii) The Manner of Articulation

e.g. /p/ - in word ‘pot’ can be described as voiceless bilabial plosive. This is the brief introduction of classification of consonants in English Language.