What is a Consonant?
A consonant is a sound that is produced by obstructing the airflow in the vocal tract. The obstruction can be created by the lips, teeth, tongue, or palate. Consonants are typically classified according to their place of articulation, which is the point at which the obstruction occurs. The most common places of articulation are bilabial (produced with both lips), labiodental (produced with the lower lip and upper teeth), dental (produced with the tongue tip and upper teeth), alveolar (produced with the tongue tip and alveolar ridge), palatal (produced with the tongue body and hard palate), velar (produced with the tongue body and soft palate), glottal ( produced by constricting airflow in the larynx).
Consonants can also be classified according to their manner of articulation, which describes how the obstruction is created. The most common manners of articulation are stop or occlusive consonants, in which there is a complete blockage of airflow; fricative consonants, in which there is a partial blockage that results in a turbulent airstream; affricate consonants, which combine features of both stop and fricative consonants; nasal consonants, in which air escapes through the nose rather than through the mouth; liquid consonants, in which air flows around an obstacle such as the tongue tip; and glides or semivowels, which involve very little obstruction of airflow.
The voiced/voiceless distinction is one of the most important features of consonants. Voiced consonants are produced with vibration of the vocal cords, while voiceless consonants are produced without vibration. This distinction is represented by the symbols ‘b, d, g, z, v, ʒ, ʤ’ (voiced) and ‘p, t, k , s , f , ʃ , ʧ’ (voiceless). The voiced/voiceless distinction can also be applied to stops and affricates: ‘b, d, g’ are voiced stops while ‘p, t , k’ are voiceless stops; ‘ʤ’ is a voiced affricate while ‘ʧ’ is voiceless.
The phonetic environment in which a consonant occurs also affects its pronunciation. Consonants at the beginning of a word or syllable are typically pronounced more clearly than those at the end. This phenomenon is known as initial strengthening or pre-consonantalization. For example, the sound /t/ in English is usually stronger when it occurs at the beginning of a word (‘top’) than when it occurs at the end (‘cat’). Similarly, final weakening or post consonantalization results in less clear pronunciation of consonants at the end of words or syllables. For example, /t/ is typically weaker in ‘beat’ than in ‘bet’.
