Lesson 1: Consonants

You already know that during the production of a consonant, the flow of air is obstructed in the vocal tract. The mode of articulation describes the type of obstruction that is placed. Seven classes of consonants are usually distinguished:

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1. Plosive
   Plosive consonants are characterised by the occlusion of the airflow passage. The airflow, therefore, is completely blocked.
   An example for a plosive consonant is the [p] in pain. As you can see: the production of a plosive can only be momentary, i.e. you cannot pronounce the [p] for several seconds.
    

2. Fricative
   The manner of articulation of fricatives consists of a narrowing of the expiratory canal, thus producing a friction sound. Examples for fricative consonants are the [f] in flower, the [ʃ] in shoe or the [v] in vase.
    

3. Nasal
   Whereas the airflow for all other types of consonants passes through the oral cavity, the airflow of nasals passes through the nose as the [n] in nose or the [m] in moment.
    

4. Vibrant
   The production of a vibrant consonant causes fast vibration of an articulator (e.g. the tongue or uvula). In English there are two types of vibrants, used in different accents: trills and taps. Trills can be found in rhotic varieties of English, as are some speakers from regions in Scotland and some parts of southwestern England, who pronounce [r] just as we pronounce it in Bernese dialect as in mir, or in Spanish, as in perro. Taps can be found in American varieties, as the [ɾ] in the American pronunciation of city.
    

5. Approximant
   Approximants are consonant sounds produced with a constriction between the two articulators which is wide enough not to cause any air turbulence. The most prominent approximant in English is the [ɹ], used for every r sound in American English and for some r sounds in British English, as in reverse. The first r is pronounced as [ɹ] in both varieties, the second r is pronounced as [ɹ] in American English but not in British English.
    

6. Lateral approximant
   A lateral approximant is the [l] in long, for example. In this case, the airflow passes to either side of the tongue.
    

7. Affricate
   Affricates have both plosive and fricative characteristics. They begin as plosive, with a complete closure of the expiratory canal and end with a fricative sound caused by the partial opening. The [tʃ] of check or the [ʤ] of jump are two examples for affricate consonants. They are considered a separate category from the regular (pulmonic) consonants by the International Phonetic Association (IPA).