Lecturer Y. Chorfi 				Sétif-2- University 		1st Year Classes 		2017-2018

2. Voicing and consonants
2.1 The role of the larynx
	Before starting the study of the different speech sounds, it is of paramount importance to introduce the larynx or voice box as it is known in lay terms. The larynx, visible as our Adam’s apple, along with the vocal folds is responsible for:
- Voicing sounds (Ahh!) or making them voiceless (Shh!)  
- For creating different voice qualities (normal, creaky, breathy, … )
- For making the pitch of our voice goes up and down.
- For being a place where certain speech sounds are produced.
2.2 Voicing
The first important feature in the distinction of speech sounds is voicing, also known as phonation and which refers to the vibration of the vocal folds. When the vocal folds are not tightly close, air passing between them causes them to vibrate.       
a. The glottis positions (The figure below summarises the glottal states)
1. Widely open for voiceless consonants like / p, k, f, s, … /
2. Narrowly open the glottal fricative /h/
3. Position for vocal folds vibrating. Voiced sounds like / b, g, v, z, … / 
4. Tightly closed. The glottal stop / ʔ /

3. Manners and Places of Articulation
	In addition to voicing, two other features are used to differentiate between consonants, or to describe consonants, and they are manner and place of articulation.  
a. Manner of articulation refers to the degree to which the air stream is obstructed at the place of articulation of consonants. 
b. Place of articulation refers to the place where the sounds are articulated; it refers to the two speech organs which come together to produce the consonants. 
	
3.1. The plosives
The plosives are produced as following:
-Two speech organs come together or one against the other making a complete closure.
-The air is released from the lungs and blocked for a moment.
-the organs come apart making a sudden opening.
-The air is released to the atmosphere with an audible noise known as the plosion which could be either strong or weak. 
  The plosives’ production could be summarised in terms of four phases: 
-The closure phase (the air is not yet released from the lungs)
-The hold phase (the air is released from the lungs and blocked + possible voicing for voiced plosives)
-The air is released (The air released to the atmosphere)
-The post-release phase (Weak or strong plosion known as aspiration) 
	The English plosives also called the oral stops are also called the oral stops, and they are described in the chart below:
Glottal state
( + - ) Voicing	Point of articulation	
Transcription
(IPA symbol)

Voiceless 
Voiced    

Voiceless 
Voiced    

Voiceless
Voiced

Voiceless	
Bilabial
Pet
Bet

Alveolar
Ten
Den

Velar
Card 
Guard

Glottal 
Cu’p /Cu’t /Du’ck

Na’ture	
/ p /
/ b /

/ t /
/ d /

/ k /
/ g /

/ ʔ p, ʔt, ʔk /

/ ʔ ʧ /	

	

The phonetic description of the plosives (the sound described in isolation at the level of production and reception)
/ p / and / b / are bilabial, voiceless and voiced, aspirated and unaspirated respectively, oral consonants.
/ t / and / d / are alveolar, voiceless and voiced, aspirated and unaspirated respectively, oral consonants. 
/ k / and / g / are velar, voiceless and voiced, aspirated and unaspirated respectively, oral consonants.  
	The phonological description of the plosives (the sound described in combination with other sounds)
The plosives can be initial, medial or final in a word. 
-In initial position
/ p /, / t  /, / k / can be word initial, and they are aspirated [ pʰ, tʰ, kʰ ]. They can be followed by a consonant (one of the set of / l /, / r /, / w / and / j /) or a vowel. Play / p l eɪ / Crowd / k r aʊ d / Twins / t w ɪ n z /, Cube / k j uː b /  Pay / p eɪ /  Tea / t iː / 
They can be preceded by the consonant “s” like Splendid / ˈsplendɪd / Scream / skriːm / Stream /striːm /, and they become unaspirated. 
 / p / and / k / are silent before / n /, and / p / is also silent before the consonant “s” and “t”, and it’s pronounced / f / when occurring before the letter “h”. Pneumonia/ njuːˈməʊnɪə / Knit / nɪt / psychology  / saɪˈkɒlədʒi / pterodactyl / ˌterəˈdæktɪl / philosophy / fɪˈlɒsəfi /.  
-In medial position
Medial in orthography is either initial or final in the syllable in phonetics. Being in a word with more than one syllable, / p /, / t  /, / k /  are aspirated  when occurring initial in a stressed syllable. Aspiration  /ˌæs. pə.ˈreɪ. ʃən / Important [ ɪm. ˈpʰɔː. tənt  ] Prepare   [ prɪ ˈpʰ eə ] People [ˈpʰiː pəl ]
-In final position
/ p /, / t  /, / k/ when being final, they become unaspirated. Pump / pʌmp / Cute /kjuːt/ Cracks /kræks/
-In initial position
/ b /, / d /, / g / in word initial position are devoiced (pronounced with little voicing) [ b̥, d̥, g̥ ]. They can never be preceded by a consonant like their counterparts / p, t, k /. They can be followed by a consonant (one of the set of / l /, / r /, / w / and / j /) or a vowel. Blue / bluː / Dwell / dwel/ Grind / ɡraɪnd / Beauty /bju:ti/ Bye / baɪ / Dye / daɪ / Guy / ɡaɪ / 
In initial position / g / becomes silent before / n /. Gnome / nəʊm / gnaw / nɔː /
-In medial position
/ b /, / d /, / g / in medial position in orthography become fully voiced when occurring between voiced sounds. Rubber / ˈrʌbə /, Reader / ˈriːdə /, Ago / əˈɡəʊ /, Carbs / k ɑː b z / 
-In final position In final position, / b /, / d /, / g / are devoiced. Blurb / blɜːb /  Rid / rɪd / Flags / flæɡz /
/ b / is silent after / m /. Comb / kəʊm / Limb / lɪm / 
/ g / becomes silent before final / m /. Diaphragm / ˈdaɪəfræm / phlegm / flem /.