Phonetics

Plosives are defined as consonant sounds whichinvolve, first, a stricture of the mouth that allows no air to escape from the vocaltract and, second, the compression and release of the air. So, there are fourphases in the production of plosives: closure, hold, release and post-release. English has six plosive consonants, p, t, k, b, d, g. /p/ and /b/ are bilabial,that is, the lips are pressed together. /t/ and /d/ are alveolar, so the tongue ispressed against the alveolar ridge. /k/ and /g/ are velar; the back of the tongueis pressed against an intermediate area between the hard and the soft palate.

/p/, /t/ and /k/ are voiceless. /b/, /d/ and /g/ are normally voiced. Therelease of the voiceless plosives is followed by audible plosion and, in the postreleasephase, by an aspiration. So, the most noticeable difference between thevoiceless and the voiced plosives is this aspiration. In VC position, the vowelspreceding the voiceless plosives are much shorter.

a plosive is a consonant characterized by a complete obstruction of the outgoing airstream by the articulators, a build up of air pressure in the mouth, and finally a release of that pressure. A stop is merely the first part of this sound (the stopping of the airstream). In other words, in producing these sounds, the air is stopped for a brief moment (say pop over and over and pay attention to what's happening). There are three types of plosive in English. For an interactive example of each sound (including descriptive animation and video), click this link, then in the window that opens, click stops, and select the appropriate sound.

/p/ /b/ bilabial plosives

A bilabial (from bi- two and labia lip) plosive is a sound in which the flow of air out of the body is interrupted by closing the lips together. English has two bilabial plosives — /p/ in which the vocal chords are not used (voiceless) as in pizza and pepper, and /b/ in which they are used as in boy and trouble.

/t/ /d/ lingua-alveolar plosives

A lingua-alveolar (from lingua tongue and alveola the ridge just behind the front upper teeth) plosive is a sound in which the flow of air out of the body is interrupted by touching the tongue to the alveolar ridge — the part of the roof of the mouth, just behind the upper front teeth. English has two lingua-alveolar plosives — voiceless /t/ as in top and must, and /d/ which is voiced as in dog and troubled.

/k/ /g/ lingua-velar plosives

A lingua-velar (from lingua tongue and velar the velum or soft palate) plosive is a sound in which the flow of air out of the body is interrupted by touching the back of the tongue to the velum — the soft part of the roof of the mouth farthest from the front teeth; it's about as far back in the mouth as can be reached with the tip of the tongue. English has two lingua-velar plosives — voiceless /k/ as in cook and ask, and /g/ which is voiced as in dog and good.

Are consonants where the air passes through the nose. When the soft palate is lowered and the oral cavity is shut off, the air could pass through the nasal cavity .However, the articulation of the nasals takes place somewhere in the mouth.

The basic feature of a nasal is that the air escapes through the nose and the main difference between the three types of nasals is the point where the air is stopped in the mouth. In this sense, there are three types of nasals: bilabial /m/, alveolar /n/ and velar / ŋ /. This last velar sound never occurs in initial position; in medial position, it may appear with or without a /g/ sound, depending on whether it occurs at the end of a morpheme or not. If it occurs in the middle of a morpheme it has a following /g/. In final position the preceding rule is observed. All nasals are voiced.

Consonants that are almost like vowels:

Lateral /l/ A lateral consonant is one in which the passage of the air through the mouth doesn't go in the usual way along the center of the tongue. Instead, there is a complete closure between the center of the tongue and the roof of the mouth. So, the air escapes from the mouth along the sides of the tongue. The only additional information about the lateral /l/ is the existence of two different realizations for the lateral /l/.

*A clear /l/: It is similar to an /i/ vowel were the front of the tongue is raised. Usually at initial position always before vowels: look, leave ,silly...etc

*A dark /l/: It is similar to an /u/ vowel were the back of the tongue is raised. It never occurs before a vowel. It is final or medial preceding a consonant: self, film, field, feel....etc

Approximant /r/ The approximant /r/ is produced by the tip of the tongue approaching the alveolar area but it never touches it. Besides, the tongue is slightly curled backwards with the tip raised (this is called to be “retroflex^[1]”).

RHOTIC R: In one set of accents of English, r is pronounced wherever it is orthographically present: red, barrier, beer, beard, worker. Such a variety is variously known as rhotic, r-pronouncing, or r-full. LIKE IN Canada and India

NON-RHOTIC R: In another set of accents, r is pronounced in syllable-initial position (red) and intervocalically (barrier), but not postvocalically (beer, beard, worker). In such positions it is vocalized (turned into a vowel) and not pronounced unless another vowel follows. Such a variety is variously known as non-rhotic, non-r-pronouncing, or r-less. LIKE IN Australia and Black Africa

/j/ and /w/ (Semivowels) These two sounds are phonetically vowels but phonologically consonants. That is, phonetically they are pronounced as /i:/ and /u:/ but a little bit shorter.

Phonetically the articulation of /j/ is similar to that of /i:/ but shorter: yes

Phonetically the articulation of /w/ is similar to that of /u:/ but shorter: was

But, phonologically they are like consonants, they usually occur before vowels:

/w/: war,win,queen.....etc

/j/ :you,pure,young.....etc