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Part 3: Consonant Articulation

3A The Three Features of a Consonant

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To review - vowels are created when airflow through the mouth is completely unobstructed. If the oral airflow is obstructed in anyway, we call that resulting sound a consonant. What distinguishes one consonant from another are its features. The three features of a consonant are as follows: - Place of Articulation (Where does the obstruction occur?) - Manner of Articulation (What type of obstruction is it?) - Voicing (Are the vocal cords vibrating or not?) Below you will find a video for each of these features. In the video, I talk through the feature with a student hearing it for the first time. Put yourself in their shoes and follow along with my instruction. When you're done watching ALL THREE videos, share your biggest takeaways to the #learn channel, along with a screenshot.

3B Voice Alternating (Front Tongue Fricatives)

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In the video below, I expel a constant stream of air while alternating between voicing pairs. The purpose of this activity is threefold. The first purpose is for you to feel how the voiced pairs share the exact same place and manner of articulation and only differ in their voicing. The second purpose is for you to isolate the feeling of activating and deactivating your vocal cords during consonant articulation. The third purpose is for you to develop a more precise awareness of the places of articulation, as we are sweeping through them from front to back. When you're ready, record yourself syncing along with me, then share the recording to the #articulation channel.

  • /f/ ←→ /v/
  • /θ/ ←→ /ð/
  • /s/ ←→ /z/
  • /ʃ/ ←→ /ʒ/

3C The Nasal Switcher

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A nasal consonant is created whenever airflow through the mouth is completely blocked. There are many places you can block the airflow through the mouth. In the video below, I block it at the lips /m/, alveolar ridge /n/, hard palate /ɲ/, and soft palate /ŋ/. First I alternate between adjacent places to the beat. Then I do a back and forth sweep through all the places. Even though my tongue is switching places, I never let air pass through the mouth. Again, the purpose of this exercise is to create a higher resolution body map of your tongue and roof palate. Also, you can feel how all these sounds share the exact same manner of articulation. Practice doing the sequence I show in the video, then when you're ready, record a video of yourself performing the exercise in sync with me, then share the video along with a brief writeup of your experience to #learn.
  • /m/ ←→ /n/
  • /n/ ←→ /ɲ/
  • /ɲ/ ←→ /ŋ/
  • /m/ —> /n/ —> /ɲ/ —> /ŋ/ —> /ɲ/ —> /n/ —> /m/

3D Stop & Release

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There is a class of consonants referred to both as "Stops" and "Plosives". "Stop" refers to the complete stoppage of airflow behind the point of articulation. This stoppage creates a buildup of air pressure which, when release creates an "explosion" of air, hence the second name "Plosive." In my transcription system, I place an asterisk * after the letter to indicate that it's acting as a stop for the preceding vowel sound. When there is no asterisk, it is acting as a plosive. In the drill below, I take the syllable "ha" and then stop it with a stop consonant on the beat. Then on the next beat, I release on the plosive of that consonant. This is an important maneuver, because often where there is a plosive in fast speech, you will need to set your tongue up with the stop beforehand, otherwise you won't get it in time. The final stop occurs at the glottis and is represented by the /ʔ/. There is no plosive version of this, you will just release into an exhale. Practice doing the sequence I show in the video, then when you're ready, record a video of yourself performing the exercise in sync with me, then share the video along with a brief writeup of your experience to #learn.
  • hap* - p
  • hat* - t
  • ha#* - #
  • hak* - k
  • haʔ - (breath)