The Phonological System of English Language II: The Consonants

Introduction to English Consonants

The topic I have chosen is The Phonological System of the English Language: Consonants, a foundational aspect of pronunciation and communication in English. Phonetics and phonology, the linguistic branches focused on the study of sounds, are essential for understanding how consonants function within the language and how they differ from those in Spanish. Consonants, characterized by various articulatory features such as place and manner of articulation, play a critical role in distinguishing meaning in spoken English.

This topic aligns with the LOMLOE and Royal Decree ... /2022, which emphasize the importance of communicative competence in foreign language education. Understanding the English consonant system-including sound-spelling correspondence, phonetic symbols, and the contrast between voiced and voiceless sounds-equips students with tools to improve pronunciation, listening comprehension, and fluency. Furthermore, comparing English and Spanish consonants helps learners identify and address transfer errors, such as the pronunciation of /v/ or /h/, which are often problematic for Spanish speakers.

Phonological competence is critical in achieving effective communication, as mastering English consonants contributes to intelligibility, rhythm, and connected speech. By integrating a detailed exploration of consonant classification and a comparison with Spanish phonology, educators can guide students toward a deeper understanding of English sound patterns, helping them develop confidence and precision in oral communication.

Phonetics and Phonology Concepts

Phonetics is the linguistic discipline that studies the sounds of a language in themselves, without considering the relation they have with a linguistic meaning. It studies the concrete phonetic characteristics (articulatory, auditory and acoustic) of the sounds used.

This concrete phonetic level is often separated from the more abstract phonological level, which analyses the patterning of sounds in language and includes:

• The functional, phonemic behaviour of sounds for distinctive purposes.
• The combinatory possibilities of the phonemes.
• The nature and use of prosodic features such as pitch, stress and length.

A speech sound is any phonetically distinct unit of sound produced by the speech organs that can be distinguished by the phonetician from all other units of sound. According to Daniel Jones, a phoneme may be described as a family of sounds consisting of one important sound of the language together with other related sounds (allophones) which take their place in particular sound sequences or under particular conditions of length, stress and intonation. A phoneme in a given language is defined as"only in terms of its difference from the other phonemes in the same language". For example: Ship/chip; cot/got; pall/ball.

A phoneme is therefore thought as the smallest contrastive linguistic unit which may bring about a change of meaning. The different phonetic realisations of a phoneme are known as its allophones. It is possible to establish the phonemes of a language by means of a process of communication or the discovery of the minimal pairs, that is to say, pairs of words which are different in respect of only one sound segment.

Speech Organs for Sound Production

Speech sounds require that the speech organs shall be placed in certain definite positions or moved in certain definite ways. The speech organs are: the lungs, the larynx, the vocal cords, the palate, the tongue, the teeth and the lips.

nasal cavity hard palate alec ar ridge teeth blade front epiglotis vocal cords windpipe oesophagus

The most usual force of energy for our vocal activity is provided by an air-stream expelled from the lungs. The air-stream provided by the lungs undergoes important modifications in the upper stages of the respiratory tract before it acquires the quality of a speech sound.

The Larynx and Vocal Folds

First of all is the trachea or windpipe, it passes through the larynx, containing the so-called vocal folds. Biologically, the vocal cords act as a valve which is able to prevent the entry into the trachea and lungs of any foreign body. In using the vocal folds for speech, the human being has adapted and elaborated upon an original open-or-shut function in the following ways:

• The glottis may be held tightly closed, with the lung air pent up below it. This glottal stop frequently occurs in English, for example when it precedes the energetic articulation of a vowel or when it reinforces or even replaces /p, t, k/.
• The glottis may be held open as for normal breathing, when the air-stream is expelled through with sufficient energy and there is audible glottal friction: /h/.
• The action of the vocal folds which is most characteristically a function of speech consists in their role as a vibrator set in motion by lung air: the production of voice or phonation. In order to achieve the effect of voice, the vocal folds are brought sufficiently close together that they vibrate when subjected to air pressure from the lungs.

One other action of the larynx should be mentioned: a very quiet whisper may result merely from holding the glottis in the voiceless position.

The Resonators in Speech

The air-stream, having passed through the larynx, is now subjected to further modification according to the shape assumed by the upper cavities of the pharynx and mouth and according to whether the nasal cavity is brought into operation or not.

These cavities function as principal resonators of the note produced in the larynx.

The Pharyngeal Cavity

The pharyngeal cavity. It extends from the top of the larynx and oesophagus, past the epiglottis and the root of the tongue to the region of the palate.

The Palate Structure

The palate. This is divided into several parts: the alveolar ridge, the hard palate, the soft palate, also called the velum because it veils the nose, and the uvula.

The palate curves downwards the teeth at each side.

The space between the upper and lower teeth will often enter into the description of the articulation of sounds.

The Tongue and its Divisions

The tongue. It is the most important of the organs of speech as it has the greatest variety of movement. Although there is no obvious anatomical division of the tongue, in phonetics it is essential to have a method for referring to different parts of it. Hence it is traditionally divided into five parts: the tip, the blade, the front, the back and the root.

front back blade tip root

An additional feature is the rim (the edge of the tongue).The boundaries between the five divisions are established on the basis of where the tongue lies in relation to the roof of the mouth when it is at rest on the floor of the mouth.

The tip lies underneath the upper central teeth, the blade under the alveolar ridge, the front underneath the hard palate, and the back underneath the soft palate. The root is the part of the tongue that faces towards the back wall of the pharynx.

The Lips in Articulation

The lips. They can take up various different positions. They can be kept apart, either flat or with different amounts of rounding, and they can be pushed forward to a greater or lesser extent.

The Lower Jaw Movement

The lower jaw, too, is capable of very considerable movement (the upper jaw is fixed); its movement will control the gap between the upper and lower teeth and also, to a great extent, the disposition of the lips.

Vowel vs. Consonant Distinction

From the practical phonetic standpoint, it is convenient to distinguish between two types of speech sound:

• Vowel type: the type of sound, depending largely on very slight variations of tongue position, which is most easily described in terms of auditory relationships, since there are no contacts or strictures which we can feel with any precision. Such sounds are generally voiced, having no noise component.
• Consonantal type: the type of sound which is most easily described in terms of articulation, since we can generally feel the contacts and movements involved. Such sounds may be produced with or without vocal fold vibration and very often have a noise component in the linguistic sense.

Description of English Consonants

Consonant sounds are produced by obstructing the air stream coming from the lungs. This feature distinguishes them from vowels, in the production of which the air flow is manipulated rather than obstructed.

Classification of Consonants

Consonants are normally described with reference to four basic criteria, which in turn refer to what happens to the air flow when it passes through the larynx, reaches the soft palate or velum, the place of articulation within the mouth and the mode of articulation.

Voiceless vs. Voiced Consonants

Voiceless vs. voiced: the larynx. When the air flow passes through the larynx the vocal chords can vibrate, what occurs in the case of all vocalic sounds and most of the consonants, or they can stay opened, in which case there is no vibration. When they vibrate, the sounds are voiced, when there is no vibration, the sounds are voiceless. /p, t, k, f, 0, s, J, t], h/ are voiceless, being the rest of the consonant sounds voiced. Theextent to which they are voiced varies according to their position in the word. This is why some phoneticians prefer the terminology fortis vs. lenis.

Oral vs. Nasal Consonants

Oral vs. nasal: the soft palate or velum. When it is raised the air flow goes into the mouth, what happens in most of the cases, producing oral sounds, and when it is lowered, the air flow goes into the nose, giving nasal sounds: /m, n, n/.

The Place of Articulation

The place of articulation. This is the point in the vocal tract at which the main closure or narrowing is made. Eight main places are used in English speech making up the horizontal axis.

• Bilabial. The two lips are the primary articulators: /p, b, m, w/. (4)
• Labio-dental. The lower lip articulates with the upper teeth: /f, v/. (2)
• Dental. The tongue tip and rims articulate with the upper teeth:/0, o/. (2)
• Alveolar. The blade (and sometimes the tip) of the tongue articulates with the alveolar ridge: /t, d, s, z, n, l, r/. (7)
• Palato-alveolar or post-alveolar. The blade, or the tip and the blade of the tongue articulate with the alveolar ridge: /1, 3, t], dz/. (4)
• Palatal. The blade of the tongue articulates with the hard palate: /j/. (1)
• Velar. The back of the tongue articulates with the soft palate./k, g, n/. (3)
• Glottal. This sound is produced by narrowing the vocal chords: /h/ (1)

So far, then, we have three criteria for distinguishing and classifying consonants: voiceless/ voiced, oral/nasal, and point of articulation. This, however, is insufficient and does not allow us to distinguish: /t/ and /s/, /d/ and /z/, /r/ and /l/. To take just one example, /t/ and /s/ are both oral, not nasal, voiceless, not voiced, and alveolar. These three distinctive features are redundant in distinguishing between /t/ and /s/. What is the difference?

The Manner of Articulation

The manner of articulation. This is the type of constriction that occurs at any place of articulation, and according to this fourth criterion, there are six types of consonants, forming the vertical axis.

• Plosives. A complete closure is made at some point in the vocal tract. Air pressure builds up behind the closure and is then released explosively:/p, b, t, d, k, g/ (6)
• Fricatives. Here the air stream is not blocked, but simply narrowed, to produce audible friction: /f, v, 0, ð, s, z, J, 3, h/ (9)
• Affricates. A complete closure is made in the mouth behind the alveolar ridge. Air pressure builds up behind the closure and then released relatively slowly producing audible friction: /tĺ, dz/. (2)
• Nasals. When the soft palate is lowered, the air flow goes into the nasal cavity: / m, n, η / . (3)
• Lateral. A partial closure is made in the mouth at some point. The air escapes around the sides of the tongue: /l/. (1)
• Semi-vowels, or approximants: /w, r, j/ (3) The term approximant refers to the fact that the articulators are in only approximate contact. The lips approach each other as in /w/, or the tongue is raised towards the palate, as in /j/ and /r/, but are never sufficiently close to produce a real consonant, but in the case of /w/ and /j/ semi-vowels or glides.