Place of Articulation | Consonant Sounds in English - Phonology

Summary

This video script offers an in-depth exploration of the places of articulation in English consonant sounds. It explains that sounds are created by the interaction of two articulators, identifying them as either active or passive. The script delves into various places of articulation, such as labial, dental, alveolar, and others, providing examples for each. It distinguishes between voiced and unvoiced sounds, emphasizing the importance of understanding both the place and manner of articulation for accurate pronunciation.

Takeaways

• 🗣️ To describe a sound in English, you need to consider the place of articulation, the manner of articulation, and whether the sound is voiced or unvoiced.
• 👅 The place of articulation is the location in the vocal tract where the active and passive articulators come together to produce a sound.
• 👄 Labial sounds like 'B', 'P', and 'M' are produced with both lips together.
• 🦷 Labiodental sounds such as 'F' and 'V' are produced with the lower lip against the upper teeth.
• 👅 Interdental sounds involve placing the tip of the tongue between the teeth, as in 'th' sounds.
• 📍 Alveolar sounds are produced at the alveolar ridge, including 'T', 'D', 'N', 'S', 'Z', and 'L' sounds.
• 🔊 Post-alveolar sounds like 'R', 'sh', 'CH', and 'J' are produced just behind the alveolar ridge.
• 🔄 Retroflex sounds are similar to post-alveolar but with the tongue curved back, as in the American 'R'.
• 🔝 Palatal sounds are produced by raising the middle part of the tongue to the hard palate, as in the 'Y' sound.
• 🔙 Velar sounds are produced by raising the back of the tongue to the soft palate, including 'K', 'G', and 'NG' sounds.
• 🌐 Glottal sounds are produced at the glottis, with the vocal cords either closing (glottal stop) or constricting (glottal fricative).
• 👄 The 'W' sound is labialized velar, meaning it involves both lip rounding and tongue movement towards the soft palate.

Q & A

What are the three main components needed to describe a sound?

To describe a sound, you need to describe the place of articulation, the manner of articulation, and the voicing (whether the sound is voiced or unvoiced).

What is the difference between active and passive articulators?

Active articulators are the parts of the vocal tract that move to produce a sound, such as the tip of the tongue. Passive articulators are the stationary parts that the active articulators move towards, such as the alveolar ridge.

What is the place of articulation for the sound 'D'?

The place of articulation for the sound 'D' is the alveolar ridge, where the tip of the tongue touches the ridge behind the upper front teeth.

What are labial sounds and how are they produced?

Labial sounds are produced with both lips together, such as in the sounds 'B', 'P', and 'M'. They involve the lips as the active articulator and are produced by bringing both lips together.

How do you produce a dental sound, and what is an example?

Dental sounds are produced with the lower lip against the upper teeth, as in the sounds 'F' and 'V'. An example of a dental sound is the 'F' in 'fun'.

What is the difference between alveolar and postalveolar sounds?

Alveolar sounds are produced with the tip of the tongue touching the alveolar ridge. Postalveolar sounds are produced just behind the alveolar ridge, with the tongue raised towards the middle part of the palate.

What is the place of articulation for the 'R' sound in American English?

The 'R' sound in American English is produced with a retroflex articulation, where the tip of the tongue is curved back just behind the alveolar ridge.

How is the 'Y' sound produced and where is it articulated?

The 'Y' sound is produced by raising the middle part of the tongue to the hard palate. It is a palatal sound.

What is the place of articulation for the 'G' sound and how is it different from 'C'?

The 'G' sound is articulated at the back of the tongue against the soft palate, making it a velar sound. The 'C' sound, when pronounced as in 'cat', is also velar but is unvoiced, whereas 'G' is voiced.

What are glottal sounds and where are they articulated?

Glottal sounds are produced at the glottis, which is the space between the vocal cords. The two glottal sounds in English are the glottal fricative and the glottal stop.

What does it mean when a sound is described as labialized, and what is an example?

A labialized sound is produced with both lips rounded. An example is the 'W' sound, which is labialized velar because it involves both lip rounding and the back of the tongue moving towards the soft palate.

Outlines

00:00

🗣️ Introduction to Articulation

This paragraph introduces the concept of articulation in phonetics, focusing on the description of consonant sounds in English. It explains that to describe a sound, one must consider the place, manner, and voice of articulation. The video aims to explore the place of articulation, starting with an example of how the 'D' sound is produced by the tip of the tongue touching the alveolar ridge. The distinction between active and passive articulators is made, with the tongue being the active articulator. The paragraph also mentions that the place of articulation is where the constriction of airflow occurs, which can vary from full closure to a wider opening.

05:03

👄 Labial and Dental Sounds

This section delves into labial and dental sounds, explaining that labial sounds involve both lips, such as 'B', 'P', and 'M'. Dental sounds are produced with the lower lip against the upper teeth, exemplified by 'F' and 'V'. The paragraph also discusses interdental sounds, where both sets of teeth are involved, and the tip of the tongue is placed between the teeth, as in the 'th' sounds. The video provides visual aids and examples to help viewers understand these distinctions.

10:05

👅 Alveolar and Post-Alveolar Sounds

The paragraph discusses alveolar sounds, which are produced at the alveolar ridge, involving the tip of the tongue touching this area to produce 'T', 'D', 'N', 'S', and 'Z' sounds. It also covers the flap or tap 'T' sound as in 'butter'. Post-alveolar sounds are slightly further back and include 'R', 'sh', 'CH', and 'J'. The retroflex 'R' is also mentioned, which is produced with the tongue curved back, as in the American 'R' sound. The paragraph emphasizes that while these sounds share the same place of articulation, they differ in their manner of articulation.

15:06

👅 Palatal, Velar, and Glottal Sounds

This paragraph covers palatal sounds, which are produced with the middle part of the tongue raised to the hard palate, exemplified by the 'Y' sound. Velar sounds involve the back of the tongue raised to the soft palate, including 'C', 'G', and 'NG'. Glottal sounds are produced at the glottis, with the 'H' fricative and the glottal stop, which is the sound in 'uh-oh'. The paragraph also addresses the 'W' sound, which is labialized velar, meaning it involves both lip and tongue movements towards the soft palate. The importance of understanding these articulations for accurate pronunciation is highlighted.

📊 Summary of English Consonants

The final paragraph summarizes the video's content by presenting a table that organizes English consonants by their place and manner of articulation. It explains that sounds are categorized as plosives, fricatives, affricates, etc., and are color-coded to indicate whether they are voiced (red) or unvoiced (green). The paragraph encourages viewers to explore more videos on the channel for a deeper understanding of English pronunciation and phonology.

Keywords

💡Articulation

Articulation refers to the process of producing speech sounds by the movement of speech organs. In the video, articulation is central to understanding how consonant sounds in English are formed. The video discusses different places and manners of articulation, emphasizing the importance of accurate tongue and lip movements for clear pronunciation.

💡Manner of Articulation

The manner of articulation describes how the air is manipulated when producing a sound. The video touches on this by mentioning that sounds can be plosives, fricatives, or other types, which are determined by how the air flows and is obstructed. This is crucial for distinguishing between similar sounds that are produced in the same place but with different manners.

💡Voiced and Unvoiced

Voiced and unvoiced sounds differ in whether the vocal cords vibrate during pronunciation. Voiced sounds involve vibration, which makes them louder, while unvoiced sounds do not. The video script uses examples like 'D' (voiced) and 'T' (unvoiced) to illustrate this concept, highlighting how the same place of articulation can produce different sounds based on voicing.

💡Active and Passive Articulators

Active and passive articulators are terms used to describe the parts of the mouth involved in sound production. Active articulators, like the tongue, move towards passive ones, such as the alveolar ridge. The video uses the example of the 'D' sound, where the tip of the tongue (active) touches the alveolar ridge (passive), to explain this concept.

💡Alveolar

Alveolar refers to a place of articulation where the tip of the tongue makes contact with the alveolar ridge, the bony projection behind the upper teeth. The video mentions 'T', 'D', and 'N' as examples of alveolar sounds, emphasizing the role of the tongue's tip in their production.

💡Labial

Labial sounds are produced using both lips, as in the case of 'B', 'P', and 'M'. The video explains that these sounds involve a complete closure of the lips, illustrating how the place of articulation changes the nature of the sound.

💡Dental

Dental sounds are produced with the lower lip against the upper teeth, as with 'F' and 'V'. The video script points out that this is a specific type of labial sound, focusing on the interaction between the lip and teeth.

💡Interdental

Interdental sounds involve placing the tip of the tongue between the teeth, as with the 'th' sounds in 'think' and 'the'. The video uses these examples to show how a slight opening between the teeth, rather than complete closure, can create sound.

💡Palatal

Palatal sounds are produced by raising the middle part of the tongue to the hard palate. The video mentions 'Y' as the primary example, showing how the tongue's position against the roof of the mouth creates this sound.

💡Velar

Velar sounds are created by raising the back of the tongue to the soft palate, as with 'G' and 'K'. The video explains that this place of articulation is further back in the mouth than the alveolar sounds, and it involves a different tongue movement.

💡Glottal

Glottal sounds are produced in the throat by the glottis, the space between the vocal cords. The video discusses how the glottis can restrict airflow to create sounds like 'H' and the glottal stop, which is a complete closure of the vocal cords.

Highlights

Introduction to the concept of places of articulation in speech sounds.

Explanation of the need to describe the place, manner, and voice of articulation for a sound.

Description of how sounds are produced by two articulators coming together.

Example of the 'D' sound being produced by the tip of the tongue touching the alveolar ridge.

Differentiation between active and passive articulators.

Explanation of the place of articulation as the location in the vocal tract where articulators meet.

Description of labial sounds produced with both lips together.

Labiodental sounds are produced with the lower lip against the upper teeth.

Interdental sounds are produced by placing the tip of the tongue between the teeth.

Alveolar sounds are produced by raising the tip of the tongue to the alveolar ridge.

Post-alveolar sounds are produced just behind the alveolar ridge.

Retroflex sounds are produced with the tip of the tongue curved back just behind the alveolar ridge.

Palatal sounds are produced by raising the middle part of the tongue to the hard palate.

Velar sounds are produced by raising the back of the tongue to the soft palate.

Glottal sounds are produced in the space between the vocal cords.

Explanation of the glottal stop and its production.

Description of the labialized velar sound for 'W' and its dual place of articulation.

Emphasis on the importance of knowing the place and manner of articulation for accurate pronunciation.

Introduction to a table summarizing the place and manner of articulation for all English consonants.

Invitation to explore more videos on English pronunciation and phonology.

Transcripts

hi everybody welcome to this video we're

going to have a look at places of

articulation now to describe a sound you

need to

describe the place of

articulation the manner of

articulation and also the fation so that

means whether the sound is voiced or

unvoiced

in today's video we're going to have a

look at the place of

articulation and specifically of

consonant sounds in

English so let's

start now sounds are produced by two

articulators coming

together for example the tip of the

tongue is Touching The alv Ridge and we

say the sound D so tip of the tongue D

is touching the little bump behind your

teeth we call it the Alva rich and we

produce the sound D it's aive if you

want to know more about the manner of

articulation watch my other

video so there are two articulators

involved the tip of the tongue and the

Alva Ridge and we call these active and

passive articulators so the tongue is

moving it's an active articulator and it

moves towards the passive

articulator and in our example that is

the alular

ridge if you want to find out more about

the different articulators and passive

and active articulators you can find my

other video on my

channel now the place of of

articulation is the location in the

vocal tract where this coming together

occurs and we often say the articulators

form a constriction of the air flow it

could be a full closure it could be a

small opening or it could be a bit of a

wider

opening now there are several places of

articulation in English and we're going

to have a look at each one in

detail first of all B

labial B laal really means that both

your lips are involved and you can see

those in the cross-section diagram on

the

screen so the sound is produced with

both lips together for example

B P or M for example bed pen or

make B P all three are Bal sounds this

is the place of articulation for those

sounds next up we have laod dental

sounds Now labod Dental you can see

already in the word it means that the

lips and dental that's teeth the teeth

AR D but if you have a look at the

cross-section it's not both lips or both

sets of teeth it's quite

specifically the lower lip and the upper

teeth so the sound is produced with the

bottom lip against the upper teeth for

example F or V and you can actually see

my teeth when I form the sound V

so we have two example words F in fun

and the in

very number three inter Dental sometimes

also just called Dental so here both

sets of teeth upper and lower are

involved again have a look at the

diagram can see those highlighted in

blue and the tip of the tongue again

so here the sounds are produced by

placing the tip of the tongue between

the

teeth so that means the upper and lower

set of teeth and we do this for the two

t sounds in English first we have the

unvoiced th

sound so you place the tongue in

between I retract it as well and add a

little vowel to make it easier to to

hear but is the sound it's almost

inaudible actually without another one

and then the voiced one is the the the

so we have two example words think and

the the

article next we have

alv now sounds that are alv are produced

in the alv ridge and that is really the

place of articulation so the sounds

produced are are produced by raising the

tip of the tongue again use the tip of

the tongue a lot to th sounds and it's

raised to the alvea Ridge and in fact

usually there is contact there not maybe

always but quite often so we have quite

a lot of sounds that are actually formed

in this way so we have t and d and n and

for all three the tip of the tongue

touches the alvea Ridge and then we have

S and z now here there is a little small

opening so it's not complete closure but

it is the small opening is at the Alva

Ridge and then we also have l again

there is contact and I know this looks

like a rub but it's not it's the tap or

the flap T the a tap sound it's

the and let's have a look at some

example words it'll be easier to hear

the sound so we had T in two D in Day N

in no s in c z in zoo and then l in like

and the last one the the flap T this

little tap sound as in butter as

pronounced but by an American or for

example a lot of so here lot the T

becomes a flap t a lot of it's just this

little tap and that again happens on the

alula ridge the tip of the tongue just

Taps against

it now remember this is true for all of

the sounds you might think okay but they

all so different how can they all have

the same place of

articulation yes but these sounds do not

have the same manner of articulation

okay so they share the same place but

most of them have a different manner of

articulation and even if they have the

same manner of articulation like T and

du both plosives um they might differ

ination so yes to unvoiced to voiced so

there are other parameters that you have

to remember it's not just the place and

that is true not just for those via

sound sounds bad for all of the

sounds so let's have a look at the next

place that's just behind the Alva rid

it's the post alular sounds and so it's

literally just you just move a little

bit further back behind this little bump

I've shown it in the cross-section and

we do have quite a number of sounds that

are like produced here and they are

produced by raising the tongue and this

is a little bit more like the middle

part maybe of the tongue or the tip and

you raise it just behind the Ala Ridge

so we have for example

R

sh and CH and J so it's very close to

the alv ridge but a little bit further

back and again I've given you some

example words so we have red Sho vision

chair and June and so just slightly

back now there is also another place

that you will see mention sometimes and

it's called R retroflex it's also very

similar in place like it's it's in a in

a similar place to post Alva but

retroflex means that the sound is

produced with the tip of the tongue

curved back just behind the Alva Ridge

so post Alva really but the specific

thing is the tongue is curved backwards

and I've put a little error here to show

that the tongue would move backwards and

that's when we um pronounce the American

R and so instead of just saying rain

like a Brit would do or a Americans

would probably say Rain r

and r r and just the r sound yeah

definitely I can feel it my tongue is

curved back so rain and r r r

okay number seven we have palatal again

this is a place to describe sounds it's

your pallet really in your mouth and you

can see it in green in the cross-section

so those sounds are produced by raising

the middle part of the tongue again I I

showed this in yellow to the hard

palette so the hard palette is the the

bit in the middle really the roof top of

your mouth you could say and there's

only one sound that is produced here and

that is y y so just say it and see where

the middle bit of your tongue is lifted

to y y That's your heart pette and so y

we have a lot of times in English

usually when we have the spelling why

for example U or yes many many other

words as

well next one we have

V now those sounds are produced by

raising the back of the tongue so not

not the tip not the middle bed but the

back of the tongue to the soft palette

that's even further back from the hard

palette and the vum and the vum is the

little the little thing that is hanging

freely if you open your mouth really

wide in front of a mirror and you say ah

you can usually see it hanging from um

the roof of your mouth and that's the

vum and so we raise the back of the

tongue towards the soft pette and vum

part really at the back of our mouth and

so we have quite a few Sounds here we've

got

C and again say it and just pay

attention to the tongue

movement and G personally I find this is

the most obvious one G you can really

feel the closure and it's happening

right here at the back where the back of

the tongue um touches the soft pallet

and vum G and then

also this nasal sound it's um really

formed at the back it is not like which

was formed

in against the Alva Rich um the N which

is really spelling NG or NK in English

is formed right at the back totally

different place of articulation Okay so

we've got words like C cook G Go and

sing here the NG

spelling as in sing so very common sound

cuz we have a lot of in G endings in

English now last but not least we have

gal sounds so here the place of

articulation all the way down in your

throat really is the glotus all right

now how are these produced so the sounds

are produced by using the glotter and

the GLS is is not so much an articulator

but a space it is the space between your

vocal cords and we have two sounds that

are produced here first of all the

fricative and here the little

restriction is right here on your vocal

cords they don't vibrate they just close

a little bit to make it a bit smaller

and so we

form if we just breathe in and out you

can hear it a little bit but it's a bit

smaller therefore a bit louder comes a

sound and then we also have the glottal

stop that funny symbol looks like a

quest question mark the wrong way around

and that we have in between the words

uhoh and here really the glotter just

like the vocal cords close and open and

this is audible it's called a glottal

stop if this is a bit strange really do

watch my other video on the glottal stop

and you'll find out

more now you might have noticed that as

we went through the different places of

articulation and I give you the

different sounds as

examples the W was absent so you might

think okay what about what it wasn't

mentioned at all where is it formed now

the place of articulation for what is

labialized v and so what does that mean

so that means it's actually produced in

two places laiz that means M at the lips

but V

we know is at the vum or soft pallet in

the back of the mouth and so the sound

is produced with both lips rounded not

closed W have a look my lips are rounded

W but also now pay attention to the

position of your

tongue it also involves the back of the

tongue because it moves towards the soft

pallette there's no closure like an or G

but it's just moving towards it w and so

both of those things are involved so we

really have two different places of

articulation for the sound is in

where now knowing about the different

places of articulation and the tongue

movement can really help you produce the

sounds accurately and clearly of course

for that is also important to consider

the manner of articulation and whether

the sound is voiced or unvoiced so let's

have a look at a table where you can see

all of that in one

place now here you can see the place and

manner of articulation of all of the

consonant sounds that we have in English

on the left hand side you see the manner

of articulation plosives fricatives

africat Etc if you don't know what they

are please do watch my other video on

the manner of articulation and then you

have the places of articulation that we

just looked at written along the top by

laal all the way down to glal and all of

the consonants are now in this tables

you can determine the manner and place

for each sound so we have for example a

look at the L we can see it's a lateral

and it's

alv now you also see that the sounds are

either red or green green means that

this is an unvoiced sound and the vocal

quotes are not involved in the

production they stay open and don't

vibrate and then the red sounds are

voiced so the vocal chords vibrate and

those sounds are also quite a bit louder

as a

result to find out more about English

pronunciation and phology have a at my

channel you can find many more videos

and playlists on the different topics

and if you have any questions leave me a

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