The classification of English consonants according to the place of articulation.

 

The place of articulation is determined by the active organs of speech against the point of articulation. There may be one place of articulation or focus, or two places of articulation or foci when active organs of speech contact with two points of articulation. In the first case consonants are called unicentral in the second they are bicentral. According to the position of the active organ of speech against the point of articulation consonants may be: labial, lingual, and glottal. Labial consonants are made by the lips. They may be bilabial and labio – dental. Bilabial consonants are produced when both lips are active. They are [p, b, m, w]. Lingual consonants are classified into forelingual, mediolingual, backlingual. Forelingual consonants are articulated with the tip or the blade of the tongue. They differ in the position of the tip of the tongue. According to its work they may be: apical, if the tip of the tongue is active as in the case of the English [t, d, s, z, n, l, θ, ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ, ð]; dorsal consonants are typical in Russian language, not in English language; cacuminal, if the tip of the tongue is at the back part of the teeth ridge, but a depression is formed in the blade of the tongue as in the case of the English [r]. According to the place of obstruction forelingual consonants may be: interdental, alveolar, post – alveolar, palato – alveolar. Interdental consonants are made with the tip of the tongue projected between the teeth [θ, ð]. Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tip against the upper teeth ridge: the English [t, d, s, z, n, l]. Post-alveolar consonants are made when the tip of the blade of the tongue is against the back part of the teeth ridge or just behind it [r]. Palato – alveolar consonants are made with the tip or the blade of the tongue against the teeth ridge and the front part of the tongue raised towards the hard palate [ʒ, ʃ, tʃ, dʒ]. Mediolingual consonants are produced with the front part of the tongue. They are always palatal. Palatal consonants are made with the front part of the tongue raised high to the hard palate [j]. Backlingual consonants are produced with the back part of the tongue raised towards the soft palate. They are [k, g, ŋ]. The glottal consonant [h] is articulated in the glottis.

 

Aspiration

 

[p, t, k] in initial position in a stressed syllable are accompanied by aspiration, i.e. a strong puff of breath in a voiceless interval after the explosion of [p t k ] before a vowel. Aspiration is very strong before a long vowel or a diphthongs as in port, talk cart, poke take; it is weaker before a short vowel as in pit, top, cut. It is less noticeable before unstressed vowel, as in proper, porter, poker or in final positions (preceding silence) as in lip, put, cook. If stops are preceded by [s] there is hardly any aspiration at all as in speech, stop, school.

 

Assimilation

Assimilation is a process of alteration of speech sounds as a result of which one of the sounds becomes fully or partially similar to the adjoining sound. The nature of assimilation is determined by objective physical and physiological conditions. Assimilation exists in every language, but its laws and forms in each language depend on the historically formed articulatory tendencies, typical of every language, and specific phonetic structures. Types of assimilation can be distinguished according to: direction, degree of completeness and degree of stability. Assimilation can affect the place of obstruction and the active organs of speech; the work of the vocal cards; the position of the lips; the position of the soft palate; the manner of the release of plosive consonants.

1) Direction of assimilation. The influence of the neighboring sounds in English can act in a progressive, regressive, reciprocal direction. When some articulatory features of the following sounds are changed under the influence of the preceding sound,which remains unchanged, assimilation is called progressive: pens [penz], calls [kɔ:lz]. When the following sound influences the articulation of the preceding one assimilation is called regressive: within the word width and in the word combination in them, the alveolar [d] and [n] become dental, before the interdental [θ] and [ð]. Reciprocal assimilation means complex mutual influence of the adjacent sounds: tree [tri:].

2) Degree of completeness. According to its degree assimilation can be complete and incomplete. Assimilation is called complete in the case the two adjoining sounds become alike or merge into one. It always takes place when the two sounds differ only in the articulatory feature: cupboard [ˈcʌpbəd>ˈcʌbəd], less shy [ˈlesˈʃaɪ>ˈleʃʃaɪ]. Assimilation is called incomplete when the likeness of the adjoining sounds is partial as the assimilated sound retains its major articulatory features. It concerns the sonorants [l, w, r] which influence the preceding voiceless consonants [p, t, k, s, f, θ]: sweet [swi:t], place [pleɪs], try [trai]. 3) Degree of stability. According to its degree assimilation can be obligatory and non –obligatory. Such changes takes place over a period of time: orchard (ort+yard) [ˈɔ:tjəd>ˈɔ:tʃəd]. In modern language obligatory assimilation are special allophonic variants characteristic of the natives’ speech. Non – obligatory assimilation are characteristic of fluent or careless speech and should be avoided by public speakers. Ten minutes [ˈten ˈmɪnɪts>[ˈtem ˈmɪnɪts]. Assimilation may take place within in word or at word boundaries.

 

Types of plosion

[p, t, k, g, d] English plosives don’t always have the third stage of articulation (on-glade, hold, off-glide) when the air releases. Incomplete plosion happens in the following clusters [pp, pb, td, kd, ddz, gg]. The position of the organs of speech is the same for both consonants. The hold stage is prolongs until the release of the second consonant. In such clusters the first consonant has no plosion at all: attraction, book case, big cat. In a cluster of plosives or two affricates there is only one plosion and the first plosive is incomplete. If one makes two explosions it will sound un-English. Nasal plosion happens when occlusive is followed by the syllabic [m] or [n]. The soft palate lows and the compressed air escapes through the nasal cavity: happen, shipman, button. Lateral plosion happens when occlusive is followed by [l]. Before [l] the release is made by a sudden lowering of the sides of the tongue and the air escapes along the sides of tongue with lateral plosion: please, black, plosion.

 

Palatalization

Palatalization is the production of consonants with the blade, or front, of the tongue drawn up farther toward the roof of the mouth (hard palate) than in their normal pronunciation. Palatalized consonants may be distinguished from palatal consonants, in which the front of the tongue and the hard palate form the primary articulation. Palatalization also refers to the process of sound change in which a nonpalatal consonant, like k, changes to a palatal consonant, like ch or sh; English occlusive consonants are not palatalized, but before front, close or mid – open vowels they are bit clearer than before back vowels: part – Pete, top-tip, door-day.English constrictive consonants are not palatalized. The affricates are palato –alveolar, they are slightly palatalized, because the front part of the tongue is raised towards the hard palate, but before front and mixed, close or mid – open vowels they are clearer than before back ones e. g chance – cheese, just – gist. English fricatives exept [] are non-palatalized, only before front close and mid – open vowels they are a bit clearer than before back ones e. g. father – feet; heart – heat; thunder – theme. English sonorants except [] are non – palatalized