All voiced consonants are weak, all voiceless consonants are strong

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There are 2 factors that are most important in classification of sounds

• degree of noise
• manner of articulation

The place of articulation is another very important characteristic of English consonants. According to it all English consonant can be classified into:

• labial (губные)
• lingual (смычные)
• glottal (гортанные)

Labial can be subdivided into:

• bilabial
• labio-dental

Lingual are subdivided into:

• forelingual (передне-язычный)
• mediolingual
• backlingual

Examples:

pan – tan	(bilabial – forelingual)
why – lie	(bilabial – forelingual)
weil – yale	(bilabial – mediolingual)
pick – kick	(bilabial – backlingual)
less – yes	(forelingual – mediolingual)
day – gay	(forelingual – backlingual)
sigh – high	(forelingual – glottal)
feet – seat	(labio-dental – forelingual)

1. Our next point should be made in connection with another sound property, that is voiced and voiceless characteristic which depends on the work of vocal cords. It has been long believed that from the articulatory point of view there is a distinction on the absence or presence of vibrations of vocal cords between such pairs of sounds as: p-b; k-g; t-d; v-f; s-z; ʃ-ʒ; ʧ-ʤ, but this not the only difference between them. It is obvious that there is also energy difference.

All voiced consonants are weak, all voiceless consonants are strong.

1. There is one more articulatory characteristic according to which English consonants can also be classified, that is the position of the soft palate (мягкое небо). According to it consonants can be oral (ротовые) and nasal (носовые). Only some consonants demand the lowed position of the soft palate. They are nasal occlusive sonorants. They differ from oral plosives in which the soft palate is lowed (опущен) or risen (приподнят).

In the English system of consonants there is a problem of affricates. That is their status and number. There are two debated questions:

1. are the English sounds [ʧ] [ʤ] monophonemic or biphonemic combinations?
2. if they are monophonemic then how many phonemes of this kind exist in the system of English consonants and can such combinations [tr] [dr] [ts] [dz] [tƟ] [dð] be considered as affricates?

One thing is clear: that is all these sounds are complexes because articulatorily and acoustically we can distinguish two elements. The articulatory difference between [ʧ] and [ʤ] on the one hand and [t] [d] on the other hand is based on the speed of releasing the obstruction. When [ʧ] and [ʤ] are pronounced the obstruction is released slower than in case of [t] [d]. But it isn’t the only difference between affricates and plosives. There is no synchrony in releasing the obstruction by the central part of the tongue and its sides.

Considering phonetic duality of affricates it is necessary to analyze the relation of affricates to other consonants. Traditionally it is the type of obstruction that serves the bases for comparison.

There are 2 types of obstruction: complete and incomplete. According to this it is impossible to refer affricates to any group because they consist of 2 types of obstructions: complete and incomplete. So they are singled out (выделяются) in a separate group – affricates or occlusive / constrictive consonants.

The problem of affricates is a debated problem among phoneticians. According to Russian phoneticians there are 2 affricates - [ʧ] and [ʤ].

An English phonetician D. Jones says there are six affricates: [ʧ] [ʤ] [tr] [dr] [ts] [dz].

An English phonetician A. Gimson increases their number to eight adding two more affricates: [tƟ] [dð].

To understand if they are affricates or not we must define their articulatory indivisibility. This procedure is usually fulfilled according to principles of Trubetskoy. According to his point of view a sound complex can be considered monophonemic if:

1. its elements belong to one syllable;
2. they are produced by one articulatory effort;
3. its duration doesn’t exceed normal duration of its both elements.

Classification of English consonants.

The quality of a consonant depends on the work of the vocal cords, the position of the soft palate and the kind of noise that results when the tongue or lips obstruct the air-passage. There are two types of articulatory obstruction: complete and incomplete.
Consonants are divided according to:

1. the active speech organs and place of obstruction (в зависимости от работы активных органов речи и от места преграды): labial, lingual and glottal (губные, язычные и гортанный)
2. the type of obstruction (от типа преграды) and the manner of production of noise (от способа образования шума): occlusive and constrictive (смычный и щелевой)
3. the work of the vocal cords and the force of articulation
4. the position of the soft palate.

1.1. According to the active organ of speech EC are divided into labial, lingual and glottal.

1. Labial may be: bilabial, labio-dental.

a) bilabial consonants are articulated by the two lips:[p], [b], [m], [w]
b) labio-dental is articulated with the lower lip against the upper teeth: [f], [v].
2. Lingual may be: forelingual, mediolingual, backlingual.
A ) forelingual are articulated by the blade of the tongue; the blade with the tip against the upper teeth or alveolar ridge.
According to the position of the tip English forelingual consonants may be:
a- apical b- cacuminal
a apical consonants are articulated by the tip of the tongue against the upper teeth or the alveolar ridge: [θ], [ð], [t], [d], [l], [n], [s], [z]
b cacuminal consonants are articulated with the tongue tip raised against the back part of the alveolar ridge: [r].
B) mediolingual consonants are articulated with the front of the tongue against the hard palate: [j]
C) backlingual consonants are articulated by the back of the tongue against the soft palate: [k], [g], [η].
3. Glottal are produced in the glottis: [h].
According to the articulation forelingual consonants are divided into

• dental consonants are articulated against the upper teeth with the tip: [θ], [ð]
• alveolar consonants are articulated by the tip of the tongue against the alveolar ridge: the English [t], [d], [n], [l], [s], [z]
• palato-alveolar consonants are articulated by the tip and blade of the tongue against the alveolar ridge or the part of the alveolar ridge, while the front of the tongue is raised in the direction of the hard palate: [∫], [ʒ], [t∫], [dʒ]
• post-alveolar consonants are articulated by the tip of tongue against the back part of the alveolar ridge: [r].

2.1 According to the type of obstruction EC are divided into: occlusive and constrictive.
A) Occlusive consonants are produced with a complete obstruction formed by the articulating organs; the air-passage in the mouth cavity is blocked.
Occlusive consonants may be:

• noise ( шумные)
• sonorants (nasal) (сонатные – звучные)

Noise occlusive consonants may be:
plosive (stops) (взрывные) and affricates ( аффрикаты).
In the production of plosive consonants the speech organs form a complete obstruction which is quickly released with plosion: [p], [b], [t], [d], [k], g].
In the production of the affricates the speech organs form a complete obstruction which is then released so slowly that friction occurs at the point of articulation: [t∫], [dʒ].
In the production of occlusive sonorants the speech organs form a complete obstruction in the mouth cavity which is not released, the soft palate is lowered and the air escapes through the nasal cavity: [m], [n], [η].
B) Constrictive consonants are produced with an incomplete obstruction that is by a narrowing of the air-passage.
Constrictive consonantsmay be:

• noise (fricatives) (фрикативные)
• sonorants.

3.1. In the production of noise constrictive consonants the speech organs form an incomplete obstruction: [f], [v], [θ], [ð], [s], [z], [h], [∫], [ʒ].
In the production of constrictive sonorants the air-passage is wide, so that the air passing through the mouth doesn't produce audible friction (слышимый шум) but tone prevails over noise.
Constrictive sonorants may be:
a) median (срединный) b) lateral (боковой).
In the production of median sonorants the air passes without audible friction over central part of the tongue. The sides of the tongue are raised: [w, r, j].
In the production of lateral sonorants the tongue is pressed against the alveolar ridge or the teeth. The sides of the tongue are lowered and the air passes along them: [l].
3.1. According to the force of articulation consonants are divided into fortis and lenis.
English voiced consonants are lenis: [b],[d],[g],[dʒ],[v],[ð],[z],[ʒ],[m],[n],[ŋ],[w],[l],[r],[j].
English voiceless consonants are fortis:[p],[t],[k],[t∫],[f],[θ],[s],[∫],[h].
They are pronounced with a stronger breath force.
4.1. According to the position of the soft palate consonants are divided into oral and nasal:
Nasal consonants are produced with the soft palate lowered while the air-passage through the mouth is blocked. As a result the air passes through the nasal cavity: [m], [n], [ŋ].
Oral consonants are produced when the sort palate is raised and the air passes through the mouth: [p], [b], [t], [d], [k], [g], [f], [v], [θ], [ð], [s], [z], [∫], [ʒ], [h], [t∫], [dʒ], [w], [l], [r], [j].

 

 

Vowels. Principles of Classification.

 

1. Stability of Articulation:

1) Monophthongs:

2) Diphthongs:

3) Diphthongoids:

4) Triphthongs:

2. Tongue Position:

1) Front;

2) Front-retracted;

3) Central;

4) Back;

5) Back-advanced;

6) Open;

7) Close;

8) Mid.

 

3. Lip Position:

1) Rounded;

2) Unrounded.

4. Character of Vowel End:

1) Checked;

2) Free.