Jj is for Jottings 145. Manner of Articulation.
As a reminder from the previous article, we classify the spoken aspects of consonants across 3 dimensions:
- Place of articulation.
- Manner of articulation.
- Voicing
We have previously covered voicing, and then place of articulation in the previous article. So now we turn our attention to manner of articulation.
In quick summary, the place of articulation dimension specifies where in the vocal tract the constriction is. And the voicing parameter indicates whether the vocal folds are vibrating. The manner of articulation dimension is essentially everything else: how narrow the constriction is, whether air is flowing through the nose, and whether the tongue is dropped down on one side. In this case “manner” refers to the way in which something is done i.e. how we produce consonant sounds. It has nothing to do with politeness (although that’s always good, too).
MANNER OF ARTICULATION.
We are confining ourselves to English here, which simplifies things. Just be aware that other languages have additional manners of articulation. In English, the manners of articulation are: stops (alternative name= plosives); fricatives; affricates; approximants and nasals. Various sources classify sounds a little differently, so once again I have tried to keep it simple so you get an overall picture.
Stops/Plosives.
A stop consonant completely cuts off the airflow through the mouth. The stop sounds are /p,b; t,d; k,g/ As you can see these are three sets of minimal pairs. Each of the pairs is made in a different part of the mouth i.e. has a different place of articulation. If you think of the word “explosion”, you can see why these sounds are also called plosives.
Fricatives.
In the stop /t/, the tongue tip touches the alveolar ridge and cuts off the airflow. In /s/, the tongue tip approaches the alveolar ridge but doesn’t quite touch it. There is still enough of an opening for airflow to continue, but the opening is narrow enough that it causes the escaping air to become turbulent (hence the hissing sound of the /s/). So /t/ and /s/ have the same place of articulation but a different manner of articulation. The fricatives of English are /f,v/; /s,z/; /th and voiced th/;/sh and ʒ/. (The last sound is in the middle of “measure”.)
When I was in late secondary school and recited a poem in French for the Alliance Française, the examiner said that my fricatives were too… long, I think it was. Or it might have been too loud. Whichever it was, neither I nor my French teacher had a clue what a fricative was. I suspect most people go right through their life without having the heard the word. I thought that was a bit nit-picky.
Affricates.
An affricate is basically a stop and a fricative stuck together. There are two in English: /ch/ and /j/. Since I have already explained this in one letter doesn’t always equal one sound, here is the relevant excerpt:
The opposite of /x/ making two sounds is /sh/ and /th/, in which two letters make one sound. You might think that /ch/ belongs to this group of two letters making one sound, but that is different again. While we treat /ch/ as one sound, it is actually two sounds: /t/ and /sh/ stuck together. Feel it in your mouth as you say it slowly and you will realise that this is so. Alternatively, say /t/ and then /sh/ increasingly quickly with less and less of a gap between the two sounds and you will end up with /ch/. Since the International Phonetic Alphabet symbol for /sh/ is /ʃ/, the International Phonetic Alphabet symbol for /ch/ is /tʃ/.
The voiced version (see previous article on voiced and voiceless consonants) of /ch/ is /j/, which is made up of /d/ and /ʒ/. /ʒ/ is the sound in the middle of “measure”, and is the voiced version of /sh/. The symbol for the sound at the beginning of “jam” in the International Phonetic Alphabet is /dʒ/. So:
- /t,d/ are a voiceless/voiced pair.
- //ʃ,ʒ/ are a voiceless/voiced pair. Therefore,
- /tʃ,dʒ/ (i.e. /ch,j/) are a voiceless/voiced pair.
As you can see, the International Phonetic Alphabet reflects how we produce sounds. However I will continue to use /sh/,/ch/ and /j/ to make it easier.
Approximants
In an approximant, the articulators involved in the constriction are further apart than they are for a fricative. The articulators are still closer to each other than when the vocal tract is in its neutral position, but they are not even close enough to cause the air passing between them to become turbulent. The approximants of English are /w/, /j/, /r/, and /l/.
Lateral Approximant.
There is only one of these in English: /l/. Although your tongue tip is touching your alveolar ridge, this doesn’t make /l/ a stop. Air is still flowing during /l/ because the side of your tongue has dropped down and left an opening. (Some people drop down the right side of their tongue during /l/; others drop down the left; a few drop down both sides.) The opening left at the side of the tongue is wide enough that the air flowing through does not become turbulent. So that makes it an approximant. The fact that the air is coming out the side rather than the front makes it lateral.
A lateral sound can also be produced as a speech sound error when the child produces lateral sounds when the airstream should be central. There is a section dealing with that in some detail if you follow that link.
Nasals.
There is an article devoted entirely to nasal sounds, so the best thing to do is to click on the link for a clear explanation of this manner of articulation.
Manner of Articulation. It could be an approximant, a stop, a nasal. Or he could just have his mouth open.
TYING IT TOGETHER: PLACE AND MANNER OF ARTICULATION AND VOICING.
Now all three dimensions of spoken consonants have been explained, you can pick any consonant and look at its dimensions. So, for example:
- /p/ is a voiceless bilabial (place) stop/plosive (manner).
- /z/ is a voiced alveolar (place) fricative (manner).
- /m/ is a voiced (all nasals are voiced in English) bilabial (place) nasal (manner).
DO I REALLY NEED TO KNOW ALL THIS?
Possibly not. But it is something we all do whenever we speak, so from that perspective it is relevant to everyone. You don’t have to take it on board, but the information is there if you want it.
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