Jj is for Jottings 144. Place of Articulation.
We classify the spoken aspects of consonants across 3 dimensions:
- Place of articulation.
- Manner of articulation.
- Voicing.
The voicing dimension specifies whether or not the vocal folds (or cords) are vibrating. It has already been discussed in Voiced vs voiceless minimal pairs. And I have outlined the rules for when we voice the normally voiceless /s/ (resulting in /z/). Most people are completely unaware of doing this, and would be surprised to learn that they are correctly following the rules. The voicing dimension is rounded off by the article on partial devoicing of consonants.
Having dealt with voicing, I will devote this article to place of articulation, and the following one to manner of articulation.
PLACE OF ARTICULATION.
The place of articulation dimension of a consonant sound specifies where in the vocal tract the constriction is. At each place of articulation, there is a constriction between an active articulator and a passive articulator. The constriction may be either partial or complete. A complete constriction will stop the airstream completely for a very short time. The active articulators are the lower lip and the tongue. The passive articulators are the upper lip, the upper teeth, the roof of the mouth, and the rear wall of the throat. Although I would argue that the upper lip isn’t entirely passive.
Non-English Sounds.
Bear in mind that different languages have different sound systems, so we are just talking about English here. For example, many languages in Southern Africa and three languages in East Africa have click consonant sounds. Clicks made in English aren’t part of our speech sound system, but we can look upon them as extras which add further meaning to what we are saying. The noise of disapproval (which we spell as “tut) is a click. The noise we use to imitate the sound made by a horse’s hooves clip-clopping, and the noise we make to tell a horse to walk on are also clicks. Notice that clicks often involve suction.
Place of Articulation For English Sounds.
We can move through the places of articulation from the front of the mouth to the back.
Bilabial.
Bi=two; Labial=lips. Bilabial sounds are made by bringing the lips together, as in /p,b,m/.
Labiodental.
Labio=lips; dental=teeth. In labiodental sounds the lower lip approaches or touches the upper teeth. /f,v/ are labiodentals sounds. I have seen at least one child who has produced these sounds “upside down” i.e. lower teeth on upper lip. This is likely to happen when the child has a prognathic jaw – i.e. when the lower jaw juts out beyond the upper jaw.
Place of Articulation: Here is a good example of an upside down labiodental sound. Alpacas have split upper lips and no top teeth, so they can’t “do” proper labiodentals (upper teeth on lower lip) the right way up! If Manuel’s upper lip were continuous, it would be an even better example.
Dental/Interdental.
Dental=teeth; inter=between. We have discussed interdental sounds in the article on /s/ as a speech sound problem. While /s,z/ aren’t supposed to be interdental, /th/ – both voiced and unvoiced forms – are. There are actually two ways of producing /th/.
The interdental version is the tongue tip is between the teeth, but not firmly enough so as to completely block the airflow. (And anyway, that might hurt.) But we leave just enough room for turbulent air to escape, resulting in the /th/ sound.
The dental version is when the tongue tip is against the back of the upper teeth, but again, not hard enough to completely block the airflow.
Generally, when teaching /th/ as a speech sound, I teach the interdental version because it is so visual, which makes it easier for the child to see that his tongue is in the correct position. But if you become aware of how you are producing /th/, you will probably find that you use both versions on different occasions. This might depend on the surrounding sounds or if you are making a point of speaking more slowly and clearly. Or if there is background noise and you want to help the listener to receive your message by adding more visual cues.
Alveolar.
The alveolar ridge is the “bumpy gum” just behind your top front teeth. In alveolar sounds, the tongue tip approaches or touches the alveolar ridge. Alveolar sounds are /t,d,n,l/. /s,z/ are also produced here, often with the tongue tip on the alveolar ridge. Or the tongue tip is behind the lower front teeth with the tongue blade on the alveolar ridge. (The tongue blade is the top part of the tongue just behind the tongue tip.)
Postalveolar.
Post=after. So we make the constriction immediately behind (after) the alveolar ridge. As with /s,z/, the constriction may be made with the tongue tip or the blade of the tongue. /sh/ and its voiced form, /ʒ/, are produced here, as are the corresponding /ch/ and /j/. /r/ is also a postalveolar sound, with the tongue tip curled back behind the alveolar ridge. Once again, not everybody produces the sound in exactly the same way. Therefore, when teaching a child to say the sound, you try different variations before you find the one which works best.
Palatal.
In a palatal consonant the body of the tongue approaches or touches the hard palate, which is the roof of the mouth. /y/ is palatal, with the tongue body being close enough to create turbulence in the airstream.
Velar.
The velum is the soft palate, which is just behind the hard palate where the bony part stops. For a velar consonant, the body of the tongue approaches or touches the soft palate, or velum. In English /k/, /ɡ/, and /ng/ are the velar sounds. With these sounds, the tongue actually touches the soft palate. If it doesn’t quite touch, the turbulent airflow is continuous. Then the sound is the German /ch/ (as in “Bach”) or the sound in the Scottish “loch”. That is, if we are pronouncing these sounds correctly!
Glottal.
The glottis is the opening between the vocal folds. In a /h/, this opening is narrow enough to create some turbulence in the airstream flowing past the vocal folds.
The other glottal sound is a glottal stop. This is when we completely close the glottis, thereby stopping the vibration of the vocal folds. When we release it, the sound is a glottal stop, like a little grunt. The break in sound is the glottal stop, and the grunt part follows it. See schwa the undercover vowel for a further explanation of the grunt part.
Now that we know the places where consonant sounds are produced in the mouth, next time we will discuss the way in which they are produced.
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