Vowels and Consonants

The major division in speech sounds is that between vowels and consonants (Phonetics
Encyclopaedia Britannica).
Vowels
A vowel is a sound that is produced without any major constrictions in the vocal tract, so that there is
a relatively free passage for the air from the lungs. e.g., the i in fit, and the a in pack.
(Articulatory Phonetics Encyclopaedia Britannica)
In educated Southern British English there are twenty distinctive vowel sounds, made up of twelve
pure vowels or monophthongs and eight vowel glides or diphthongs (Balasubramanian 73)
Monophthong: Vowels that do not change their quality are called pure vowels or monophthongs.
There are twelve pure vowels or monophthongs in English (Balasubramanian 43)
Diphthongs
Diphthongs are sounds during the articulation of which the tongue starts in the position required for
the articulation of a particular vowel and moves in the direction of the position required for the
articulation of a different vowel. The glide . . . should take place within one syllable
(Balasubramanian 80). English has eight diphthongs.
[Please refer to the jpeg file for a complete list of monophthongs and diphthongs]
Classifications of vowels
From the viewpoint of articulatory phonetics, vowels are classified according to the position of
the tongue and lips and, sometimes, according to whether or not the air is released through the nose
(Vowel Encyclopaedia Britannica).
Classification of vowels according to the position of the tongue
A high vowel (such as i in machine and u in rule) is pronounced with the tongue arched toward
the roof of the mouth. A low vowel (such as ain father or had) is produced with the tongue
relatively flat and low in the mouth and with the mouth open a little wider than for high vowels. Mid
vowels (such as e in bed and o in pole) have a tongue position between the extremes of high and
low. (Vowel Encyclopaedia Britannica)
High, middle, and low vowels are also classified according to a front-to-back dimension.
A front vowel is pronounced with the highest part of the tongue pushed forward in the mouth and
somewhat arched. The a in had, the e in bed, and the i in fit are front vowels.
A back vowele.g.,the u in rule and the o in poleis produced with the back part of the tongue
raised toward the soft palate (velum). (Vowel Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Central vowel During the articulation of this vowel the centre of the tongue is raised in the
direction of that part of the roof of the mouth that is between the hard and the soft palates to a height
just above the open position (Balasubramanian 79)
[For an explanation of the rest of the symbols (for vowels and consonant), please refer to the
document on symbols for consonants and vowels]

High vowels:
[i]: fleece, sea, machine [the vowel sounds produced by long vowels ee in fleece, ea in sea
and i in machine
[] [u] []
Mid vowels:
[e][][o][][][]
Low vowels:
[][a]
Front vowels:
[i][][e][][]
Central vowels:
[][]
Back vowels:
[u][][o][][a]
Classification of vowels according to the shape and position of the lips
The lips may be rounded or spread, in what is called labialization.
Round vowels are those during the articulation of which the lips are rounded . E.g. vowels in words
like cot, caught, put, fool etc (Balasubramanian 39)
Unrounded vowels are those during the articulation of which lips are spread or neutral (Ibid) e.g.
Vowels in words like seat, sit, set
Semivowels are sounds produced in the same manner as vowels but are used and perceived as
consonants. Examples include the y in yawn and the w in walk. (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Consonants
In the formation of consonants, the airstream through the vocal tract is obstructed in some way.
Consonants can be classified according to the place and manner of this obstruction There are twenty
four consonants in English (Consonants Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Classification of Consonants
Consonants are classified based on
the place of articulation i.e. which parts of the mouth or tongue or teeth are being used to
produce the sound
the manner of articulation (under this section pay attention to voiced and voiceless
consonants as I have listed below. If you want further details about division of consonants
according to manner of articulation, like oral or nasal refer to the attached slide)
The major places of articulation are: (learn a couple of examples from below)
Bilabial: The two lips are the articulators. The initial sounds in the English words pile, bile and mile
are bilabial sounds (Balasubramanian 27)

Labio-dental: The active articulator is the lower lip and the passive articulators are the upper front
teeth. E.g. fine, vine (Ibid).
Dental: The tip of the tongue is the active articulator and upper front teeth are passive articulators.
E.g. initial sounds in the English words thin, then (Ibid)
Alveolar: The tip or the blade of the tongue is the active articulator and the teeth ridge is the passive
articulator. E.g. initial sounds in words like tin, din, near etc (Ibid)
Palatal: The front of the tongue is the active articulator and the hard palate is the passive articulator
E.g. initial sounds in yes (Ibid 28)
Velar: The back of the tongue is the active articulator and the soft palate is the passive articulator.
E.g.The final sound in the English words back, bag and bang (Ibid)
Glottal: Glottal sounds are produced at the glottis and the two vocal chords are the articulators. E.g.
the initial sound in the English word hat

.
Classification of consonants according to: Manner of Articulation
The manner of articulation is the way the air stream is affected as it flows from the lungs and out of
the mouth and nose. Accordingly, consonants can be of the following types
Voiceless sounds are those produced with the vocal cords apart so the air flows freely
through the glottis
E.g. P, is a voiceless consonant (i.e. vocal chords do not vibrate during its articulation) Word
Please
Voiced sounds are those produced when the vocal cords are together and vibrate as air passes
through. E.g. B is a voiced consonant as in book
Oral sounds are those produced with the velum raised to prevent air from escaping out the
nose. E. G. d

 Nasal sounds are those produced with the velum lowered to allow air to escape out the nose.
E.g. m

Works Cited
Balasubramanian, T. A Textbook of English Phonetics for Indian Students. Delhi: Macmillan, 1981.
Consonants. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 17 June 2007. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc, 2016. 12
December 2016 < https://www.britannica.com/topic/consonant>
Phonetics. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 17 June 2007. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc, 2016. 12
December 2016. < https://www.britannica.com/science/phonetics>.
Vowels. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 17 June 2007. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc, 2016. 12
December 2016. < https://www.britannica.com/topic/vowel>.

[Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica https://www.britannica.com/science/phonetics]