Bilabial

Bilabial consonants occur when youblock/constrict airflow out of the

mouth by bringing your chapped and/or dry lips together*.
English contains the following three bilabial consonants:

/p/ as in "purse" and "rap"

/b/ as in "back" and "cab"

/m/ as in "mad" and "clam"

*That was a joke. Please use lip balm regularly,

especially if you live in a dry or cold
climate.

Labio-Dental
Labiodental consonants occur when you block/constrict airflow by
curling your lower lip back and raising it to touch your upper row of
jagged teeth*.
English contains the following two labio-dental

/f/ as in "fro" and "calf"

/v/ as in "vine" and "have"

sounds:

*Don't worry - I still think you have a

pretty smile :)

Dental
Dental consonants occur when you block/constrict airflow by placing
your slimy tongue against your upper teeth*.
English contains the following two labio-dental sounds:

// as is "thick" and "bath"

// as in "the" and "rather"

*Importance of brushing tongue

Importance of brushing teeth...

Alveolar
The alveolar ridge is where your jagged teeth meet your bloody
gums*. Alveolar consonants are created when you raise your tongue to
the alveolar ridge so as to block/constrict airflow.
The English alveolar consonants are as follows:

/n/ as in "no" and "man"

/t/ as in "tab" and "rat"

/d/ as in "dip" and "bad"

/s/ as in "suit" and "bus"

/z/ as in "zit" and "jazz"

/l/ as in "luck" and "fully"

*Okay seriously, you need to see a dentist.

Post-Alveolar
When you retract your tongue back just a bit from the alveolar ridge, the
sounds change enough to be recognized as distinct consonants.
So post-alveolar consonants are those that occur when the tongue
blocks/constricts airflow at the point just beyond the alveolar ridge.
The post-alveolar english consonants are as follows:

// as in "shoot" or "brash"

// as in "vision" or "measure"

/t/ as in "chick" or "match"

/d/ as in "jam" or "badge"

Palatal
The roof of your mouth is known as the hard palate. You may know it
as: "The place that burns like hell all day when I drink my coffee too
fast."
Palatal consonants are created here when you raise the tongue to this
point so as to block/constrict airflow.
English has only one palatal consonant:

/j/ as in "yes" and "bayou"

Velar
Behind your hard palate you have the velum or soft palate. Unlike the
bony hard palate in front of it, the velum/soft palate consists of soft,
mucousy tissue.
Velar Consonants are created when you raise the back of your tongue to
the velum so as to block or restrict airflow.
English has the following velar consonants:

// as in "going" and "uncle" (note that the 'n sound' in these

words is NOT made at the alveolar ridge, which is why it is
distinct from /n/).

/k/ as in "kite" and "back"

/g/ as in "good" and "bug"

/w/ as in "wet" and "howard"

Glottal
The glottis is made up of your two vocal folds (i.e. vocal cords), and it
acts as a sort of bottle cap to your windpipe. Inhale and then hold your
breath for a few seconds while keeping your mouth open. What you are
actually doing to keep the air from expelling out of your lungs by
closing your glottis.
Glottal consonants aren't really consonants; they just play consonant
roles in the language. In English the following things happen at the
glottis:

/h/ as in "hi" and "Bahamas". Say these words and notice how
you're not really constricting or blocking airflow for this /h/
sound, you're just sort of exhaling a little bit harder than you
would for a normal vowel sound in transition to the following
vowel sound.

/?/ - This is actually the culprit behind many of the "silent

syllables" we discussed in the first lesson. For example, in the
phrase "wha(t) time is it?" the /t/ in "what" is dropped and the
vowel sound before it is closed at the glottis.

Having trouble finding these place of articulation in your own mouth? It takes a bit of
time to develop a physical awareness of your speech organ. There are two reasons for
this:
1. You can't see your speech organ

2. You've been using the muscles of your speech organ unconsciously every
day of your life since your first breath.
We have come to rely a great deal on sight to learn new things. That's why we are
more comfortable learning new motor skills with visible body parts like our hands and
feet than we are with the invisible body parts of the speech organ.
But always remember that whether you can see it or not, the muscles of the speech
organ ARE under your voluntary control.
Don't ever let anyone tell you that you're incapable of a human speech sound. It's just
a question of knowing and practicing. Come back to this page as often as you need
to review this information until you are as familiar with your speech organ as you are
with the palm of your hand, and you WILL be very grateful to me (despite my harsh
criticisms of your dental hygiene).
Here's the full chart again for your viewing pleasure: