Asignatura: Pronunciacin de la lengua inglesa

Grado en Estudios Ingleses: Lengua, Literatura y Cultura (UNED)

Unit 3: Consonants
Eva Estebas Vilaplana

UNIT 3. CONSONANTS: A THEORETICAL APPROACH

1. Introduction

This document includes a brief introduction to the basic theoretical issues to describe
consonants from a phonetic/phonological perspective. The following aspects will be
covered:

Parameters to describe consonants

o Vocal fold position
o Place of articulation
o Manner of articulation
Types of articulations
o Single and double articulations
o Primary and secondary articulations
Types of consonants
o Obstruents vs. sonorants
o Fortis vs. lenis
Allophonic variation in English consonants
o Aspiration
o Devoicing
o Velarization

2. Parameters to describe consonants

Consonants are described according to three parameters: 1) the position of the vocal
folds, 2) the place of articulation and 3) the manner of articulation.

2.1. Vocal fold position

For the production of consonants, the vocal folds can have two positions:

1. open
2. nearly together

If the vocal folds are open, the air that comes from the lungs escapes freely and
therefore there is no vibration. This position is used to produce voiceless sounds (that is,
sounds with no vocal fold vibration).

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 Asignatura: Pronunciacin de la lengua inglesa
Grado en Estudios Ingleses: Lengua, Literatura y Cultura (UNED)
Unit 3: Consonants
Eva Estebas Vilaplana

If the vocal folds are nearly together, the air that comes from the lungs has to go
through them causing vibration. This position is used to produce voiced sounds (that is,
sounds with vocal fold vibration). This is illustrated in Figure 1 below.

open vocal folds nearly together

vocal folds

air coming from the lungs

Figure 1. Two positions of the vocal folds: open (for voiceless sounds)
and nearly together (for voiced sounds).

Examples of voiceless sounds in English are [s], [t] or []. See the list of voiceless
sounds at the beginning of the book.

Examples of voiced sounds in English are [m], [n] or [d]. Remember that vowels are
also voiced. See the list of voiced sounds at the beginning of the book.

In order to feel the vibratory movement of voiced sounds, try to produce a long [m] and
put your hand on your throat. You will notice the vibration of the vocal folds. You can
then compare it with the production of a voiceless sound, such as a long [s], where no
vibration is felt.

2.2. Place of articulation

The second parameter to describe consonants is its place of articulation. The place of
articulation of a sound describes where this sound is produced and which articulators
are used. For example, a bilabial consonant is produced with an obstruction of the air in
the lips. A labiodental consonant, on the other hand, is articulated with the lower lip
against the upper teeth. Here is a list of all the possible places of articulation found in
the languages of the world and the articulators involved in their production.

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 Asignatura: Pronunciacin de la lengua inglesa
Grado en Estudios Ingleses: Lengua, Literatura y Cultura (UNED)
Unit 3: Consonants
Eva Estebas Vilaplana

Place of First Second Examples

articulation articulator articulator
Bilabial Upper lip Lower lip p, b, m
Labiodental Upper teeth Lower lip f, v
Dental Upper teeth Tongue tip ,
Alveolar Alveolar ridge Tongue tip s, z, l
Post-alveolar Between the palate Tongue blade ,
and the alveolar ridge
Retroflex Hard palate Tongue tip (American r)
Palatal Hard palate Tongue front j,
Velar Velum Tongue back k, ,
Uvular Uvula Tongue back (French r)
Pharyngeal Rear wall of the Tongue back
pharynx
Glottal Right vocal fold Left vocal fold h,

Note that articulators can be of two kinds: active and passive. Active articulators are
those that move, such as the lips or the tongue. Passive articulators, on the other hand,
are fixed, such as the palate. Consonants tend to be produced with an active articulator
approaching a passive articulator. For example, in alveolar sounds, the tip of the tongue
(active articulator) raises against the alveolar ridge (passive articulator). In some cases,
two active articulators are involved in the production of a given consonant. For
example, in bilabial sounds the two lips approximate and in glottal sounds the two vocal
folds come together.

Sounds produced with the same place of articulation are called homorganic. For
example, [b] and [m] are homorganic because both of them are produced in the same
place (bilabial).

2.3. Manner of articulation

The manner of articulation is the degree of constriction used to produce a given sound.
The air coming from the lungs may be obstructed in the following ways:

1. A complete closure of the articulators (as in plosives [p b], [t d], [k ] or nasals [m],
[n], []). The production of plosives involves the following steps or phases: 1)
approximation of the articulators to produce a complete closure (closing phase), 2)
holding of the closure for a little while so that the air does not escape (holding phase)
and 3) opening of the closure and release of the air producing a burst (opening phase).
The schematic representation of a plosive consonant is provided in Figure 2.

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 Asignatura: Pronunciacin de la lengua inglesa
Grado en Estudios Ingleses: Lengua, Literatura y Cultura (UNED)
Unit 3: Consonants
Eva Estebas Vilaplana
passive articulator

active
articulator

closing holding opening

phase phase phase

Figure 2. Schematic representation of the phases used in the production of plosives.

Nasals (such as [m], [n], []) are also produced with a complete closure of the
articulators in the oral cavity, similar to that of plosives. However, in nasals the air
coming from the lungs is not released through the mouth but through the nose (see
Figure 8 in this section for more details). Plosives and nasals are sometimes known as
stops indicating that both types of sounds are produced with a total blockage of the air
in the oral cavity, even though the way this air is released is different (orally in plosives
and nasally in nasals).

2. A close narrowing of the articulators (as in fricatives [s], [f], []). In this case, the
articulators show a narrow approximation (without closure) which causes friction of the
outgoing airstream. The schematic representation of a fricative is provided in the
following figure.

narrow
approximation

Figure 3. Schematic representation of a fricative.

3. A partial closure (as in laterals [l]). This involves a closure of the tip of the tongue
against the alveolar ridge but with the sides of the tongue lowered. That is, the sides of
the tongue do not touch the upper teeth and therefore the air escapes through the lateral
passages. In order to understand the production of a lateral, you can produce an [l] and
then breath in. You will feel that the sides of the mouth get cold since they are not in
contact with the upper teeth.

4. An intermittent closure (as in trills [r] or taps []). A tap is produced with a quick
closure of the articulators and a trill involves a series of quick closures. This is
schematized in Figure 4 for both types of sounds. A clear example of the distinction
between taps and trills can be found in the Spanish minimal pair pero (produced with a
tap [peo]) and perro (produced with a trill [pero]). No taps or trills are found in RP

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 Asignatura: Pronunciacin de la lengua inglesa
Grado en Estudios Ingleses: Lengua, Literatura y Cultura (UNED)
Unit 3: Consonants
Eva Estebas Vilaplana
English. In American English taps are used as realizations of /t/ or /d/, as in butter
[br].
tap trill

Figure4. Schematic representation of a tap and a trill.

5. An open approximation of the articulators (as in approximants [j], [w]). For the
production of approximants, the approximation between the two articulators is so wide
that the air coming from the lungs escapes freely without causing friction. The
articulatory characteristics of approximants are very similar to those of vowels where
the tongue approximates towards some part of the palate but no friction is caused. The
schematic representation of an approximant is provided in Figure 5.

open
approximation

Figure 5. Schematic representation of an approximant.

One question that may arise from the description of approximants (such as English [j]
and [w]) is that if they are produced as vowels, why are they not classified as vowels?
The answer to that question is that even though phonetically [j] and [w] behave as
vowels, they actually function as consonants. Thus, for example, they cannot occur in
the same positions as vowels occur. As we will see in more detail in unit 3, vowels
occupy the nuclear position of a syllable and they can constitute a syllable on their own
(for example, or []). [j] and [w] cannot occur in the nuclear position of a syllable
(they must always be followed by a vowel, as in you [ju] or we [wi]) and they cannot
constitute a syllable on their own. Thus, they are classified as consonants.

6. Finally, it is possible to combine two types of constriction in the production of one

sound, as in the case of affricates ([t] and [d]), which are produced with a complete
closure (as in plosives) followed by a fricative release. The schematic representation of
an affricate is provided in Figure 6.

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 Asignatura: Pronunciacin de la lengua inglesa
Grado en Estudios Ingleses: Lengua, Literatura y Cultura (UNED)
Unit 3: Consonants
Eva Estebas Vilaplana
complete fricative
closure release

Figure 6. Schematic representation of an approximant.

The following chart includes a classification of all RP English consonants in terms of

place of articulation (horizontal axis), manner of articulation (vertical axis) and voicing.
In the boxes containing two sounds, the one on the left is voiceless (as for example [p])
and the one on the right is voiced (as for example [b]). In the boxes with only one
sound, this is always voiced (as for example [m]).

Bilabial Labiodental Dental Alveolar Post- Palatal Velar Glottal Labio-

alveolar velar
Plosive p b t d k

Fricative f v s z h

Affricate t d

Nasal m n

Approximant r j w

Lateral l

Sometimes consonants are represented in graphs that outline the articulatory movements
used to produce them. In these cases, the graphs have to show the three parameters that
we have been studying so far: 1) position of the vocal folds, 2) place of articulation and
3) degree of the constriction (manner of articulation). An example is provided in Figure
7 for the voiceless, alveolar, plosive [t] and the voiced, alveolar, plosive [d]. Note that
both representations are exactly the same, expect for the position of the vocal folds.

t d
alveolar velic
place of closure
articulation

complete
closure

no vocal vocal fold

fold vibration
vibration

Figure 7. Schematic representation of the articulatory positions for the production of [t] and [d].

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 Asignatura: Pronunciacin de la lengua inglesa
Grado en Estudios Ingleses: Lengua, Literatura y Cultura (UNED)
Unit 3: Consonants
Eva Estebas Vilaplana

The following graphs show the articulatory movements for the production of a voiced,
alveolar, plosive [d] and a voiced, alveolar, nasal [n]. Note that in this case the two
sounds are differentiated by means of the position of the velum, which is raised for the
plosive (showing a velic closure) and lowered for the nasal. Thus, whereas for [d] the
air coming from the lungs escapes trough the oral cavity, for [n] it is released through
the nasal cavity.

d n nasal
release
velic velic
closure opening

oral
release

Figure 8. Schematic representation of the articulatory positions for the production of [d] and [n].

Finally, the following representations illustrate the difference between a voiceless,

alveolar, plosive [t] and a voiceless, alveolar, fricative [s]. In this case, the difference
between these two sounds lies on the degree of stricture between the two articulators,
which involves a complete closure for the plosive and a narrow approximation for the
fricative, causing friction of the outgoing airstream.

t s

complete narrow
closure approximation

Figure 9. Schematic representation of the articulatory positions for the production of [t] and [s].

3. Types of articulations
3.1. Single and double articulations

As we have seen in the previous section, consonants are usually produced with a single
place of articulation, that is, with some kind of constriction in a particular location of

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 Asignatura: Pronunciacin de la lengua inglesa
Grado en Estudios Ingleses: Lengua, Literatura y Cultura (UNED)
Unit 3: Consonants
Eva Estebas Vilaplana
the oral cavity (for example, alveolar, bilabial, velar, palatal, etc.). Sometimes, though,
it is possible to produce sounds with a double articulation, which involves two
simultaneous constrictions at two different places of the oral cavity. The most important
characteristic of double articulations is that the two constrictions have to be of equal
rank, that is, they have to have the same degree of approximation or manner of
articulation. An example of a double articulation in English is the sound [w]. This
consonant is produced with two simultaneous constrictions, one at the lips (bilabial) and
the other one at the velum (velar). For both places of articulation, the degree of
constriction is that of an open approximation. Thus, this sound it described as a labio-
velar, approximant. A schematized representation is illustrated in Figure 10.

w
open approximation
open approximation at the velum
at the lips

Figure 10. Schematic representation of the articulatory positions for the production of [w].

3.2. Primary and secondary articulations

A primary articulation is the most important (and often the only) articulation of a
consonant. For example, [t] has an alveolar primary articulation and [k] has a velar
primary articulation. In some cases, primary articulations can be accompanied by a
secondary articulation, which involves a simultaneous constriction to the primary one
but of lower rank. This means that the manner of articulation of the second constriction
has to be more open than that of the primary one. For example, the voiceless, alveolar,
plosive [t] can sometimes be labialized, that is, it can be produced with an open
approximation of the lips (lip rounding). This occurs when the sound that follows [t] is
rounded, as in two [tu]. The lip rounding for the vowel is anticipated during the
production of the consonant and thus [t] becomes labialized. The symbol to indicate
labialization is [] ([tu]). In this case, the [t] is produced with two simultaneous
constrictions: a primary alveloar constriction (produced with a complete closure) and a
secondary labial constriction (produced with an open approximation). This is illustrated
in Figure 11.

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 Asignatura: Pronunciacin de la lengua inglesa
Grado en Estudios Ingleses: Lengua, Literatura y Cultura (UNED)
Unit 3: Consonants
Eva Estebas Vilaplana

t
complete closure
at the alveolar ridge

open approximation
at the lips

Figure 11. Schematic representation of the articulatory positions for the production of [t].

Another common example of a secondary articulation in English is a velarized [l] (often

known as dark [l]). As we will see in more detail in section 5.3., the voiced, alveolar,
lateral [l] in English is sometimes produced with a velar secondary articulation which
involves an open approximation of the back of the tongue towards the velum. A
velarised [l] is transcribed as [l].

Finally, it is important to remember that the main difference between a double

articulation and a secondary articulation lies on the degree of constriction (same degree
in double articulations and lower degree in secondary articulations).

Self-evaluation activities

Exercise 1

Identify the consonants represented in the following figures and give a three-term
description of them (voice, place and manner of articulation).

Consonant 1 Consonant 2 Consonant 3

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 Asignatura: Pronunciacin de la lengua inglesa
Grado en Estudios Ingleses: Lengua, Literatura y Cultura (UNED)
Unit 3: Consonants
Eva Estebas Vilaplana

Exercise 2

Draw the figures that would represent the following sounds. You can first give a three-
term description of them to help you indentify the parameters you have to depict.

[p] [] [z]

Exercise 3

Give a three-term description, both for consonants and vowels, of the sounds that make
up the following words. First, provide a phonetic transcription of the word.

Example: red [red] [r] voiced, post-alveolar, approximant

[e] front, between half-open and half-close, unrounded
[d] voiced, alveolar, plosive

1. bang 6. vision
2. good 7. choice
3. Jill 8. father
4. hurt 9. yolk
5. shoes 10. wire

4. Types of consonants
4.1. Obstruents vs. sonorants
Sometimes consonants can be classified into further groups according to shared
articulatory characteristics. For example, obstruents are sounds produced with a
blockage of the airflow in the oral cavity that causes noise. Obstruents include plosives,
fricatives and affricaetes. Sonorants, on the other hand, are sounds produced with a free
escaping of the airflow that casues no noise. Sonorant sounds are approximants, laterals,
nasals and vowels. Note that nasals are produced with a complete closure in the oral
cavity (as for plosives) but the air escapes freely through the nose and therefore there is
no actual obstruction of the outgoing airflow.

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 Asignatura: Pronunciacin de la lengua inglesa
Grado en Estudios Ingleses: Lengua, Literatura y Cultura (UNED)
Unit 3: Consonants
Eva Estebas Vilaplana
4.2. Fortis vs. lenis
Another possible classification of sounds has to do with the amount of muscular effort
used in their production. Sounds produced with more muscular effort are known as
fortis whereas sounds produced with less muscular effort are known as lenis. Fortis
sounds are voiceless and lenis sounds are voiced or devoiced.

5. Allophonic variation in English consonants

As presented in Unit 1, the phonemes of a language can have different realizations
depending on the contexts they appear. As we saw in section 3.2, the voiceless, alveolar,
plosive /t/ was produced with labialization or lip rounding ([t]) when followed by a
rounded vowel as in two [tu]. This indicates that the English alveolar /t/ has a
labialized allophone [t] which occurs in certain environments, namely, before sounds
produced with lip rounding. There are lots of other instances of allophonic variation in
English consonants. In this section we will concentrate on three other cases: 1)
aspiration, 2) devoicing and 3) velarization.

5.1. Aspiration
As illustrated in tip 13 in the book, English voiceless plosives [p], [t] and [k] are
aspirated ([p], [t] and [k]) in certain environments. Aspiration means that there is a
delay in the onset of vocal fold vibration for the vowel after the release of the plosive.
Thus, the vowel is partially devoiced. Aspiration in English takes place when [p], [t] or
[k] are located at the beginning of a stressed syllable. If the syllable is unstressed,
aspiration does not usually occur. Thus, for example, in the word paper the first [p] is
aspirated because it belongs to a stressed syllable but the second one is not because it
belongs to an unstressed syllable ([pep]). This is illustrated in Figure 12 which
presents the activity of the vocal folds in the production of the word paper. The
horizontal straight line indicates no vocal fold vibration and the wavy line shows vocal
fold vibration.

aspiration no aspiration

p e p

Figure 12. Schematic representation of the activity of the vocal folds for the word paper.

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 Asignatura: Pronunciacin de la lengua inglesa
Grado en Estudios Ingleses: Lengua, Literatura y Cultura (UNED)
Unit 3: Consonants
Eva Estebas Vilaplana
Aspiration is also blocked (does not take place) when [p], [t] and [k] are preceded by
[s]. Thus, the [p] in pie is aspirated [pa] but that of spy [spa] is not, even though the
syllable is stressed. A schematized representation of the activity of the vocal folds in
these two words is represented in Figure 13.

aspiration no aspiration

p a s p a

Figure 13. Schematic representation of the activity of the vocal folds for the words pie and spy.

5.2. Devoicing
Devoicing is a phenomenon which involves the partial or total loss of voicing of
originally voiced sounds in certain contexts. There are several cases of devoicing in
English. In this course we will examine two devoicing processes: 1) the devoicing of
voiced obstruents and 2) the devoicing of voiced approximants and laterals.

English voiced obstruents (plosives, fricatives and affricates) are devoiced when the
originally voiced sound is located before or after a pause or is in contact with a
voiceless sound. When the voiced obstruent is next to a voiced sound (including
vowels) devoicing does not apply and the obstruent is fully voiced. The following
examples show the contexts in which the voiced, alveolar, plosive ([d]) is devoiced and
the contexts in which it is fully voiced. The symbol # indicates the presence of pause.

Devoiced [d]

# day [de] (after a pause)

red # [red] (before a pause)
hot day [ht de] (after a voiceless consonant)
red car [red k] (before a voiceless consonant)

Fully voiced (not devoiced) [d]

the day [ de] (after a voiced sound)

red light [red lat] (before a voiced sound)

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 Asignatura: Pronunciacin de la lengua inglesa
Grado en Estudios Ingleses: Lengua, Literatura y Cultura (UNED)
Unit 3: Consonants
Eva Estebas Vilaplana

Since devoicing involves the total or partial loss of the voiced condition of sounds,
devoiced consonants are produced in a similar way to voiceless consonants, that is, with
no vocal fold vibration. When devoicing takes places, minimal pairs such as goat and
coat are no longer distinguished by means of the voiced/voiceless condition of [] and
[k] since in this position both sounds show no vocal fold vibration ([] and [k]). As
indicated in section 5.1 and in tip 14 in the book, the cue used to distinguish between
[] and [k] in the goat and coat minimal pair is aspiration. Thus, coat will be produced
with a voiceless, aspirated [k]. If foreign students of English fail to produce aspiration
in coat, English native speakers will understand goat. A schematized representation of
the activity of the vocal folds in the goat and coat pair is shown in Figure 14.

devoiced voiceless k aspiration

t k t
Figure 14. Schematic representation of the activity of the vocal folds for the words goat and coat.

Finally, when devoicing takes place at the end of a word, the cue that distinguishes a
word ending with a devoiced sound, such as sag [s], from a word ending with an
originally voiceless sound, such as sack [sk], is the duration of the preceding vowel,
which is shorter in sack than in sag. As presented in the previous unit (Vowels), the
shortening of a vowel before a voiceless sound is known as pre-fortis clipping. Vowels
before a fortis (voiceless) sound are shorter than vowels before a lenis
(voiced/devoiced) sound. Thus, when the voicing contrast is lost word-finally, as in the
sag/sack minimal pair, the only way to distinguish between these words is through
vowel length differences. A schematic representation of pre-fortis clipping for the
sag/sack minimal pair is provided in Figure 15.

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 Asignatura: Pronunciacin de la lengua inglesa
Grado en Estudios Ingleses: Lengua, Literatura y Cultura (UNED)
Unit 3: Consonants
Eva Estebas Vilaplana

pre-fortis clipping
(shorter vowel)
s k

Figure 15. Schematic representation of pre-fortis clipping for the words sag and sack.

Apart from voiced obstruents, the other group of sounds that also undergoes a devoicing
process in English is that of approximants and laterals. English approximants [j], [w]
and [r] and lateral [l] are devoiced when they are preceded by [p], [t] or [k] at the
beginning of a stressed syllable. The phonetic characteristics of the devoicing of [j],
[w], [r] and [l] after [p], [t] or [k] in stressed syllables in English are the same as those
of aspiration. That is, the onset of vocal fold vibration for [j], [w], [r] and [l] after the
release of voiceless plosives is delayed. As in the case of aspiration, when [p], [t] and
[k] are preceded by [s] there is no devoicing of [j], [w], [r] and [l]. Thus, for example,
the [r] in pray is devoiced ([pre]) and the [r] in spray is not ([spre]). See tip 28 in the
book for more examples of this phenomenon. Finally, Figure 16 shows a schematic
representation of vocal fold vibration in the words pay, pray and spray. Note that
phonetically the aspiration in pay and the devoicing in pray involve the same delay in
the onset of vocal fold vibration.

aspiration devoicing no devoicing

p e p r e s p r e

Figure 16. Schematic representation of the activity of the vocal folds for the words pay, pray and spray.

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 Asignatura: Pronunciacin de la lengua inglesa
Grado en Estudios Ingleses: Lengua, Literatura y Cultura (UNED)
Unit 3: Consonants
Eva Estebas Vilaplana

Self-evaluation activity

Exercise 4

Look at the following words or sequences of words and decide whether the underlined
sounds should be devoiced or not. Give reasons for your decision.

Examples: breathe [bri]

Both [b] and [] should be devoiced because they are voiced obstruents ([b] is a plosive and [] a
fricative) and they occur next to a pause ([bri]).

1. run [rn] 4. the girls [ lz]

2. frame [frem] 5. twist [twst]

3. track [trk] 6. George [dd]

5.3. Velarization
As presented in section 3.2, in British English the voiced, alveolar, lateral [l] is
sometimes velarized ([l]), that is, it is produced with an open approximation of the back
of the tongue towards the velum. Velarization is a secondary articulation which takes
places simultaneously to the primary (alveolar) one. The following graph shows the two
types of articulatory trajectories.

l
partial closure open approximation
for the lateral at the velum

Figure 11. Schematic representation of the articulatory positions for the production of [l].

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 Asignatura: Pronunciacin de la lengua inglesa
Grado en Estudios Ingleses: Lengua, Literatura y Cultura (UNED)
Unit 3: Consonants
Eva Estebas Vilaplana

The realization of British English [l] as alveolar (clear [l]) or as a velarized alveolar
(dark [l]) depends on the phonetic context in which this sound occurs. Clear [l] only
appears before vowels and [j] and dark [l] only before consonants (except for [j]) or
before a pause. This is illustrated below.

clear [l] dark [l]

light [lat] (before a vowel) milk [mlk] (before a consonant)
lure [lj] (before [j]) mill # [ml] (before a pause)

Solutions to the self-evaluation activities

Exercise 1
Consonant 1: [] voiced, velar, plosive
Consonant 2: [j] voiced, palatal, approximant
Consonant 3: [] voiceless, post-alveolar, fricative

Exercise 2
[p] (voicelss, bilabial, plosive) [] (voiced, velar, nasal) [z] (voiced, alveolar, fricative)

Exercise 3
1. bang [b] [b] voiced, bilabial, plosive, [] front, between half-open and open, unrounded, []
voiced, velar, nasal
2. good [d] [] voiced, velar, plosive, [] back, between close and half-close, rounded, [d] voiced,
alveolar, plosive
3. Jill [dl] [d] voiced, post-alveolar, affricate, [] front, between close and half-close, unrounded,
[l] voiced, alveolar, lateral
4. hurt [ht] [h] voiceless, glottal, fricative, [] central, between half-close and half-open,
unrounded (long), [t] voiceless, alveolar, plosive
5. shoes [uz] [] voiceless, post-alveolar fricative, [u] back, close, rounded, [z] voiced, alveolar,
fricative
6. vision [vn] [v] voiced, labiodental, fricative, [] front, between close and half-close, unrounded, []
voiced, post-alveolar, fricative, [] central, between half-close and half-open, unrounded (short), [n]
voiced, alveolar, nasal
7. choice [ts] [t] voiceless, post-alveolar, affricate, [] closing diphthong (from back, between half-
close and half-open, rounded to front, between close and half-close, unrounded), [s] voiceless, alveolar,
fricative
8. father [f] [f] voiceless, labiodental, fricative, [] back, open, unrounded, [] voiced, dental,
fricative, [] central, between half-close and half-open, unrounded (short)

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 Asignatura: Pronunciacin de la lengua inglesa
Grado en Estudios Ingleses: Lengua, Literatura y Cultura (UNED)
Unit 3: Consonants
Eva Estebas Vilaplana
9. yolk [jk] [j] voiced, palatal, approximant, [] closing diphthong (from central, between half-
close and half-open, unrounded to back, between close and half-close, rounded, [k] voiceless, velar,
plosive
10. wire [wa] [w] voiced, labio-velar, approximant, [a] triphthong made up of a closing diphthong
(from central, open, unrounded to front, between close and half-close, unrounded) followed by []
(central, between half-close and half-open, unrounded)

Exercise 4
1. run [rn]
Neither [r] nor [n] should not be devoiced because they are not obstruents. [r] nor [n] are sonorants. [rn]
2. frame [frem]
The [r] should not be devoiced because it is not preceded by a voiceless, plosive. [frem]
3. track [trk]
The [r] should be devoiced because it is an approximant preceded by a voiceless, plosive in a stressed
syllable. The [k] cannot be devoiced because it is already voiceless. [trk]
4. the girls [ lz]
[] and [z] should be devoiced because they are voiced obstruents (fricatives) and they occur next to a
pause. [] is also a voiced obstruent (plosive) but in this context is not devoiced because it is preceded by
a voiced sound ([]). Thus, [] remains fully voiced. [ lz]
5. twist [twst]
[w] should be devoiced because it is an approximant preceded by a voiceless, plosive in a stressed
syllable. [t] cannot be devoiced because it is already voiceless. [twst]
6. George [dd]
Both [d] sounds should be devoiced because they are voiced obstruents (affricates) and they occur next
to a pause. [dd]

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