Consonant Sounds

/b/ -bad, lab /m /-man, lemon

/d/ -did, lady /n/ -no, ten
/f /-find, if // - sing, finger
/g /-give, flag /p /- pet, map
/h /-how, hello /r /-red, try
/j /-yes, yellow /s /-sun, miss
/k/ -cat, back / /-she, crash
/l /-leg, little /t /-tea, getting
 /t/ check, church
// think, both
/ /this, mother
/v /voice, five
/w/ wet, window
/z /zoo, lazy
/ /pleasure, vision
/d/ just, large
 The t sound becomes voiced and is
pronounced like a quick d sound when it occurs in
the middle of a word after a vowel sound or r sound
(including all r-controlled vowels) and before a
vowel sound, r sound (including all r-controlled
vowels) or a syllabic l sound.

Example: Water Wader

City Cidy
 The t is a regular, aspirated t sound when it
is the first sound of a word or a stressed
syllable .

Example: Tape
Pat
Trap
The [t]is held when there is an [n] after [t], strictly
saying, it is not a [t] at all. If you have [n] immediately
after [t], you don't pop the [t]the tongue is in the [t]
position, but your release the air for the [n] not the [t].
An important point to remember is that you need a
sharp upward sliding intonation up to the "held T,"
then a quick drop for the N.

Example: Written-Wrin
Kitten-Kin
 The letter t is optionally omitted (not said) when it follows
an n sound and precedes a vowel sound, r sound (including
all r-controlled vowels) or a syllabic l sound.
In addition to the above instances of omitting the t sound,
it is often omitted when it occurs between two consonant
sounds (except the consonants specifically mentioned for
the quick d sound and glottal stop).

Example: Winter-Winner
Interview-Innerview
Center-Cenner
To form the American English "r", follow these steps in this
order:
Make a circle with your lips.
Open your mouth slightly
Curl the tip of your tongue up toward the roof of your
mouth,
but make sure it does NOT touch anything.
With the tip of your tongue curled up, you should also be
able to feel the middle part of your tongue raised up toward
the roof of your mouth, just where the arch is (the part of
the roof of your mouth that is the highest).
You may also be able to feel the sides of your tongue
pressing against your upper side teeth in the back of your
mouth
 The M consonant. This sound is simply made by
pressing the lips together lightly, mm, mm, while
making a sound with the vocal cords, mm, mm.
The M consonant sound is one of the few sounds
in American English where the soft palate remains
down like the mouth at rest. This allows air to pass up
over the soft palate, which results in the sound feeling
somewhat in the nose, which is why it is categorized as
a nasal consonant
 The Voiceless th- keep your mouth slightly open so
there is just enough space to place the tip of your
tongue between your upper and lower teeth. Flatten
the tip of your tongue and touch the tip of your upper
teeth. Push out a voiceless stream of air over the
tongue through your teeth.
The Voiced th - keep your mouth slightly open so
there is just enough space to place the tip of your
tongue between your upper and lower teeth. Flatten
the tip of your tongue and touch the tip of your upper
teeth. Push out a voiced air over the tongue through
your teeth.
 There is a voiced and unvoiced f sounds. These
sounds happen when we place our bottom lip lightly
against our upper teeth, and push air through the
small space between the teeth and the lip.

Examples: leaf, leave

few, view
refuse, reviews
proof, prove
 The s sound is much like the unvoiced while the z
sound is the voiced.
In pronouncing s is made with the teeth nearly
closed in a natural bite position and the lips parted as
though smiling. The sides of the tongue are raised
against the upper side teeth. The tip of the tongue may
vary as to the position but is usually raise to
approximate a place behind the upper front teeth. The
tongue should form a groove down the center, through
which the breath is directed in a continuous stream.
While z is much more stressed.
's' is often pronounced /z/ when it comes between two
vowel sounds (NB: not vowels, but vowel sounds), unless
it's doubled.

House = /s/ because the 's' is the final sound in the word
Housing = /z/ because the 's' is surrounded by /au/ and /I/

But there are so many exceptions it's ridiculous.

There's often a difference to distinguish two similar words:
loose = /s/
lose = /z/
yet there's sometimes no difference when there should be
and it would be useful:
desert = /z/
dessert = /z/
 Stops[p,t,k,b,d,g]- Light puffs or expulsion;produced
with the air passage completely closed and then
suddenly opened permitting release of air.
Fricatives[f,v,,,h,s,,z ,]- Produced with a
narrowing of the oral cavity and grooving of the
tongue.
Affricatives[t, d]- Both stops and fricatives, temporary
closure and release, and grooving of the tongue.
Nasal[m,n]-produced when the air stream passes throught
the nose cavity.
 Lateral[l]- Produced eith the center of the oral cavity
obstructed by the tongue so that the air passes along
one or both sides of the tongue.

Retroflex[r]- Begins with a backward movement of

the tongue.

Semi Vowels[w,y]- Have the characteristics of both

vowels and consonants; free flow air and stricture in
the oral cavity.