PHONETICS 2

PLACE OF ARTICULATION

/ fǝˈnetɪks / 1

2.
Place of
Articulation

1
 Place of Articulation-1
*In speech, consonants may
have different places of
articulation, generally with
full or partial stoppage of
the airstream.

*The descriptions on the

following slides list positions
where the obstruction may
occur. These are known as
the Places of Articulation
3

Place of Articulation-2

A sound's place of articulation is usually named by

using the Latin adjective for the active articulator
(ending with an "o") followed by the Latin adjective
for the passive articulator.
Example:
A sound where the lower lip (the
“labia") approaches or touches the
upper teeth is called a “labio-dental“
sound.

Most of the common combinations of active and passive

articulator have abbreviated names (usually leaving out
the active half). 4

2
 1.Bilabial consonants
The articulators for
bilabial sounds are the
two lips. These sounds
are, therefore, called
bilabials.

It could be said that the lower lip is the active articulator

and the upper lip is the passive articulator, though the
upper lip usually moves too, at least a little.

English bilabial sounds include [p], [b] and [m].

Among these [p] is voiceless while [b] and [m] are
voiced. 5

2. Labio-dental consonants

*The articulators for labio-dental sounds are the

lower lip and the upper front teeth.
*The lower lip is the active articulator and the upper
teeth are the passive articulators.
*When we articulate these sounds the lower lip
touches the upper teeth.
*In English there are 2 labio-dental sounds: [f] and [v]
*[f] is voiceless while [v] is voiced 6

3
3. Inter-dental consonants
*Inter-dental consonants are
produced by placing the tongue tip
between (inter-) the upper and
lower teeth (dental).
*English has 2 inter-dental sounds:
[Ɵ] and [ð].

*Both of them are represented with

‘th’ in spelling.
Examples:
[Ɵ] = thing, ether, length
[ð] = that, mother, breathe

*[Ɵ] is voiceless and [ð] is voiced 7

4. Alveolar consonants-1

is the semi-soft
area on the roof
of the mouth
between the
teeth and the
hard palate.

4
 4. Alveolar consonants-2
*Alveolar sounds are articulated
by rising the front part of the
tongue to the alveolar ridge.
While pronouncing ‘alveolars’
the tongue touches or almost
touches the bony tooth ridge.

*When producing alveolar

sounds, the alveolar ridge as
the passive articulator. The
active articulator may be either
the tongue blade or (usually)
the tongue tip.
9

‘Tongue Blade’ and ‘Tongue Tip’

Linguogram showing
tongue blade and body Linguogram showing
contact. tongue tip contact and
sublaminal contact
(contact under the
tongue.) 10

5
 4. Alveolar consonants-3
*There are 7 alveolar sounds in English
*Can you guess which ones are they?

*[t], [d], [n], [s], [z], [r], [l]

*Which of these sounds are voiced and

which ones are voiceless?

*VOICED: [d], [n], [z], [r], [l]

*VOICELESS: [t], [s] 11

4. Alveolar consonants-4

!ATTENTION: Even though

[l] and [r] are alveolar sounds as
[t], [d], [n], [s] and [z] their
pronunciation has ‘extra features’.

!To produce the lateral

approximant [l], the tongue is
raised to the alveolar ridge
with the sides of the tongue
down, permitting the air to
escape laterally over the sides
of the tongue.
12

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 4. Alveolar consonants-5
!!The sound [r] is produced
in a variety of ways.
1. Many English speakers
produce [r] by curling the
tip of the tongue back
behind the alveolar ridge.
Such sounds are also
called retroflex sounds.

2. In some languages the [r] may be an alveolar

trill, produced by the tip of the tongue vibrating
against the roof of the mouth.
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Exercise 3: Identify the VD/VL feature and the place of

articulation of sounds given in the Table as
shown in the Example 1.
N Sound VD/VL Place of articulation
1. p Voiceless (VL) Bilabial
2. z
3. f
4. n
5. Ɵ
6. r
7. v
8. t
9. d
10. m
14
11. ð

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Exercise 3: Identify the VD/VL feature and the place of
articulation of sounds given in the Table as
shown in the Example 1.
N Sound VD/VL Place of articulation
1. p Voiceless (VL) Bilabial
2. z Voiced (VD) Alveolar
3. f VL Labio-dental
4. n VD Alveolar
5. Ɵ VL Interdental
6. r VD Alveolar
7. v VD Labio-dental
8. t VL Alveolar
9. d VD Alveolar
10. m VD Bilabial
15
11. ð VD Interdental

5. Palato-alveolar/Post-alveolar consonants-1

16

8
 5. Palato-alveolar/Post-alveolar consonants-3

*Postalveolar sounds
involve the area just
behind the alveolar
ridge as the passive
articulator.
*The active articulator
may be either the
tongue tip or (usually)
the tongue blade.
17

5. Palato-alveolar/Post-alveolar consonants-4
Linguists have traditionally used very
inconsistent terminology in referring to the post-
alveolar sounds. Some of the terms you may
encounter for it include:
palato-alveolar
alveo-palatal
alveolo-palatal
palatal (especially among English-speakers)

"Postalveolar“ is the official term used by the

International Phonetic Association (IPA).
Therefore, it is unambiguous, not to mention
easier to spell than others:)). 18

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5. Palato-alveolar/Post-alveolar consonants-5
There are 4 post alveolar sounds
in English:
European IPA: [ʃ], [ʒ], [ʧ], [ʤ]
American IPA: [š], [ž], [č], [ǰ]
Examples?:
1. [ʃ]/[š] = voiceless
ship, issue, wish
2. [ʒ]/ [ž] = voiced
pleasure, measure
3. [ʧ]/ [č] = voiceless
chair, teacher, church
4. [ʤ]/[ǰ] = voiced
judge, January 19

5. Palatal consonants-1

20

10
 6. Palatal consonants-2
*There is only one palatal
sound in English - [j].
*This is the first consonant in
words such as ‘yes’, ‘yellow’,
‘yard’ and ‘you’

*[j] is a voiced consonant

*In ‘you’ the front of the tongue is raised toward
the hard palate.
Examples:
Initial position: year, yet, yawn
Mid position: make, take
Final position: I, ray, tie 21

7. Velar consonants
*The consonants that have the
farthest back place of articulation in
English are those that occur at the
end of hack [k], hag [g], hang [ŋ].

*In all these sound the back of the

tongue is raised so that it touches
the velum or the soft palate.

Examples:
Initial position: kite – gate – no word in English
begins with [ŋ] sound
Mid position: masculine -magazine - singing
Final position: back - bag - bang
22

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 8. Glottal consonants
*The [h] sound that starts words like
house, who and hair and the sound
[ʔ] uttered in words like butter [bʌʔ],
bottle [bɔʔl] are glottal sounds.
*Both of these sounds are voiceless.

*For the production of [h] sound, the glottis is open; no

other modification of the airstream mechanisms
occurs in the mouth. The tongue and lips are usually
in position appropriate for the production of the
following vowel as the airstearm passes through the
open glottis.
23

Exercise 4: Identify the VD/VL feature and the place of

articulation of sounds given in the Table as
shown in the Example 1.
N Sound VD/VL Place of articulation
1. p Voiceless (VL) Bilabial
2. k
3. ʃ
4. j
5. g
6. ʔ
7. ʤ
8. h
9. ʒ
10. ŋ
24
11. ʧ

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Exercise 5: Circle the odd member in each of
the groups given below and explain how it is
different from other sounds
N M1 M2 M3 M4
1. p m b f
2. h s r t
3. p t k g
4. j ʧ ð ʃ
5. l d n ŋ
6. ð ʔ j ʒ
7. k n ŋ g
8. ʤ ð ʃ m
9. d l Ɵ m
10. f s r h 25

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