English consonants - Where and how they are made

In July 2011, I listed the family of consonants in English via the the quality of their sound.  Here they are again.

This time they are listed according to where they are made.  As you explore the list, imagine that I am moving from the front of face into the mouth travelling towards the rear of the mouth and throat.

In all cases, the technical term is followed by an explanation and the sound or sound pairs in words:

• bi-labial (both lips)  as in put and butter; mountain; and the semi-vowel represented by w and wh

•  labio-dental (top teeth and bottom lip)  as in fine and vine

• pre-dental  (tongue tip and top teeth) as in with and then

• alveolar (dental ridge and tongue tip or tongue blade in a range of complete or partial connections) as in ten and den; said and zest; nest; ran; limit, William and well

• palato-alveolar (towards rear of dental ridge and tongue blade) as in shall and pleasure; church and judge

• palatal (central hard palate and central tongue) in the semi-vowel represented by the letter y as in yellow and yacht

• velar (uvula and the back of the tongue) as in king and gun; and the sound represented by the letters ng in words like king, fang and song

• glottal (back of the throat and just above the vocal folds) as in hello

 It is normal for people who speak several languages to approximate these sounds to ones that they use in their mother tongue and those that are most familiar to them.

Of interest is that people who are learning English for the first time will hear some of these sounds differently cmpared with many native English speakers. 

It is common practise to teach the sounds of the language through both the quality of the sound and the place of its creation.  Yes, it is a slow process, but worth the time and effort.

Explore more about accent adjustments and make contact with me to discuss your individual requirements.