34 A TOUR OF THE CONSONANTS A TOUR OF THE CONSONANTS 3�

consonants (non-pulmonic)
Chapter summary 51
Further reading 52 clicks voiced implosives ejectives

Review exercises 52 0 bilabial 6 bilabial

' examples:

Further analysis and discussion 53 I dental cf den ta I/alveolar p' bilabial

Go online 54 I (post)alveolar
f palatal t' dental/alveolar
References 54 =f palatoalveolar
g velar k' velar

II alveolar lateral cf uvular s' alveolar fricative

This chapter provides a whirlwind tour of the consonants of the world. The full IPA chart other symbols
is introduced in Section 3.1, and Sections 3.2 and 3.3 work through it systematically, discuss­ M. voiceless labial-velar fricative C i alveolo-palatal fricatives
ing the factors that combine to create each sound, as well as the combinations of factors that
W voiced labial-velar approximant J voiced alveolar lateral flap
do not work. We begin with place and manner of pulmonic consonants, and then discuss
non-pulmonic consonants, with notes on diacritics and other symbols included along the l[ voiced labial-palatal approximant fj J
simultaneous and X
way. For most readers, most of the symbols in this chart will be unfamiliar, and the sounds H voiceless epiglottal fricative
affricates and double articulations
they represent may seem strange. It might be tempting to call some these sounds "exotic," � voiced epiglottal fricative can be represented by two symbols kp ts
to be found, like rare orchids, only in the dense rainforests or remote mountaintops. Our joined by a tie bar if necessary.
� epiglottal plosive
tour of these sounds will in fact take us to every inhabited continent, and to some remote
places. You may be surprised, however, to discover how many of these sounds are lurking in
common English pronunciations, given the right environments. We finish the chapter, diacritics diacritics may be placed above a symbol with a descender, e.g. 1)
Section 3.4, with a discussion of some details of the pronunciation of English.
voiceless n ct •• breathy voiced R dental !g
g !g
0 0 0

v voiced § ! _ creaky voiced � apical

3.1 "exotic" sounds and the phonetic environment
u

11 aspirated th ctn _ linguolabial t g laminal t ct

e
C C

more rounded � w labialized tw ctw nasalized

Figures 3.1 and 3.2 provide the IPA symbols for consonants. These cover all the consonants
less rounded � j palatalized tJ ctj n nasal release ctn
of the languages of the world - at least it is the goal of the International Phonetic Association C
1 lateral release
advanced u+ Y velarized ty ctY ctl
+
1
retracted e pharyngealized t'i' ct1 no audible release ct'
..
consonants (pulmonic)
the international phonetic alphabet (revised to 2005)
centralized e - velarized or pharyngealized }
© 2005 ipa
y = voiced alveolar fricative)
X
mid-centralized e ... raised (j
bilabial labiodental dental / alveolar /post alveolar retroflex palatal velar uvular pharyngeal glottal syllabic lowered y (i? = voiced bilabial approximant)
p b
I
plosive t d ' 1)
t ct J k g q
x
T
C G
nasal m 7/ � non-syllabic , advanced tongue root e
Il) n 1l J1 I] N
"' rhoticity �a, retracted tongue root e
trill B r R
0

Figure 3.2 Other IPA consonant symbols.

tap or flap V' [ r . . . . . .

al s z I
Source: International Phonetic Association (Department of Theoretical and Applied L1ngu1st1cs, School of English, Aristotle
fricative <I> 13 f V 8 J 3 � � 9 J X y X K h ) h fi University ofThessaloniki, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece).
lateral
fricative i !3
approximant V 1 -l J U[ that they do so. The chart has several different par�s: pu'.mon�c consonants (Figure 3.1) and
lateral
approximant l I.. L
non-pulmonic consonants, other symbols, and d1acnttcs (Figure 3.2). (Vowels, suprase�­
mentals, and tone are covered in Chapter 4.) The most extensive is the chart of pulmomc
where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a voiced consonant
. shaded areas denote articulations judged impossible. consonants. Again, place of articulation runs across the top of the chart, and manner down
the side, so each block represents a particular combination of place and m�nn�r. Where t�ere
Figure 3.1 IPA symbols for pulmonic consonants. Source: Internation
al Phonetic Association (Department of Theoretical are two symbols in a block, the one on the left is voiceless. Empty blocks md1cate c�mb�na­
and Applied Linguistics, School of English, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloni
ki 54124, Greece). tions that have not been found in any language; shaded empty blocks indicate combmattons