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Figure2.2Divisions of the tongue.The position shown inFigure 2.1 is actually a slightly unusual one, but it's useful fordemonstration purposes.Finally, the part of the tongue in the pharynx is the root.2.2 Describing consonantsA consonant is a speech sound which involves an obstruction of the airstream as it passes through the vocal tract.Take some of the pairs which can be easily lengthened, such as /f v/ and /s z/, andalternate between the voiceless and the voiced consonants and feel how the vibrationin your larynx stops and starts.Note that in our diagrams of consonant articulations we use a plus sign at the larynx to indicate that the consonant is voiced, and a minus sign if it's voiceless.Describing a consonant involves describing the nature of the obstruction, and there are three factors to be taken into consideration: voicing, place of articulationand manner of articulation.2.2.1 VoicingVoicing refers to the actions of the vocal folds during the articulation of a consonant.?/, /p b/, /t d/, /k g/Consonants 11Table2.1English voiced and voiceless consonantsVoicing Description SoundsVoiced Voiceless The vocal folds are held gently together sothat the airflow from the lungs causes themto vibrate.The vocal folds are held apart as in theposition for normal breathing./b d g ?When not speaking, a healthy person would hold the jaws closer together with the lips and teeth touching, the tongue would fill the oral cavity,touching the roof of the mouth from the alveolar ridge to the soft palate, and the soft palate would be lowered (as in the diagram) to allow for normal breathing in and out via thenose.The tongue has few obvious natural divisions in the way that the vocal tract does.These pairs are /f v/, /?f ?s ??/.

Figure2.2Divisions of the tongue.The position shown inFigure 2.1 is actually a slightly unusual one, but it’s useful fordemonstration purposes. It shows the position assumed when breathing through the noseand mouth simultaneously. When not speaking, a healthy person would hold the jaws closer together with the lips and teeth touching, the tongue would fill the oral cavity,touching the roof of the mouth from the alveolar ridge to the soft palate, and the soft palate would be lowered (as in the diagram) to allow for normal breathing in and out via thenose.The tongue has few obvious natural divisions in the way that the vocal tract does. However, phoneticians find it convenient to divide it into a number of parts for the sake of convenience when describing sounds and their articulations (see Figure 2.2).The very point of the tongue is known as the tip; the part of the tongue which narrows to the tip and which lies under the alveolar ridge is the blade of the tongue. The part which lies under the hard palate and the part under the soft palate are called the front and back of the tongue respectively. This may seem strange at first, but front and back refer to the part ofthe tongue used in the articulation of vowels (see section 5.1.1) – the front is the part of the tongue used to form front vowels, and the back is the part used to form back vowels. The tip and blade remain low in the mouth and aren’t involved in making vowels. Finally, the part of the tongue in the pharynx is the root.2.2 Describing consonantsA consonant is a speech sound which involves an obstruction of the airstream as it passes through the vocal tract. Describing a consonant involves describing the nature of the obstruction, and there are three factors to be taken into consideration: voicing, place of articulationand manner of articulation.2.2.1 VoicingVoicing refers to the actions of the vocal folds during the articulation of a consonant. Different actions of the vocal folds produce voiced and voiceless sounds (Table 2.1).It’s easiest to appreciate the voicing in sounds like /v ð z ʒ m n ŋ l r/ because these can beprolonged. Put your hand on your throat as you say them and feel the vibration. Note how the vibration stops and starts as you stop and start the consonant.A number of English consonants come in pairs, the only difference between them being that one is voiceless and one is voiced. These pairs are /f v/, /θ ð/, /s z/, /ʃ ʒ/, /p b/, /t d/, /k ɡ/Consonants 11Table2.1English voiced and voiceless consonantsVoicing Description SoundsVoiced Voiceless The vocal folds are held gently together sothat the airflow from the lungs causes themto vibrate.The vocal folds are held apart as in theposition for normal breathing./b d ɡ ʤ v ð z ʒ m n ŋl r j w//p t k ʧ f θ s ʃ h/and /ʧ ʤ/. Take some of the pairs which can be easily lengthened, such as /f v/ and /s z/, andalternate between the voiceless and the voiced consonants and feel how the vibrationin your larynx stops and starts.Note that in our diagrams of consonant articulations we use a plus sign at the larynx to indicate that the consonant is voiced, and a minus sign if it’s voiceless. If both signs are included (±), both voiced and voiceless articulations are possible.2.2.2 Place of articulationThe second factor to take into account when describing a consonant is where in the vocal