What are Consonant Sounds?

What are Consonant sounds? Confused...no need to be....let's put it all in context
for you:
There are 44 sounds (19 + 2! that "a#e up the sounds of our $n%lish
lan%ua%e.
19 of the sounds &e refer to as 'o&el sounds (because they use the 'o&els
a( e( i( o( u or "a#e the sounds of our 'o&els!
2 of the sounds &e refer to as consonant sounds (see belo& ) notice that
there are no 'o&els!
$ach indi'idual sound is so"eti"es referred to as a grapheme or
phoneme.
We use the letters of the alphabet to &rite sounds do&n.
There are o'er *+ &ays to spell these sounds( &hich &e refer to as
phono%ra"s

,e"e"ber consonants are all the letters that are -.T 'o&els/ $asy eh/ (0o&els for
those of you &ho are really rusty are: a(e(i(o(u!
1b1 as in bib 1d1 as in pond 1f1 as in lau%h 1%1 as in pi%
1h1 as in hop 121 as in 2a" 1#1 as in #in% 1l1 as in hall
1"1 as in thu"b 1n1 as in pen 1p1 as in pop 1r1 as in car
1s1 as in sent 1t1 as in tent 1'1 as in hi'e 1&1 as in &indo&
1y1 as in yell 131 as in 3ip 1ch1 as in chip 1sh1 as in sheep
13h1 as in 4sia 1th1 as in the 1th1 as in thin% 1h&1 &heat
1n%1 as in rin% 25 CONSONANT SOUNDS
4 co""on "ista#e is to pronounce a 5huh5 after letters. 6or exa"ple for the letter
1s1 &e say 1ssssssssss1 and not 1suh1. 7oo# at the exa"ples %i'en abo'e and try to
isolate the actual sounds to %i'e you a "ore accurate representation.
What about the letters /c/ /!/ " /#/ ?
8ou "ay ha'e noticed that the letters
1c1( 191( 1x1
do not ha'e a phone"e listed: your child &ill still learn these sounds( but they are not
listed as a pure phone"e because the sounds that they represent can be
represented by other letters or spellin%s.
6or exa"ple:
the letter c can be represented by the phone"es 1#1 or 1s1 as in cent
the letter x as in fox can be represented by t&o phone"es 1#s1
the letter 9 can be represented by t&o phone"es 1#&1
http:11&&&.ato3phonics.co"1consonantsounds.ht"l
What are the $o%el Sounds?
6ro" the 2; letters in the $n%lish alphabet( of these letters are used to "a#e 19
'o&el sounds. The other 21 letters are used to "a#e the 2 consonant sounds.
The 19 'o&el phone"es consist of:
7on% 0o&els
<hort 0o&els
= >ipthon%s
4 lon% and short oo (2 sounds!
? 'r' controlled 'o&el sounds
5 &ong $o%el Sounds
@ere are so"e exa"ples:
lon% 1a1 as in %ate
lon% 1e1 as in need
lon% 1i1 as in nice
lon% 1o1 as in yo#e
lon% 1u1 as in you
8ou can also listen to the" here. >ouble clic# the 4,,.W to acti'ate the 'ideo:
5 Short $o%el Sounds
@ere are so"e exa"ples:
short 1a1 as in bat
short 1e1 as in bet
short 1i1 as in bit
short 1o1 as in bot
short 1u1 as in but
7isten to the short 'o&el sounds on this 'ideo. >ouble clic# the 4,,.W to acti'ate:
4 'r 'controlled sounds
',' controlled sounds( ha'e a 'o&el and the 1r1 sound:
or ) as in "ore
ar ) as in car
er ) as in her
air as in fair
( D)pthongs
4 dipthon% is a co"bination of t&o sounds( each &ith t&o different spellin%s. @ere
are three exa"ples:
1au1 as in Aaul and a& as in cra&l
1ou1 as in "ouse and o& as in co&
1oi1 as in noise and oy as in boy
A &ong and Short /oo/ sound
7on% 1oo1 as in "oon
<hort 1oo1 as in boo#
<o there you ha'e it. The 19 'o&el sounds. .f course there are "any &ays to spell
these sounds &hich &e refer to as
phono%ra"s.
http:11&&&.ato3phonics.co"1'o&elsounds.ht"l
*ngl)sh d)phthongs
+our
tongue
mo,es to-
+our
tongue
mo,es to-
+our
tongue
mo,es to-
Wh+ do most learners .)nd d)phthongs d)..)cult at .)rst?
There are ei%ht $n%lish diphthon%s alto%ether. To "a#e diphthon%s( your ton%ue(
lips (and your 2a& on occasions/! ha'e to "o'e. <o"eti"es the 2ourney your ton%ue
"a#es is short and 'ery controlled: in so"e of the diphthon%s( it has to "o'e a lon%
distance in your "outh( in'ol'in% a lot of 2a& "o'e"ent too.
7earners find diphthon%s difficult because producin% the" is a "otor s#ill (li#e body
buildin%/! &hich has to be practised in order to obtain a %ood result. 8ou cannot
succeed in $n%lish pronunciation by understandin% alone. The "uscles you ha'e to
train to "a#e $n%lish diphthon%s are unli#ely to be identical to those you use in
production of 'o&el sounds in your first lan%ua%e.
Bnderstandin% is also i"portant. 4lthou%h you can train to a certain extent throu%h
repetition (parrot fashion/!( you &ill be able to "a#e further i"pro'e"ent throu%h
a&areness of the "anner of articulation (e.%. the absence or presence of lip
roundin% C1or tension( si3e of aperture( de%ree of 2a& "o'e"ent!( the startin% and
finishin% ton%ue positions( and both the direction and extent of ton%ue "o'e"ent.
/resent)ng d)phthongs 0 s)m)lar)t)es and d)..erences
The $n%lish lan%ua%e has t&enty 'o&el sounds. To see all the $n%lish sounds( refer
to the $n%lish Ahone"e Chart. The first 12 of the $n%lish 'o&el sounds are
D.-.A@T@.-E<. The ton%ue stays at .-$ fixed location in the "outh to produce
each D.-.A@T@.-E.
<ounds 1= to 2+( the next ei%ht $n%lish 'o&el sounds( are >FA@T@.-E<. They
present %reater difficulty to people learnin% $n%lish because the ton%ue tra'els
bet&een t&o fixed locations. Ft is i"portant to #no& exactly &hat to do &ith the
speech or%ans (i.e. the position of the ton%ue( lip)shape C tension( si3e of "outh
openin%! in each location and the "anner and direction of the "o'e"ent.
T1* 234ST T14** D3/1T1ON5S ha,e the ,o%el sound )n 6p)t6
or 6).6 as the 23N3S13N5 /OS3T3ON7 To ma8e th)s sound +our tongue has to be
h)gh and to%ards the .ront o. +our mouth and +our l)ps 8ept rela#ed7
1=! as in day( pay( say( lay. The startin% position is
&ith ton%ue in "id position at front of "outh as in 5e%%5( 5bed5 or 5Ted5. Therefore
you "o'e the ton%ue up to "a#e the diphthon%.
1?! as in s#y( buy( cry( tie. The startin% position is (
the sa"e sound as in 5car5 or the noise 5ah5 &hich you "a#e &hen you open your
"outh at the dentist's. To "a#e the diphthon% you need a bi% 2a& "o'e"ent( less
openin% as you "o'e the ton%ue up and front.
1! as in boy( toy( coy or the first syllable of soya. The startin%
position is ( the sound in 5door5 or 5or5. 8our ton%ue needs to be
lo&( but you need to pull it bac# and "a#e your "outh round. To "a#e the
diphthon%( you relax the lip roundin% and "o'e your ton%ue for&ard and up.
T1* N*9T T14** D3/1T1ON5S ha,e the neutral 6sh%a6 ,o%el sound
%h)ch occurs )n grunt)ng no)ses and the %ea8 .orms o. 6the6
and 6a6 as the 23N3S13N5 /OS3T3ON7 To ma8e the neutral ,o%el sound 8eep
+our tongue .)#ed )n the centre o. +our mouth l)ps .a)rl+ rela#ed and :ust
grunt;
1;! as in beer (the drin#!( pier( hear. The startin% position is
as in 5if5 or 5pit5 &ith ton%ue front and hi%h and lips relaxed.
1*! as in bear (the ani"al!( pair and hair. The startin% position is
as in 5e%%5 or 5bed5 &ith ton%ue in "id position at front of "outh. To
"a#e the diphthon%( usin% a s"all controlled "o'e"ent( pull your ton%ue sli%hty
bac# fro" "id front to the "id central position in your "outh.
1G! as in 5tour5( 5poor5 (tal#in% posh/! or the first syllable of 5tourist5.
The startin% position is &ith ton%ue pulled bac# but s"all "outh
aperture as in 5hoo#5( 5boo#5 or 5loo#5.
To "a#e the diphthon%( this ti"e the s"all controlled ton%ue "o'e"ent %oes fro"
the bac# postion to the "id central position( losin% the lip roundin% and relaxin% your
"outh fro" the ti%ht startin% position.
T1* &AST TWO D3/1T1ON5S ha,e the bac8 ,o%el <tongue
pulled bac8 but small t)ght mouth aperture as )n 6hoo86 6boo86 or 6loo86= as
the 23N3S13N5 /OS3T3ON7
19! as in 5oh5( 5no5( 5so5 or 5phone5. The startin% position is the
neutral 'o&el sound( also #no&n as 5sh&a5 ( &hich sounds li#e a
%runt( as in the &ea# for" of 5the5 or 5a5. To start in this &ay( the ton%ue should be
fixed in "id central position in your "outh &ith lips relaxed. To "a#e the diphthon%(
it is a short controlled "o'e"ent in the opposite direction of ! abo'e: fro" the
centre to the bac# "o'in% your relaxed lips into a ti%hter s"all round aperture. 8our
chee#s should "o'e in a bit/
2+! as in all the &ords of 5@o& no& bro&n co&/5. The startin%
position is the 'o&el sound as in 5at5 5bad5 or 5rat5 &ith ton%ue front
but also lo& (i.e. "outh open!. To "a#e the diphthon% the 2ourney for your ton%ue
fro" front lo& ("outh 'ery open! to bac# hi%h (s"all ti%ht "outh aperture! is a 'ery
lon% excursion. 8our 2a& &ill "o'e a lot too.
http:11&&&.btinternet.co"1Hted.po&er1esl+1+.ht"l
Tr)phthongs
De.)n)t)on o. tr)phthongs
plural of triphthon%
1
The &ord 5triphthon%s5 uses >> letters: 5 1 1 3 N O / 4 S T T.
-o direct ana%ra"s for tr)phthongs found in this &ord list.
4ddin% one letter to tr)phthongs does not for" any other &ord in this &ord list.
Words &ithin tr)phthongs not sho&n as it has "ore than se'en letters.
7ist all &ords startin% &ith triphthon%s( &ords containin% triphthon%s or &ords endin%
&ith triphthon%s
4ll &ords for"ed fro" triphthon%s by chan%in% one letter
.ther &ords &ith the sa"e letter pairs: tr ri ip ph ht th ho on n% %s
Iro&se &ords startin% &ith triphthon%s by next letter
Are'ious &ord in list: triphthon%al
-ext &ord in list: tripinnate
-e& <earch
<o"e rando" &ords: e"e 'u% #haddar &oald dha# bdelliu" eel
http:11&&&."ore&ords.co"1&ord1triphthon%s1
W)8)ped)a- Tr)phthong
3n phonet)cs a triphthon% <.rom 5ree8 6tr)phthongos6 l)terall+
6%)th three sounds6 or 6%)th three tones6= )s a monos+llab)c ,o%el
comb)nat)on )n,ol,)ng a !u)c8 but smooth mo,ement o. the art)culator
.rom one ,o%el !ual)t+ to another that passes o,er a th)rd7 Wh)le 6pure6
,o%els or monophthongs are sa)d to ha,e one target art)culator
pos)t)on d)phthongs ha,e t%o and tr)phthongs three7
*#amples
Stress on the .)rst element
$n%lish in Iritish ,ecei'ed Aronunciation (these can be also analy3ed as disyllabic
se9uences of a diphthon% and a "onophthon%!:
Ja KL as in hour
Ja KL as in fire
Je KL as in player
J KL as in loyal, royal
JK KL as in lower
Iernese Eer"an (a <&iss Eer"an dialect!:
JiK&L as in Gieu 'boy'
JyK&L as in Gfeu 'feelin%'
JuK&L as in Schueu 'school'
JyK2L as in Mej 'trouble'
7at'ian:
JieaL as in tie J tieaL 'they'
Jcitation neededL
JuoaL as in ko J #uoaL '&hat'
Jcitation neededL
Stress on the second element
<panish:
J&eiL as in buey 'ox'
J&aiLas in Uruguay
J2aiLas in cambiis ('you JpluralLchan%e'!
J2eiL as in cambiis ('that you "ay chan%e'!
Dandarin:
JiaiL as in yi 'cliff'
Jia L as in pio 'tic#et'
Jio L as in li! 'six'
JuaiL as in kui 'fast'
JueiL as in hu" 'return'
,o"an ian :
J2a&L as in iau 'F ta#e'
Jea&L as in r#deau 'they &ere lau%hin%'
0ietna"ese:
J K L as in t$%i 'fresh'
J K L as in r$&u 'alcohol'
JiK L as in ti'u 'pepper'
JuK L as in nu(i 'to nourish'
Jui L as in khu)u 'to fall on one's #nees'
Jcitation neededL
Stress on the th)rd element
,o"anian (se"i'ocalic phone"es "ar#ed &ith re'ersed circu"flex accents!:
JeoaL as in pleoape 'eyelids'
JioaL as in creioane 'pencils'
http:11 &&&.ans&ers.co"1topic1triphthon%