Consonants-Manner

Consonants: manner of articulation

By Manner of Articulation we mean how much constriction there is in he mouth: from complete blockage if the airflow in the vocal tract to a mild narowing.
The types are as follows:

PLOSIVES . Also known as STOPS. The airflow is completely blocked by the lips or the tongue against the roof of the mouth; at the sane time the airflow through the nose is blocked by the soft palate. The word plosive is used by many writers instead of stop because these consonants are best heard at the moment of their release.
English plosives are:
fortis (or unvoiced) p, t, k and
lenis (generally voiced) b,d,g
as heard in the words pat, bat, ten, den, cap, gap
Note that the LETTER C can be used for the sounds k (in cap) and s (in price).
More on plosives
FRICATIVES. The airflow is only partially blocked, causing friction at the place where the blockage occurs. English fricatives are:
fortis (or unvoiced) , , , , and
lenis (generally voiced) , , ,
as heard in the words ferry, very, thick, this, bus, buzz leash, leisure, hat
Note that outside Iceland, the sound is usually written with the Greek symbol theta:
More on fricatives
AFFRICATES start with a plosive and end with a fricative.
English affricates are
fortis , and
lenis
as heard in the words church and judge
More on affricates
NASALS. These are sounds which are blocked by the lips and the tongue, like the plosives, but the soft palate is lowered so the airflow is through the nose.
English nasals are all voiced (unlike Icelandic!). They are
, ,
as heard in the words mail, nail, song
More on nasals
LATERAL. There is only one lateral in English, formed by the tongue against the roof of the mouth and allowing the air to pass by at both sides;
this is the sound l, as heard in the words lip, pill, milk, please.
If you listen carefully, you will hear that there is a difference in the l's in these words. many sounds have diferent variants, known as allophones.
More on laterals
APPROXIMANTS are similar to fricatives, except that there is less closure, and little friction (less hiss).
There are three English approximants: r, w and j, as in the words rage, wage, and yes.
More on approximants

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If you have any questions mail me at peturk@hi.is.