Consonant

Consonant is a basic speech sound in which the breath is at least partly obstructed and which can be combined with a vowel to form a syllable. Consonants can be classified in several ways: by place of articulation, manner of articulation, voicing, and more.

Place of Articulation

The place of articulation refers to where the obstruction of the consonant occurs in the vocal tract. This can be in the nasal cavity (nasal consonants), the mouth (oral consonants), or the throat (laryngeal consonants).

Manner of Articulation

The manner of articulation refers to the nature of the obstruction of the consonant. This can be a complete closure (stop consonants), a narrow constriction (fricative consonants), or a momentary closure followed by a release (affricate consonants).

Voicing

Voicing refers to whether the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation of the consonant. Consonants can be either voiced or voiceless.

Consonant Clusters

A consonant cluster is a sequence of two or more consonant sounds that appear together in a syllable.

Consonant in Different Languages

Consonants vary greatly in different languages. Some languages have only a few consonants, while others have many. The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is used to represent the sounds of consonants in different languages.

See Also

• Vowel
• Phonetics
• Phonology

Consonant Resources
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