Manner of articulation

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Manner of articulation refers to how airflow is obstructed or modified in the vocal tract to produce different types of speech sounds. In the study of phonetics, understanding the manner of articulation is crucial for classifying consonants, which are sounds produced with notable constriction in the vocal tract. This article outlines the primary manners of articulation found in human languages and briefly discusses their acoustic and articulatory characteristics.

Plosives

Plosives, also known as stops, are consonants produced by completely stopping the airflow in the vocal tract for a brief period, then releasing it. Common examples include bilabial sounds like /p/ and /b/, produced by closing the lips, and alveolar sounds like /t/ and /d/, produced by raising the tongue to the alveolar ridge.

Nasals

Nasals are consonants produced with the airflow diverted through the nose due to the lowering of the velum, allowing air to escape through the nasal cavity. Examples include /m/, /n/, and the velar nasal /ŋ/, as in the English word "sing".

Fricatives

Fricatives are produced by forcing air through a narrow constriction in the vocal tract, causing turbulent airflow. This category includes sounds like /f/, /v/, /s/, and /z/. The place of articulation varies from labiodental, as in /f/ and /v/, to alveolar, as in /s/ and /z/.

Affricates

Affricates are complex consonants that begin as a plosive and immediately release into a fricative. Examples include the English sounds /tʃ/ as in "chop" and /dʒ/ as in "judge". They combine the characteristics of both plosives and fricatives.

Approximants

Approximants are consonants produced with a constriction in the vocal tract that is not narrow enough to cause turbulent airflow. They include sounds like /w/, /l/, /r/, and the palatal approximant /j/ (the initial sound in "yes").

Lateral consonants

Lateral consonants are produced by allowing the airstream to flow around one or both sides of the tongue. The most common lateral is the alveolar lateral /l/, as in the English word "love".

Trills and taps/flaps

Trills involve the articulator (usually the tongue) being held in such a way that it is set into motion by the airstream, producing a rapid series of contacts. The Spanish "r" in "perro" is a typical example. Taps or flaps are similar but involve a single contact between the articulator and the roof of the mouth, as in the American English pronunciation of the "tt" in "water".

Clicks

Clicks are consonants found primarily in African languages, produced by creating a velaric ingressive airstream mechanism. They involve two points of contact in the vocal tract: one forward (dental, alveolar, or palatal) and one at the back (velar or uvular).

Implosives

Implosives are produced by lowering the larynx during the occlusion of the vocal tract, creating a sucking effect. They are found in various languages around the world, including Sindhi and Swahili.

Ejectives

Ejectives are consonants produced with a glottalic egressive airstream mechanism. This involves closing the glottis and raising the larynx to increase air pressure in the vocal tract, then releasing the closure to produce the consonant. Ejectives are found in languages such as Quechua and Georgian.

Each manner of articulation contributes to the rich variety of sounds in human languages. Understanding these categories helps linguists and language learners alike to grasp the complexities of language sound systems.