Consonant Sounds
Consonant sounds are produced by blocking the flow of air as it leaves the mouth. There are many ways of blocking the air and various tongue, lip and jaw positions required in order to create accurately the consonants of English.
Any consonant sounds that are different, or that do not exist in your mother tongue, need to be learnt to produce a clear English accent.
Introduction
A consonant sound is made by blocking the air as it moves through the mouth. There are different types of consonant sound:
- Plosive - explosive sounds (20 - 26 in the diagram)
- Fricative - friction sounds (27 - 34 in the diagram)
- Affricate - plosive followed by fricative (35 - 36 in the diagram)
- Nasal - partly made through the nose (37 - 39 in the diagram)
- Approximant - vowel-like consonants (40-43 in the diagram)
- Glottal - made in the throat (44-45 in the diagram)
Some consonant sounds do not use the voice box when they are produced, these are blue in the diagram.
In 'An English Accent' you will learn how to create these consonant sound, their spellings and positions in words.
