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Linguistics

Notes vocoid. Syllabic contoids are the sounds which are phonetically contoids (are produced like
consonants), but their phonological function is that of syllabic nucleus, that is, they represent the
V element in the structure of a syllable. /l/ in apple and battle and /n/ in button are syllabic
contoids. Non-syllabic contoids (also called consonants) are the sounds that phonetically are
contoids and phonologically represent the C (marginal) element in the structure of a syllable.
5.1.4 Description of Consonants
A description of consonantal sounds, according to A.C. Gimson, must provide answers to the
following questions:
1. Is the air-stream set in motion by the lungs or by some other means? (pulmonic or non-
pulmonic).
2. Is the air-stream forced outwards or sucked inwards? (egressive or ingressive)
3. Do the vocal cords vibrate or not? (voiced or voiceless).
4. Is the soft palate raised or lowered? Or, does the air pass through the oral cavity (mouth) or the
nasal cavity (nose)?
5. At what point or points and between what organs does the closure or narrowing take place?
(Place of articulation).
6. What is the type of closure or narrowing at the point of articulation? (Manner of articulation).
Thus the description of a consonant will include five kinds of information: (1) the nature of the air-
stream mechanism; (2) the state of the glottis; (3) the position of soft palate (velum); (4) the
articulators involved; and (5) the nature of the ‘stricture’.
1. The Nature of the Air-stream Mechanism: Most speech sounds and all normal English sounds
are made with an egressive pulmonic air-stream, e.g., the air pushed out of the lungs.
2. The State of Glottis: A consonant may be voiced or voice-less, depending upon whether the
vocal cords remain wide apart (voice-less) or in a state of vibration (voiced).
3. The Position of the Soft Palate: While describing consonants we have to mention whether
they are oral sounds (produced with soft palate raised, thus blocking the nasal passage of air)
or nasal sounds (produced with the soft palate lowered).
4. The Articulators Involved: In the description of consonants, we have also to discuss the various
articulators involved. The articulators are active (the lower lip and the tongue) and passive (the
upper lip, the upper teeth, the roof of the mouth divided into the teeth-ridge, the hard palate,
and the soft palate, and the back wall of the throat pharynx). In the production of a consonant
the active articulator is moved towards the passive articulator. The chief points of articulation
are bilabial, labiodental, dental, alveolar, post-alveolar, palato-alveolar, retroflex, palatal, velar,
uvular, and glottal. In the case of some consonantal sounds, there can be a secondary place of
articulation in addition to the primary. Thus, in the so-called dark /l/, in addition to the partial
alveolar contact, there is an essential raising of the back of the tongue towards the velum
(velarization); or, again some post-alveolar articulator of ‘r’ (r) as in red are accompanied by
slight lip-rounding (labialization). We can classify consonants according to the place of
articulation.
5. The Nature of Stricture: By the nature of stricture we mean the manner of articulation. This
stricture of obstruction made by the organs may be total, intermittent, partial, or may merely
constitute a narrowing sufficient to cause friction.
When the stricture is that of a complete closure, the active and passive articulators make a firm
contact with each other, and prevent the passage of air between them. For instance, in the production
of /p/ as in pin and /b/ as in bin, the lips make a total closure.

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