Page 62 - DENG504_LINGUISTICS

Linguistics

Notes 5. /m/ in the English word man.
(i) The vocal cords vibrate and the sound is voiced.
(ii) The soft palate is lowered and the air passes through the nose.
(iii) The active articulator is the lower lip.
(iv) The passive articulator is the upper lip.
(v) There is a stricture of complete oral closure.
6. /v/ in the English word van.
(i) The vocal cords vibrate and the sound is voiced.
(ii) The soft palate is raised and the nasal passage is closed.
(iii) The active articulator is the lower lip.
(iv) The passive articulators are the upper front teeth.
(v) The stricture is one of close approximation. (The lower lip is brought very near the upper
front teeth. The air passes between them with audible friction.)
7. /j/ in the English word yet.
(i) The vocal cords vibrate and the sound is voiced.
(ii) The soft palate is raised.
(iii) The active articulator is the front of the tongue.
(iv) The passive articulator is the hard palate.
(v) There is a stricture of open approximation. The front of the tongue is brought near the
hard palate but the space between them is sufficient for the air to pass without any audible
friction.
Hence the kind of stricture involved in the articulation of various sounds is as follows:
1. plosive: complete closure,
2. affricate: complete closure and slow release,
3. nasal: complete oral closure,
4. fricate: close approximation,
5. lateral: complete closure in the centre of the vocal tract and the air passes along the side (s) of
the tongue,
6. vowel: open approximation,
7. semi-vowel: open approximation,
8. frictionless continuant: open approximation.
5.1.5 Classification of Consonants
Consonantal sounds are classified on the basis of (i) voicing, (ii) place of articulation, and
(iii) manner of articulation.
1. Voicing: On the basis of voicing, sound can be classified into voiced and voiceless sounds. The
voiced sounds in English are /b, d, g, v, ð , z, dz, m, n, ŋ , l, r, w, j/. The voiced sounds in Hindi
are/ and other nasalized consonants and
all vowels.
All the vocoids and semi-vowels are voiced sounds, whereas among the consonants some are
voiced and some voiceless. If the vocal cards vibrate when a sound is produced, it is said to be
voiceless.
2. The Place of Articulation: Consonants are divided as given in the following table on the basis
of the articulatory points at which the articulators actually touch, or are at their closest.

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