How English Consonants Are Made | Place, Airflow & Voicing Explained | Clear English Academy

[00:00:00]Hey there, my friend. In the last lesson, you learned that vowels carry the rhythm and voice of English, while consonants are the frame that provides structure and clarity.

[00:00:11]Now, let's go a little deeper. To really understand consonants, we need to consider three key questions that define every consonant sound. First, where is the sound made?

[00:00:25]Do I use my lips at the front of my mouth? Does my tongue move toward the back? Is the sound made in my throat?

[00:00:33]Try this with me. Say "p" "p" "p" as in paperclip. Notice how your lips come together to make this sound.

[00:00:44]Now, try "t" "t" "t" as in tiny teapot.

[00:00:50]Feel how the tip of your tongue taps behind your top front teeth.

[00:00:56]No lips involved at all. The "t" tiny teapot sound is made in a completely different place than our "p" "p" paperclip sound. Second question, how does the air flow?

[00:01:11]Some consonants stop the air flow completely, while others allow it to flow continuously.

[00:01:18]Try this. Say "b" "b" "b" as in baby bib. Notice how the lips come together and block the air completely before releasing the sound.

[00:01:30]Now, try "s" as in silly face.

[00:01:35]This sound is continuous with steady air flow.

[00:01:41]You can keep going until you run out of breath. And last question, do I use my voice? Some sounds use voicing, meaning your vocal cords vibrate. Others are unvoiced, made with only quiet air flowing through the vocal tract. Try this. Place your hand on your throat and say that silly face sound.

[00:02:05]Now try z as in zigzag.

[00:02:11]Feel the difference?

[00:02:12]That's voicing in action. The silly face sound is unvoiced. Your vocal cords don't vibrate. The zigzag sound is voiced, so you can feel your vocal cords vibrating in your throat. So, every consonant in English can be described by answering these three questions, and that's exactly how the Clear English Consonants Chart is organized. Think of it as your map to English consonants. Across the top, you'll see place of articulation, or where the sound is made, from the front of the mouth to the back and throat.

[00:02:53]Manner of articulation, or air flow, is shown with shapes. A stop sign for sounds where the air flow stops, and a green arrow for sounds where air flow is continuous. Finally, voicing is shown by shading. Solid icons for voiced sounds, and outlined icons for voiceless. So, the chart shows you not just what the sounds are, but how they relate to each other. Before we move on, let's do a quick check. Look at the chart and ask yourself, are there more stop or continuous consonant sounds in English?

[00:03:30]Which do you think are more common, voiced or voiceless consonants? Here's the good news. You don't need to memorize all these terms. The chart is simply a tool to help you organize the sounds in your mind and in your practice.

[00:03:45]When you know where a sound is made, how the air flows, and whether it's voiced, you can produce it more accurately and recognize it more easily when you hear it. So, what's next? As we move forward, we'll return to the consonants chart within each lesson. Each time, you'll see how a new sound fits into the bigger picture, and you'll practice it in context, so it becomes natural in your everyday speech. Ready to begin training some of those tricky consonant sounds?

[00:04:15]Fabulous. I'll see you in the next lesson.

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