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CONSONANTS

Consonants are produced when there is either a closure or narrowing of the air passage in the oral cavity. For example, /t/ is pronounced with the front of the tongue pushing against the palate. The 24 consonants in English are listed below:
Consonants are further classified in terms of how the sounds are made:

  • Plosives: Plosive sounds are produced when the vocal tract is blocked, building up air pressure, and then the air stream is abruptly released. 
  • Fricatives: In the production of fricatives, airstream is directed through a narrow construction in the vocal tract.
  • Nasals: In the production of nasal sounds, air flows through the nasal cavity.  
  • Affricates: Affricates begin as stops and conclude as fricatives.
Consonant Clusters: Consonant clusters are groups of two or more consonants sounds that come before, after or between vowel sounds. Look at a few examples below:
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