English consonants

TEETH

• With one part or another of the tongue as articulator, there is a continuous range of possible places for contact with the roof of the mouth, beginning with the upper teeth and extending back to the uvula at the back of the mouth. All languages apparently make use of at least two positions within this range. For English stops, two positions are relevant. One of these is contact between the tip of the tongue and the ridge that is just behind the upper teeth, the alveolar ridge. This is referred to as alveolar place of articulation. It is a feature of the first and last consonants in the word did. The symbol for these stops is /d/, so the pronunciation of the word did is written /dɪd/. The configuration of the vocal tract for the pronunciation of /d/ is shown in the figure below.