English consonants

SEMI-VOWELS

• The phones /w/ and /j/ are the closest of all to vowels. Each has a place and manner of articulation very similar to a high vowel.
• Because of their similarity to "true vowels", [w] and [y] are sometimes called semivowels. For our purposes (and maybe for anyone's purposes) there will be no point to arguing about whether semivowels are vowels or consonants. When we emphasize their consonant properties, we will speak of them as consonants; when we emphasize their vowel properties, we will speak of them as vowels.

• /p/ pin, spin, lap
• /b/ bin, lab
• /m/ man, ham
• /f/ fin, if
• /v/ vine, live
• /θ/ thin, both, ether
• /ð/ this, bathe, either
• /t/ talked, stone, lit,
• /d/ den, lid, hugged
• /s/ sin, kiss, lips
• /z/ zoo, easy, lose, eggs
• /n/ pin, manner, listen
• /l/ lip, sell, castle
• /ʧ/ church, nature
• /ʤ/ gene, jar, gradual
• /ʃ/ shin, mission, nation, fish, machine
• /Ʒ/ leisure, garage (for some speakers)
• /r/ rip, narrow, year
• /j/ year, cute /kyut/
• /k/ kin, call, lick, chemical
• /g/ get, anger, leg /ŋ/ sing, anger, anchor
• /w/ witch, which, reward
• /h/ hip /ʔ/ uh-oh /ʔ^ʔo/

Consonant clusters

• In English, more than one consonant can
• come before or after a vowel
• CCVC stop, please
• CVCC post, desk
• CCCVC splash, spring

Consonant clusters in English

• Word-initial CC (except /s/-initial ones)
• pr pray pl play
• br bread bl bled
• tr try
• dr dry
• kr cream kl clear kw quick
• gr grow gl glow
• fr fry fl fly
• thr throw
• shr shrimp

Phonotactics of initial CCs

• Constraints on what comes where in English
• consonant clusters
• In CCs, the first position is always taken by p,
• t, k, b, d, g or s, f, sh, or th
• The second position is always taken by l, r, w
• or j (except when the initial consonant is s

Further generalizations

• In terms of their phonetic qualities, the consonants
• that can occupy different positions in the cluster
• tend to form ‘phonetic classes’
• First position
• p, t, k, b, d, g: stops (voiced and voiceless)
• f, s, th, sh: voiceless fricatives
• Second position
• l, r: liquids
• w,j: glides

Stops

Fricatives

Liquids and glides

S-initial CCs and CCCs

• speak split spring spurious
• Stand * string stew
• sky schlerosis scream square Skew
• sleep *
• small *
• snail *
• swan *

Phonotactics of s-initial CCs

• In two consonant clusters:
• /s/ is followed by:
• p, t, k: voiceless stops
• m, n: nasals
• l, w: liquids and glides
• In three-consonant clusters:
• the second position is a voiceless stop: p, t, k
• the third position is a liquid: I, r

Quick exercise: syllable structure

• Show the syllable structure of the following words, using V for vowel and C for Consonant
• green CCVC play
• them stress
• ask friend
• see not
• eggs at