Key points from Ch 3 - "The Consonant System" from Teaching Pronunciation, 2nd Ed (2010)

1. Consonants - Positional
Variation, Processes &
Strategies

2. To teach pronunciation, teachers need to be familiar with the
phonemic alphabet. However, this is not enough...we don’t
say sounds in isolation. Sounds vary based on positional
variation as well as the influence of the surrounding sounds.
● Phonemes (marked with slashes) are sound differences
that distinguish words.
● Allophones (marked with square brackets)are sounds
that are perceptibly different but do not distinguish words.

3. Example -
/p/ and /b/
are both
phonemes
The choice of phoneme changes the
meaning, and these phonemes can
occur in the same environments:
● word initial - bat/pat
● word medial - amble/ample
● word final - rip/rib

4. However, /p/ (phoneme) has several allophones:
[pʰ] - this allophone occurs in word initial position and is often
aspirated, as noted by the diacritic symbol [ʰ]
[p] - this allophone of /p/ occurs after an initial /s/ and is not
aspirated, as in the word spin
[p ̊] - this third allophone of /p/ is word final; the lips stayed
closed and the /p/ is unreleased, as in cup. The diacritic for
an unreleased voiceless stop is [ ̊] (like a degree symbol)

5. This presentation pulls
explanations and examples from
Chapter 3 to show 1) some
constraints on consonants , and 2)
how consonants are influenced by
their environment (not in isolation.

6. Positional
Restrictions (and
some abilities)

7. 5 Potential
environments
for
consonants:
● Syllable initial
● Syllable final
● Intervocalic (between vowels)
● Initial clusters
● Final clusters
However, in English, not all
consonants can occur in all 5
positions: /tʃ/,/ŋ/, /ʒ/, /w̥ /, /h//w/, & /j/

8. Voiceless
stops -
/p, t, k/
and
aspiration
Voiceless stops word initial OR in
stressed syllables are aspirated [ʰ]:
[pʰ] peal rePEAL
[tʰ] test reTEST
[kʰ] kin aKIN
But not in Opus or Opal
(stress on the 1st syllable)

9. Word final
stops and
release
Often, especially in casual
conversation, the six stop consonants
are unreleased...meaning the process
of articulation is not completed.
For example, for cat, the final [t ̊] is not
released...the tongue just stays on the
alveolar ridge. This is also true for a
word like hid, although ending in a
voiced consonant has an effect on the
length of the vowel.

10. A note on the impact of word
final stops on vowel length
In general, when a vowel followed by a voiceless stop will be
shorter in duration than a vowel followed by a voice stop.
rip /ɹɪp/ rib /ɹɪ:b/
hit /hɪt/ hid /hɪ:d/
pick /pɪk/ pig /pɪ:g/
Shorter vowel (voiceless final C) Longer vowel (voice final C)

11. NAE Flap
[ɾ] post
vocalic or
after /ɹ/
In American English, alveolar stops /t/
and /d/ are pronounced with a flap [ɾ]
after a vowel or after an /ɹ/. This is a
voiced allophone that occurs whether
a word is spelled with “t” or “d”, as in
ladder or latter [læɾɹ̩ ] catty or caddy
[kæɾi] . These words are pronounced
as homophones for many/most NAE
speakers.

12. Sibilants &
Nonsibilants
English fricatives & affricates can be
subdivided into two groups: Sibilants
and Nonsibilants:
Sibilants Nonsibilants
/s/
/z/
/ʃ/
/ʒ/
/tʃ/
/dʒ/
/f/
/v/
/θ/
/ð/
/h/

13. About /h/ One of the nonsibilants, /h/ can be
especially tricky for some NNS of
English in word initial position, as in air
vs hair. In fact, when /h/ is not in word
initial position, particularly before
unstressed vowels, it is usually
deleted.
inHIBit vs in(h)ibition
proHIBit vs pro(h)ibition
hiSTORIC vs pre(h)iSTORic

14. A note on the impact of word fricatives
& affricates on vowel length (based on voicing)
Shorter vowels (voiceless final C)
grace /gɹeɪs/
fife /fɑɪf/
teeth /tiθ/
batch /bætʃ/
Longer vowels (voiced final C)
graze /gɹeɪ:z/
five /fɑɪ:v/
teethe /ti:ð/
badge /bæ:dʒ/

15. Syllabic
consonants
- nasals &
liquids
Unlike most consonants, nasals /m/
and /n/ and liquids /l/ and /ɹ/ can
function as a syllable. This only
happens in an unstressed syllable or a
“weak” syllable without a vowel. This
allophonic variation is represented by
a diacritic under the consonant as in
[n̩ ] - shouldn’t [ ʃʊdn̩ t] or [l̩] - tunnel
[tʌnl̩].

16. Syllabic
consonants
- nasals &
liquids
(cont)
Syllabic [n̩ ] often follows /t/ or /d/ in
words like button or sudden. In both
cases, in anticipation of the upcoming
nasal, /t/ or /d/ is replaced by a glottal
stop [ʔ] - [bʌʔn̩ ] [sʌʔn̩ ].
Also syllabic consonants are common
in proper names: countries (Sweden),
cities (Seattle), names (Solomon,
Rachel).

17. Light vs
dark
(velarized) /l/
Light /l/ typically occurs word/syllable
initial and before front vowels. It is
produced with the tip of the tongue in
the area of the alveolar ridge.
Examples include lip or leap. In
contrast, dark [ɫ] (like a tilda through
the “l”) occurs syllable final or after a
back vowels. The body of the tongue
is closer to the velum, hence
“velarized”.

18. Different qualities
of /l/ in NAE
LIGHTEST /l/ DARKEST /l/
-ly suffix Initial
position
Initial
clusters
Final
position
Final
clusters
timely Lee, Lou clear fill, fall fault
dearly lip, look glib pill, pull bulk
badly late, loss blink well, wool holes

19. Light vs
dark
(velarized) /l/
(cont)
/l/ and /ɹ/ are two of the more
challenging sounds for ELLs. In
English, they are separate phonemes.
However, in some other languages,
they are allophones of the same
phoneme and never occur in the same
position.

20. Consonant Clusters
& Syllable Structure

21. The most common
syllable structure
among languages is
CV (open syllable)...
English also has a
number of CV words.
However, many
one-syllable words
in English follow
the CVC pattern
(closed syllable).

22. In addition, English
permits a variety of
consonant clusters both
word initially and word
finally….
...but there
are
restrictions.

23. Word initial
consonant
clusters
It’s very common to find words
beginning with two consonants.
Restrictions:
● First sound is /s/ OR
● Second sound is a liquid or
approximant /ɹ/ /l/ /w/ or /j/
Examples:
/sn/ snake /pr/ pray /kw/ quiet

24. Word initial
consonant
clusters
(cont)
It’s also possible to to have an initial
cluster with 3 consonants, but this is
even more restricted:
● First sound always /s/
● Second sound in always a
voiceless stop
● Third sound is a liquid or
approximant /ɹ/ /l/ /w/ or /j/
Examples:
/spl/ splash /stɹ/ strong /skw/ square

25. Word final
consonant
clusters
There are more options for consonant
clusters word final...up to FOUR
consonants in a cluster. Many of
these are a result of adding plural /s,z/
or past tense /t,d/
Examples - cluster of 3
basks /sks/ parked /ɹkt/ ends /ndz/
Examples - cluster of 4
lengths /ŋkθs/ worlds /ɹlds/

26. What happens to
consonants in clusters

27. Devoicing
If the first consonant in the cluster is voiceless and
the second is voiced the second will become partly
DEVOICED (a kind of assimilation). This is
especially the case word initially when the second
consonant is a liquid:
preach, treat, pray sly, close, play

28. Interaction of /t/ + /ɹ/
In words with syllable initial /tɹ/, the combination of the
stop and aspiration of /t/ and features of /ɹ/ create an
interaction that causes the cluster to sound more like
an affricate [tʃɹ]:
tree sounds like [tʃɹi]

29. Unreleased
There is also an impact on the relationship of
consonant clusters in word final position. For
example, when the the final sequence includes 2
stops, the FIRST stop is often unreleased and the
second IS released:
opt [p ̊t] act [ k ̊t] robbed [ b ̊d] begged [ g ̊d]

30. Unreleased (cont)
However, when the the final sequence is liquid +
stop, the FINAL stop is often unreleased:
bulb [lb ]̊ build [ ld ̊] bird [rd ̊] iceberg [rg ̊]

31. Cluster Reduction
In fact, it isn’t always easy to pronounce several
consonants in a row, especially in informal speech,
even for native English speakers. For this reason,
they/we often use a strategy of cluster reduction -
dropping the middle consonant, word finally:
asked /æskt / ⇒ /æst/ facts /fækts/ ⇒/fæks/
fifth /fɪfθs/ ⇒/fɪfs/

32. Resyllabification
Resyllabification is an interesting strategy that
occurs when a final consonant clusters is followed by
a word that begins with a vowel. The final consonant
“moves” over to the next syllable...of the next word, as
in these examples:
She moved it. /ʃi·muv·dɪt/
He cleaned Art’s office. /hi·klin·dɑɹt·sɔfɪs/

33. We’ll cover these processes
and strategies more in
upcoming chapters.