Consonants

Place of Articulation: The point in the mouth where the consonant sound is produced, such as the lips, tongue, or the back of the throat.

Manner of Articulation: The way in which the airflow is obstructed by the tongue, lips, or throat, such as stops, fricatives, or affricates.

Voicing: Whether the vocal cords vibrate or not when producing the consonant sound.

Aspiration: A puff of air that often accompanies a voiceless stop consonant.

Nasalization: A consonant produced by allowing air to flow through the nose instead of the mouth.

Phoneme: The smallest unit of sound that can distinguish one word from another.

Allophone: A variant of a phoneme that occurs in different environments, such as the 'p' in 'pin' versus the 'p' in 'spin.'.

International Phonetic Alphabet: A standardized system of notation used to represent each sound of a language.

Place of Articulation Chart: A visual representation of the different points in the mouth where consonants can be produced.

Manner of Articulation Chart: A visual representation of how the airflow is obstructed and the type of consonants produced.

IPA Symbols: The specific symbols used in the International Phonetic Alphabet to represent consonant sounds.

Vowels vs Consonants: The differences between the two types of sounds and how they are produced in the mouth.

Sonority Hierarchy: The order in which sounds are typically produced in connected speech, from low to high sonority.

Syllable: The smallest units of sound that make up words, consisting of one or more vowels and/or consonants.

Stress: The emphasis placed on a particular syllable in a word or phrase, often indicated by changes in pitch, loudness, or duration.

Plosives (also known as stops): These are consonants that are produced by fully blocking the airflow through the mouth and then releasing it suddenly. Examples include /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, and /g/.

Fricatives: These consonants are produced by partially obstructing the airflow through the mouth, creating a continuous hissing or buzzing sound. Examples include /f/, /v/, /s/, /z/, /ʃ/ (as in "ship"), /ʒ/ (as in "pleasure"), /h/.

Affricates: These are consonants that begin as plosives but end as fricatives. They're produced by first blocking the airflow and then gradually releasing it to create a fricative sound. Examples include /tʃ/ (as in "cheese") and /dʒ/ (as in "judge").

Nasals: These consonants are produced by closing the mouth and directing the airflow through the nasal cavity. Examples include /m/, /n/, and /ŋ/ (as in "sing").

Liquids: There are two types of liquids: /l/ and /r/. /l/ is produced by placing the tongue against the alveolar ridge and allowing the airflow to pass around the sides of the tongue. /r/ is produced by shaping the tongue in various ways to create different rhotic sounds.

Glides (also known as semivowels): These are sounds that resemble vowels but behave like consonants in a syllable. Examples include /w/ (as in "we") and /j/ (as in "yellow").

Co-articulated consonants: These are consonants that are produced using two different articulators in the mouth. Examples include /ʍ/ (as in "who") and /ɹ͡ʷ/ (as in "twirl").

Clicks: These are consonants that are produced by engaging various parts of the mouth and creating a suction or popping sound. They're found in languages like Xhosa and !Xóõ.

Implosives: These are consonants that are produced by sucking the air inward rather than pushing it outward. They're found in some African and Asian languages.

Ejectives: These are consonants that are produced by creating a pocket of air in the mouth and then bursting it out using the glottis. They're found in some African and Native American languages.