Articulation: how you make sounds

In this section we'll learn about how you articulate, or make sounds. We'll learn about voicedness, the anatomy of the mouth, and the manner in which you create these sounds. Let's get to it!

Voiced and voiceless sounds

All sounds are either voiced and voiceless. Sounds are voiced if the vocal cords vibrate to produce them and they are voiceless if the vocal cords don't vibrate.

English vowels are all voiced, whereas consonants can be voiced or voiceless. Many consonants come in voiced/voiceless pairs, although in general English has more voiced sounds.

In contrast, many languages have more voiceless sounds. When practicing it is helpful to be able to check if the sound you're producing is voiced or voiceless as many non-native English learners pronounce English's many voiced consonants voicelessly.

Place of articulation: where you make sounds

Articulation is the production of sounds. The place of articulation is where the sounds are created in the mouth.

• Lips create labial sounds: m, p, b, f, v, w
• Teeth create dental sounds: θ, ð
• The alveolar ridge creates alveolar sounds: n, t, d, s, l
• The area behind the alveolar ridge creates postalveolar sounds: tʃ, dʒ, ʃ, ʒ, ɹ
• The palate creates palatal sounds: j
• The velum creates velar sounds: k, g, ŋ
• The glottis creates glottal sounds: h

Finally, the nose is a place through which nasal sounds are created, but this is more of a manner, rather than a place of articulation, something we'll discuss in the next video

Manner of articulation: how you make sounds

Sounds are produced in different manner of articulations. You can create different sounds at the same place of articulation if you use a different manner of articulation.

• Nasal sounds are created by letting air flow through the nose: m, n, ŋ
• Plosive sounds are created by building up pressure in the mouth and releasing that pressure: p, b, t, d, k, g
• Fricative sounds are created when you let friction-filled air flow through a tight space in your mouth: f, v, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, h
• Affricative sounds are a combination of a plosive and a fricative: tʃ, dʒ
• Approximant sounds are created when you let air through the mouth with little friction: w, l, ɹ, j

By knowing the different places and manners of articulation, you can check if you are producing the right sounds when you practice by yourself