Plosives
Perhaps plosives are the easiest sounds to teach and learn in an English-Spanish 2LL course.
Plosives are defined as consonant sounds which involve, first, a stricture of the mouth that allows no air to
escape from the vocal tract and, second, the compression and release of the air.
So, there are four phases in the production of plosives: closure, hold, release, and post-release.
English has six plosive consonants, p, t, k, b, d, g.
/p/ and /b/ are bilabial, that is, the lips are pressed together.
/t/ and /d/ are alveolar, so the tongue is pressed against the alveolar ridge.
/k/ and /g/ are velar; the back of the tongue is pressed against an intermediate area between the
hard and the soft palate.
/p/, /t/ and /k/ are voiceless. /b/, /d/ and /g/ are normally voiced.
Affricates and Fricatives
Fricatives and affricates are two types of consonants that are characterized by the articulation of their
pronunciation.
The main difference is that while the fricative is pronounced through the narrowing of some parts of the
vocal tract, the affricates are a complex consonant that begins with an occlusive phase before moving on to
a fricative phase.
All of these consonants are divided into two types: voiceless and voiced. To produce voiceless consonants,
you do not use your vocal cords. Voiced consonants do use your vocal cords.
To see the difference clearly, put your fingers on the front of your throat when pronouncing the examples
below. When making a voiced sound, you will feel a vibration in your throat. For a voiceless consonant, you
should feel nothing.
Now, to better understand the differences between fricatives and affricates, as well as how they are
pronounced, let’s look at them in detail.
Fricatives
Fricatives are consonants produced when air passes through a narrow channel between two articulators.
This passage of air creates the pronunciation of the fricative consonant. There are different types of
fricative consonants depending on the articulators involved in the emission of the sounds.
One particular type of fricatives are sibilants in which the tongue moves longitudinally to cause air to pass
over the edge of the teeth and create a hissing sound.
In English, the sibilants are /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, and /ʒ/. In addition, fricatives can be labiodental, dental, alveolar,
alveolo-palatal, and glottal.
Fricative Pronunciation
Here is a list of the fricatives in modern English, organized by their manner of pronunciation.
Labiodental Fricatives
These fricatives are made using the lower lip and the upper teeth.
Voiceless
/f/
Examples: five /faɪv/, four /fɔː(r)/, fine /faɪn/
Voiced
/v/
Examples: vine /vaɪn/, violet /vaɪələt/, vital /’vaɪt(ə)l/
Dental Fricatives
The tip of the tongue against the teeth creates these fricatives.
Voiceless
/θ/
Examples: thistle /ˈθɪs(ə)l/, thing /θɪŋ/
Voiced
/ð/
Examples: this /ðɪs/, that /ðæt/
Alveolar Fricatives
For these fricatives, the tip of the tongue moves up against the gum line behind your upper teeth.
Voiceless
/s/
Examples: sue /suː/, sip /sɪp/
Voiced
/z/
Examples: zoo /zuː/, zip /zɪp/
Alveolo-Palatal Fricatives
These fricatives are made using the tongue and the alveolar ridge at the top of the mouth, further behind
the teeth than the alveolar fricatives.
Voiceless
/ʃ/ Examples: shore /ʃɔː(r)/, ship /ʃɪp/
Voiced
/ʒ/ Examples: azure /ˈæʒə(r)/
Glottal Fricatives
For the final category of fricatives, the back of the tongue moves up against the gum line behind your upper
teeth.
/h/ Examples: hot /hɒt/, heat /hiːt/
Affricates
In English, there are only two affricate consonants: /tʃ/ and /dʒ/. Both of these sounds are alveolo-palatal
sibilants.
Make them by beginning with the tip of your tongue against the back of your top teeth, stopping any air
from flowing out of your mouth. Then, move your tongue back to behind the alveolar ridge to release the air.
Affricate Pronunciation
The affricates are a little more complex to pronounce. In fact, their pronunciation is divided into two
phases starting with an interruption in the passage of air followed by a fricative sound.
Voiceless
/tʃ/
Examples: choose /tʃuːz/, beach /biːtʃ/, change /tʃeɪndʒ/, chops /tʃɒps/, China /ˈtʃaɪnə/
Voiced
/dʒ/ Examples: joy /dʒɔɪ/, siege /siːdʒ/, John /dʒɒn/, orange /ˈɒrɪndʒ/
Activity. (+3
FRICATIVE PHRASES AFFRICATE PHRASES
1. My wedding dress is azure. 2. Mary is a girl full of energy and joy.
3. The goldfinch is called because it feeds on 4. This bag is made in China.
thistle seeds.
5. In Spain, it’s too hot in the summer. 6. I love changes.
7. It was a matter if vital importance. 8. Oranges are my favorite fruit.
9. I love sipping my coffee. 10. We spent the whole afternoon on the beach.
11. Yesterday, the shore was beautiful at sunset. 12. John didn’t feel being challenged.
