Parameter |
Output
|
Affricate |
- The manner of articulation (how the sound is produced) is affricate. This means that this sound is produced by first stopping the air flowing from the mouth, then allowing air flow through a constricted channel at the place this sound is produced, to make turbulence.
|
Alveolar |
|
Alveolo-palatal |
|
Approximant |
|
Approximant-fricative |
- Its behavior changes between approximant and fricative. This means that this sound is produced by narrowing the vocal tract at the place of articulation, but generally not to narrow too much to produce much turbulence in the airstream. Languages think that voiced fricatives and approximants produced in the throat are the same.
|
Bilabial |
|
Central articulation |
- It is a central consonant. This means that this sound is produced by directing the air along the center of the tongue, but not to the sides.
|
Central click |
- They are central consonants. This means that they are produced by releasing the air at the center of the tongue, but not at the sides.
|
Central-lateral |
- This sound is not produced with air flowing over the tongue. So, the central–lateral dichotomy is not suitable.
|
Click manner |
- The basic way of producing this sound may be voiced, nasal, aspirated, glottalized, etc.
|
Dental |
- The place of articulation (where the sound is produced) is dental. This means that this sound is produced with the tongue at the upper teeth, the lower teeth, or both the upper teeth and the lower teeth. (Many stops and liquids that are called dental consonants are actually denti-alveolar consonants.)
|
Ejective |
|
Epiglottal |
|
Flap |
- The manner of articulation (how the sound is produced) is flap. This means that this sound is produced with a single contraction of the muscles. The thing that produces the sound (usually the tongue) touches something else for a very short amount of time.
|
Fricative |
- The manner of articulation (how the sound is produced) is fricative. This means that this sound is produced by constricting air flow through a narrow channel at the place of articulation, to make turbulence.
|
Glottal |
|
Implosive |
- The airstream mechanism is implosive (also called glottalic ingressive). This means that this sound is produced by pushing the glottis downward. This pulls air inward. The glottis is not completely closed, but a pulmonic airstream is allowed to escape through it, which makes the sound.
|
Labial-velar |
- The place of articulation (where the sound is produced) is labial–velar. This means that this sound is produced with the lips and with the back part of the tongue (the dorsum) against the soft palate (the velum) at the same time. The dorsal closure is released before the labial closure, but they overlap for most of the time.
|
Labiodental |
|
Labiovelar |
|
Lateral |
- It is a lateral consonant. This means that this sound is produced by directing the airstream over the sides of the tongue, but not down the middle.
|
Lingual airstream |
- The airstream mechanism is lingual ingressive (aka velaric ingressive). This means that a pocked of air is trapped between two closures, then make the air thin by a "sucking" action of the tongue, but not being moved by the glottis or the lungs/diaphragm. The forward closure is released to produce the 'click' sound. Voiced and nasal clicks have a same pulmonic egressive airstream.
|
Linguolabial |
|
Nasal |
- It is a nasal consonant. This means that air is allowed to escape through the nose, either exclusively (nasal stops) or in addition to through the mouth.
|
Nasal stop |
- The manner of articulation (how the sound is produced) is stop. This means that this sound is produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract. Since the consonant is also nasal, the blocked airflow is redirected through the nose.
|
Oral |
- It is an oral consonant. This means that air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.
|
Oral-nasal |
- Clicks may be oral or nasal. This means that that the airflow is either restricted to the mouth, or passes through the nose as well.
|
Palatal |
|
Palato-alveolar |
|
Pharyngeal |
|
Plosive |
- The manner of articulation (how the sound is produced) is stop, or plosive. This means that this sound is produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract. (The term plosive contrasts with nasal stops, where the blocked airflow is redirected through the nose.)
|
Pulmonic |
|
Retroflex |
|
Retroflex shape |
- Its tongue shape is retroflex. This means that this sound is produced with the tip of the tongue flat or concave (curled up).
|
Sibilant |
- The manner of articulation (how the sound is produced) is sibilant fricative. This means that it is generally produced by channeling air flow along a groove in the back of the tongue up to the place of articulation, at which point it is focused against the sharp edge of the nearly clenched teeth, causing high-frequency turbulence.
|
Sibilant affricate |
- The manner of articulation (how the sound is produced) is sibilant affricate. This means that this sound is produced by first stopping the air flow entirely, then directing it with the tongue to the sharp edge of the teeth, causing high-frequency turbulence.
|
Trill |
- The manner of articulation (how the sound is produced) is trill. This means that this sound is produced by directing air over the articulator so that it vibrates.
|
Uvular |
|
Velar |
|
Voiced |
- The phonation is voiced. This means that the vocal cords vibrate while the sound is being pronounced.
|
Voiceless |
- The phonation is voiceless. This means that this sound is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords. In some languages the vocal cords are actively separated, so it is always voiceless; in others the cords are lax, so that it may take on the voicing of adjacent sounds.
|
Voiceless implosive |
- The airstream mechanism is implosive (glottalic ingressive). This means that this sound is produced by pulling air in by pushing the glottis downward. As it is voiceless, the glottis is completely closed, and there is no pulmonic airstream at all.
|
Voiceless short |
- The phonation is voiceless. This means that this sound is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords.
|