The Manner of Articulation is a second Distinctive Feature for Consonants.

• The Manner of Articulation: Sometimes the point of constriction for two or more phonemes is the same. What differs is the manner in which they are made. Let me give three examples: Plosives, Fricatives and Affricates.
  
  

  • For Plosives, the air flow is completely blocked, thus creating a build-up of pressure. When the constriction is abruptly removed, the air escapes in with mini explosion (e.g., "P," "T" and "K").

  • For Fricatives, the constriction is only partial, thus creating some pressure build-up while at the same time letting air escape with a turbulence that creates a noise (e.g., "F," "TH," "S," and "Sh.")
    
    
  • An Affricate is a phonemic "sandwich," that it is produced by both of the distinctive features, one top of the other. There are only two in English so we will use them as examples. The first is the first (or last) sound in the word "church."

Previous slide

Next slide

Back to first slide

View graphic version