English vowels and consonants.

Sounds in English consist of two types : vowels and consonant.

What is the vowel ???

It is sound that comes out of the mouth without being stopped.

How do we pronounce the vowels???

 the tongue, the lips and the teeth do not get in the way of the mouth making a flowing sound.

The vowels letters are : (E, A, I, Y, O, U)

Examples:

Cat, bike, home, cute.

What is the consonant???

It is a sound that cut off by the mouth in some way.

How do we pronounce the consonants???

the lips, the tongue, the teeth or the back of the mouth bend and twist the air to make a specific sound.

Here are some consonants with examples:

/s/

The /s/ sound is made by putting the tip of the tongue close to the front top of the mouth (not touching it) and blowing air out.

Examples : start, sad, pass.

/z/

Like /s/, the /z/ sound is made by putting the tip of the tongue close to the front top of the mouth.

Examples : zoom, zap, buzz, zoo.

/n/

/n/ is pronounced by putting the tongue slightly above the teeth, opening your lips a bit, vibrating the vocal cords and making the air come out of the nose.

Examples : sun, nock, nun.

/ŋ/

It’s a nasal sound too like /n/, so you have to place the back of the tongue to the back of the mouth with your lips parted, force the air out of your nose and vibrate your vocal cords. It’s a difficult sound to make on its own, so try pronouncing this one as part of a word, This sound is written as the “ng”.

Examples : spring, wing, king.

/θ/

The /θ/ sound is called “theta” in English. It is created by putting the tongue between the teeth, just behind them, and blowing air out.This sound is always written as a “th”.

Examples : thin, third.

/ð/

The /ð/ sound is very similar to the /θ/ sound. It is called “eth” in English, and you can make it by putting the tongue between the teeth, blowing air out and vibrating the vocal cords.

Examples : weather, there.

/ʃ/

The /ʃ/ sound in English is made by putting the tip of your tongue close to the top of the mouth, and then blowing out. This sound is written as a “sh” or a “ss”.

Examples : shape, passion, bush.

/zh/

/zh/ is pronounced like /ʃ/, but with the vocal cords vibrating. Put the tip of your tongue close to the top of your mouth a little bit further back than the /s/ position, and then blow out with the vocal cords vibrating. This sound is always written as an “s” or a “g”.

Examples : regime, leisure.

/tʃ/

/tʃ/ is a combination of the /t/ sound and the /ʃ/ sound. Start with a /t/ sound, tapping the tip of the tongue to right above the teeth, and then do an /ʃ/ sound, placing the tongue close to the roof of the mouth slightly further back than /s/. Pronounce it quickly, and then you have /tʃ/.This sound is written as “ch” or in “tch”.

Examples : chat, check.

/dzh/

/dzh/ looks tricky, but it is actually easy, Once you can make the /tʃ/ sound, simply add in the vocal cords and you got /dzh/.This sound is written as “j” or in “dg”.

Examples : June, Judge.

Note : The best way to study English consonant sounds is to hear them clearly and then practice them a lot.