ولـد الشـيخ
๑ . . عضو ماسي . . ๑
Dear audience,
Yes indeed, talking about vowels and consonants in details could take us to a very complicated area of phonology. For the general learner of a language, however, I believe that it would be enough to know that (generally) the vowels are: A – E – I - O – U and that (generally) the consonants are: THE REST OF THE LETTERS.
For others who are interested in knowing more about vowels and consonants, here is some simplified information:
A consonant refers to a speech sound where the airstream from the lungs is either completely blocked (and the sound is called a STOP, such as “K”) or partially blocked (and the sound is called LATERAL, such as “L”).” If the airstream comes through the nose, the sound is called NASAL, such as “M”. If the airstream comes through the mouth, the sound is called VOCAL, such as “S”.
There is still more and more complex description of the consonant sounds. To cut the story short, consonants are usually described in terms of three aspects:
•Voicing: Is the sound voiced or unvoiced (P vs. B)?
•The place of articulation: Where in the mouth is it produced, and what do we use to produce it: the teeth, the lips (etc.)?
•Manner of articulation: What does happen to the airstream as it comes up from the lungs and goes through the mouth (or the nose)?
On the contrary, a vowel refers to the sound that comes from the lungs through the mouth without being blocked in any way. Like consonants, vowels are also classified into types, such as: FRONT VOWEL, BACK VOWELS, etc. Generally speaking, vowel sounds are described in terms of three aspects:
•The position of the tongue
•The shape of the lips
•The length of the sound
Again, I would like to close my contribution by saying that there is no need for the general learners of a language to bother themselves with such phonological description.
I hope this helps,
Yes indeed, talking about vowels and consonants in details could take us to a very complicated area of phonology. For the general learner of a language, however, I believe that it would be enough to know that (generally) the vowels are: A – E – I - O – U and that (generally) the consonants are: THE REST OF THE LETTERS.
For others who are interested in knowing more about vowels and consonants, here is some simplified information:
A consonant refers to a speech sound where the airstream from the lungs is either completely blocked (and the sound is called a STOP, such as “K”) or partially blocked (and the sound is called LATERAL, such as “L”).” If the airstream comes through the nose, the sound is called NASAL, such as “M”. If the airstream comes through the mouth, the sound is called VOCAL, such as “S”.
There is still more and more complex description of the consonant sounds. To cut the story short, consonants are usually described in terms of three aspects:
•Voicing: Is the sound voiced or unvoiced (P vs. B)?
•The place of articulation: Where in the mouth is it produced, and what do we use to produce it: the teeth, the lips (etc.)?
•Manner of articulation: What does happen to the airstream as it comes up from the lungs and goes through the mouth (or the nose)?
On the contrary, a vowel refers to the sound that comes from the lungs through the mouth without being blocked in any way. Like consonants, vowels are also classified into types, such as: FRONT VOWEL, BACK VOWELS, etc. Generally speaking, vowel sounds are described in terms of three aspects:
•The position of the tongue
•The shape of the lips
•The length of the sound
Again, I would like to close my contribution by saying that there is no need for the general learners of a language to bother themselves with such phonological description.
I hope this helps,