words with more than two syllables (seat; speedily). Stop Consonants (Plosives). A stop (or plosive) - is a consonant articulation which stops the airflow in the vocal tract completely, the air cannot escape through the mouth. When the articulators come apart, the airstream will be released in a small burst of sound. Aspiration a period of voicelessness after the release of an articulation, e.g. pie [paý] NB! K, p, t are unvoiced/aspirated consonants and g, b, d are unaspirated/voiced consonants. These unvoiced stops are completely unaspirated (spy, sty, sky), because stop is immediately following word-initial s. Fricatives, Affricates, Nasals. Fricatives - narrowing the distance between two articulators so that the airstream is partially obstructed and a turbulent airflow is produced (i.e. friction). Fricatives may be voiced or voiceless. Consonants can be classified by:
We use the term neutralisation for cases where contrasts between phonemes which exist in other places in the language disappear in particular contexts. A clearer case of neutralisation can be found in the case of plosives following s in syllable-initial position. Words like 'spill', 'still', 'skill' are usually represented with the phonemes p, t, k following the s. But, as many writers have pointed out, it would be quite reasonable to transcribe them with b, d, g instead, because b, d, g are unaspirated while p, t, k in syllable- initial position are usually aspirated; but in sp, st, sk we find an unaspirated plosive. Although we dont transcribe as such, it is important to remember that the contrasts between p and b, between t and d and between k and g are neutralised in this context. There are many ways of analysing the English phonemic system, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. The rhythm of speech is determined by many factors where the stresses fall, whether
annaabi.ee 
