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DIFFERENCES BETWEEN VOWELS ANDCONSONANTS

CONSONANTS AND VOWELS ARE TWODIFFERENT QUALITIES OF SOUNDS THAT

ARE FOUND ALMOST IN ALL LANGUAGES

OF THE WORLD.

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CONSONANTS ARE DEFINED AS THE SOUNDSARTICULATED BY TEMPORARY OBSTRUCTIONIN THE AIR STREAM WHICH PASSES THROUGH

THE MOUTH.

THE OBSTRUCTION MADE BY THEARTICULATORS MAY BE TOTAL,

INTERMITTENT,PARTIAL, OR MAY MERELYCONSTITUTE A NARROWING SUFFICIENT TOCAUSE FRICTION.

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Almost all articulators are involved in the

production of consonants. Especially theposition of thesoft palate causes the division of

consonants intooralconsonants andnasal

consonants. When the soft palate is raised, oral

consonants are produced; when the soft palate is

lowered, nasal consonants are produced.

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But vowels are the sounds that are produced with anapproximation without any obstruction in the air

passage. Among all articulators, only the tongue is

prominent in their production.

All vowel sounds are voiced, and all of them are

oral as during the production of them the soft palate

is raised and hence the nasal cavity is completely

blocked.

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Even in theirmanner of classification, consonants

and vowels show apparent distinction.

Consonants are identified or classified in terms of

voicing, place of articulation and manner of

articulation, breath effort, source of energy andnoise component; whereas vowels in terms of the

height of the tongue, part of the tongue which is

raised or lowered, lip rounding and openingbetween the jaws.

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Consonants are 25 in number, whereas vowels

are only 12 in number.

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To sum up:

Consonants Vowels

Articulated by temporaryobstruction

Without any obstruction

Position of the soft

palate(lowered/raised):nasal/oral

All of them: oral

Voicing: voiceless andvoiced

All of them: voiced

Classification according to:place and manner ofarticulation, voicing, breatheffort, source of energy andnoise component

Height of tongue, part oftongue raised highest, liprounding, opening betweenjaws

Auditory impressions Articulatory impressions

----------------------------------------- Relative sonority (moreprominent, carry better, heard at

a greater distance )25 in number 12 in number

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

CRUTTENDEN, ALAN.CRUTTENDEN, ALAN. GimsonGimsons Pronunciation ofs Pronunciation of

EnglishEnglish. 5th Ed. London: Arnold, 1994.. 5th Ed. London: Arnold, 1994.FINCH, D. & HFINCH, D. & Hctor ORTIZ LIRA,ctor ORTIZ LIRA, A Course in EnglishA Course in English

Phonetics for Spanish SpeakersPhonetics for Spanish Speakers, London:, London:Heinemann, 1982.Heinemann, 1982.

GIEGERICH, Heinz,GIEGERICH, Heinz, English PhonologyEnglish Phonology, Cambridge,, Cambridge,1995.1995.

ROACH, Peter,ROACH, Peter, English Phonetics and PhonologyEnglish Phonetics and Phonology,,

Cambridge: CUP, 1991.Cambridge: CUP, 1991.