Consonant

Definition

A consonant is any speech sound that is articulated through a complete or partial closure of airflow through the of the vocal tract. Each consonant can be described in terms of the manner of articulation, place of articulation, state of velar the port (nasality), state of the larynx (voicing), and airstream mechanism (Zsiga, 2013).

Examples

The following examples illustrate the consonant inventories of Hul’q’umi’num’, Skwxwú7mesh, and Secwepemctsin. given by different authors. It should be noted that consonants are given in IPA symbols

  • Hul’q’umi’num’:
Suttles (2004)
  • Skwxwú7mesh:
Dyck (2004)
  • Secwepemctsin:
Gibson (1973)