Place of Articulation (Consonants)

Definition

When referring to consonant articulation, the place of articulation refers to where in the mouth moves during speech. Specifically, an active articulator moves towards a passive articulator in order to create an obstruction of airflow somewhere in the vocal tract (Zsiga, 2013). It should be noted that due to the differences in constriction during consonant and vowel articulation, that places of articulation do differ between vowels and consonants.

The possible places of articulation include labial, coronal, alveolar, palatal, dorsal, glottal, uvular, and pharyngeal. A description of each place of articulations can be found by clicking the respective term, along with examples in Hul’q’umi’num’, Skwxwú7mesh, and Secwepemctsín.

• Labial
• Coronal
• Alveolar
• Palatal
• Dorsal
• Glottal
• Uvular
• Pharyngeal

Examples

• Hul’q’umi’num’:
  • Bliss et al., (to appear), provide the place and manner of articulation for all of the consonants found in Hul’q’umi’num’, illustrated in the following consonant chart. The red arrows in the diagram correspond to the place of articulation in the chart (e.g., labial, dental, etc..)