CONSONANTS & VOWELS

CONSONANTS & VOWELS

Human speech sounds fall into two categories: CONSONANTS and VOWELS. With
consonants, the airstream from the lungs is at least partially obstructed; with vowels, the
mouth is open and the tongue is not touching the roof of the mouth, the teeth, or the lips.
Thus vowels have a steady, uninterrupted airstream flowing out of the mouth from the lungs.
Since there is virtually no restriction in the flow of air with the production of vowels, they are
made by manipulating the internal shape of the mouth with the position of the tongue and the
shape of the lips.
For instance, when we say “ee” as in “sheep,” the tongue is high and to the front of the
mouth, and the lips are relaxed and unrounded. When we say “oo” as in “boot,” the tongue is
high and to the back of the mouth, and the lips are rounded. When we say “a” as in “pat,” the
tongue is low and to the front of the mouth. In English, vowels produced by the back of the
tongue are accompanied by rounded lips (there is one exception), and those produced by the
front of the tongue with unrounded lips. This is not necessarily the case in other languages.
Accents fall on vowels, not on consonants.