THE CONSONANTS. 615 



that correspond harmonically with the fundamental tone of the vowel- 

 cavity when blown upon. 



THE CONSONANTS. 



The consonants are noises that are generated at certain parts of 

 the reinforcing tube. They are classified as follows: I. According 

 to their acoustic properties into (i) sounding or liquid consonants, that 

 is those that are audible even without vowels (m, n, I, r, s); (2) mutes, 

 including all the rest, which cannot be distinctly heard without the 

 simultaneous pronunciation of a vowel. II. According to the mechan- 

 ism of their formation, as well as the parts of the speech-apparatus by 

 which they are produced. 



1. Mutes, stops, checks, or explosives, the air being forced through an 

 existing closure, with the production of more or less noise; or, con- 

 versely, the current of air may be suddenly interrupted, while at the 

 same time the nasal cavity is closed off by elevation of the soft palate. 



2. Fricatives or spirants or sibilants, the canal being constricted at 

 one point, so that the air is forced through with a hissing noise, while 

 the nasal cavity is closed off. 



L and similar .consonants are closely related to the fricatives, differ- 

 ing, however, from these in that the narrow passage through which the 

 air is forced is not situated in the middle line, but to either side of the 

 closed middle. The nasal cavity is closed off. 



3. Vibratives, which result when air is forced through a narrow part of 

 the canal, so that the margins of the constriction are thrown into vibra- 

 tion. The nasal cavity is closed off. 



4. Resonants, also designated nasals or semi-vowels. The nasal cavity 

 is entirely open, but the mouth is tightly closed anteriorly at one point. 

 In accordance with the position of this closure of the mouth, the air in a 

 larger or smaller portion of the oral cavity may be set into sympathetic 

 vibration. 



In addition to these possible forms of origin of the sounds the points 

 at which they may be produced must be taken into consideration. These 

 points may be designated articulation-positions. They are: A, between 

 the lips; B, between the tongue and the hard palate; C, between the 

 tongue and the soft palate; D, between both true vocal bands. 



(A) Consonants of the First Articulation-position. 



1 . Explosive Labials. 6 (bay) : the voice is sounded before the soft 

 explosion occurs ; p (pay) : the voice is sounded only after the much 

 stronger explosion has taken place. 



2. Fricative Labials. /: between the upper incisor teeth and the 

 lower lip (labio-dental) ; it is absent from all true slavic words \v (fow) : 

 between the two lips (labial); w (vay): results when the mouth is 

 adjusted as for / (labial, as well as labio-dental), but instead of merely 

 blowing air out, the voice is also sounded. There are really two different 

 forms of w (vay), namely, one corresponding to the labial /, as in Wurde 

 (pronounced veerde) , and the labio-dental, as in Quelle (pronounced kwelle) . 



3. Vibrative Labials. The "burring" sound of drivers, not employed 

 in civilized languages. 



4. Resonant Labial. m is formed when the voice is sounded, and the 

 air in the oral and nasal cavities is thrown into resonance. 



