CONSONANTS. 605 



Consonants are sounds produced not mainly by the 

 vocal cords, but by modifications of the expiratory blast on 

 its way through the mouth. The current may be inter- 

 rupted and the sound changed by the lips (labials) ; or, at 

 or near the teeth, by the tip of the tongue (dentals) ; or, in 

 the throat, by the root of the tongue and the soft palate 

 (gutturals). Consonants are also characterized by the kind 

 of movement which gives rise to them. In explosives an 

 interruption to the passage of the air-current is suddenly 

 interposed or removed (P, T, B, D, K, G). Other con- 

 sonants are continuous (as F, S, E), and may be subdivided 

 into (1) aspirates, characterized by the sound produced by 

 a rush of air through a narrow passage, as when the lips are 

 approximated (F), or the teeth (S), or the tongue is brought 

 near the palate (Sh), or its tip against the two rows of teeth, 

 they not being quite in contact (Th). For L the tongue 

 is put against the hard palate and the air escapes on its 

 sides. For Ch (as in the proper Scotch pronunciation of 

 loch) the passage between the back of the tongue and the 

 soft palate is narrowed. To many of the above pure 

 consonants answer others, in whose production true vocali- 

 zation (i.e. a laryngeal tone) takes a part. F with some 

 voice becomes V; S becomes Z, Th soft (teeth) becomes Th 

 hard; and Ch becomes Gh. (2) Resonants; these have 

 been referred to above. (3) Vibratones (the different 

 forms of K), which are due to vibrations of parts bounding 

 a constriction put in the course of the air-current. Ordi- 

 nary R is due to vibrations of the tip of the tongue held near 

 the hard palate; and guttural R to vibrations of the uvula 

 and parts of the pharynx. 



The consonants may physiologically be classified as in the 

 following table (Foster). 



Explosives. Labials, without voice P* 



" with voice B. 



Dentals, without voice T. 



" with voice D. 



Gutturals, without voice K. 



" with voice G (hard). 



