1. Bilabial
1.1. Bilabial consonants occur when you block/constrict airflow out of the mouth by bringing your lips together.
1.2. English contains the following three bilabial consonants:
1.2.1. /p/ as in “purse” and “rap“ /b/ as in “back” and “cab“ /m/ as in “mad” and “clam“
2. Dental
2.1. Dental consonants occur when you block/constrict airflow by placing your slimy tongue against your upper teeth.
2.2. English contains the following two labio-dental sounds:
2.2.1. /θ/ as is “thick” and “bath“ /ð/ as in “the” and “rather”
3. Post-Alveolar
3.1. When you retract your tongue back just a bit from the alveolar ridge, the sounds change enough to be recognized as distinct consonants.
3.2. The post-alveolar english consonants are as follows:
3.2.1. /ʃ/ as in “shot” or “brash” /ʒ/ as in “vision” or “measure” /tʃ/ as in “chick” or “match” /dʒ/ as in “jam” or “badge“
4. Velar
4.1. You make Velar Consonants when you raise the back of your tongue to the velum to block or restrict airflow.
4.2. English has the following velar consonants:
4.2.1. /ŋ/ as in “going” and “uncle” /k/ as in “kite” and “back“ /g/ as in “good” and “bug“ /w/ as in “wet” and “howard”
5. Manners of Articulation
5.1. Nasal
5.1.1. Nasals: In nasal sounds the velum (soft palate) is lowered blocking off the oral cavity. Air can only escape through the nose. English nasals are /m/, /n/ and /ŋ/ as in sing, which are all voiced.
5.2. Stop
5.2.1. Plosives/stops: In plosives, the speech organs are closed and the oral and nasal cavity completely closed blocking off the airstream. The upbuilding pressure in the oral cavity is then suddenly released. The audible puff of air that is released is called aspiration. Plosives of the English language are /p/, /t/, /k/ (voiceless) and //b/, /d/, /g/ (voiced).
5.3. Fricative
5.3.1. Fricatives: Fricatives are created when air forces its way through a narrow gap between two articulators at a steady pace. They can be divided into two categories: slit fricatives and groove fricatives. In slit fricatives the tongue is rather flat (as in /f/, /θ/ as in thing (voiceless), /v/, /ð/ as in this (voiced) ) while in groove fricatives the front of the tongue forms the eponymous groove (/s/ as in seal, /ʃ/ as in shock (voiceless), /z/ as in zero, /ʒ/ as in measure (voiced)).
5.4. Affricate
5.4.1. Affricates: Like with plosives there is a complete blockage of the airstream in the oral cavity. But in contrast to said plosives, the blocked-off airstream is not released suddenly, but rather slowly causing audible friction. Affricates can, therefore, be divided into two parts: a plosive followed by a fricative (as there is closure and friction in the same place). But note that affricates are always analyzed as only one phoneme. English affricates are /tʃ/ (voiceless) as in cheese and /dʒ/ (voiced) as in jungle.
5.5. Approximant
5.5.1. Approximants: The name approximants refers to the fact that the articulators involved approach each another without actually touching. There are three approximants in the English language: /j/ as in you, /w/ as in we and /r/ as in rise (all voiced). Approximants are often referred to as semi-vowels (or glides) as they represent the “twilight zone” between consonants and vowels.
5.6. Lateral
5.6.1. Laterals: The tip of the tongue is pressed onto the alveolar ridge. The rims of the tongue are lowered so that the air escapes over the lowered tongue rims. The only English lateral sound is /l/ (voiced).
6. Labio-Dental
6.1. Labio-dental consonants occur when you block/constrict airflow by curling your lower lip back and raising it to touch your upper row of teeth.
6.2. English contains the following two labio-dental sounds:
6.2.1. /f/ as in “fro” and “calf“ /v/ as in “vine” and “have”
7. Alveolar
7.1. You create Alveolar consonants when you raise your tongue to the alveolar ridge to block or constrict airflow.
7.2. The English alveolar consonants are as follows:
7.2.1. /n/ as in “no” and “man“ /t/ as in “tab” and “rat“ /d/ as in “dip” and “bad“ /s/ as in “suit” and “bus“ /z/ as in “zit” and “jazz“ /l/ as in “luck” and “fully”
8. Palatal
8.1. You create Palatal consonants when you raise the tongue to this point and constrict airflow.
8.2. English has only one palatal consonant:
8.2.1. /j/ as in “yes” and “bayou”
9. Glottal
9.1. The glottis is actually two vocal folds (i.e. vocal cords). It acts as a sort of bottle cap to your windpipe.
9.2. In English, the following things happen at the glottis:
9.2.1. /h/ as in “hi” and “Bahamas.” Say these words and notice how you’re not actually constricting or blocking airflow for this /h/ sound.