ABSTRACT
A consonant involves an obstruction of the airstream as it passes through the vocal tract. There are three factors to be taken into consideration: voicing, place of articulation, and manner of articulation. A number of English consonants come in pairs, the only difference between them being that one is voiceless and one is voiced. Place of articulation is described in terms of an active articulator that moves toward a passive articulator, which is in a fixed position. The approximants, like the nasals (and vowels), are sonorants and do not undergo the kind of devoicing that obstruents are subject to when adjacent to voiceless consonants or pauses. However, when preceded by an aspirated voiceless plosive, the aspiration takes place during the articulation of the approximant and partially or completely devoices it while the increased airflow through the approximant stricture causes friction.
