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Linguistics & Grammar vocabulary · Phonetics and Phonology

Consonant

Meaning in linguistics & grammar, with examples

/ˈkɒnsənənt/nounCore term

In linguistics & grammar, consonant means: A speech sound made by partly or completely blocking the air in the mouth or throat, such as /p/, /s/ or /m/; also a letter that usually spells such a sound.

In Turkish: ünsüz, sessiz harf

How it is used

Phoneticians describe consonants by voicing, place and manner of articulation (/b/ is a voiced bilabial plosive). Teachers talk about consonant clusters, silent consonants and final consonants.

Example sentences

  1. The word 'strengths' starts with a cluster of three consonants.

  2. English has two 'th' consonants, /θ/ and /ð/, which Turkish learners often replace with /t/ and /d/.

Common collocations

  • consonant cluster
  • voiced consonant
  • final consonant
  • silent consonant
  • vowelA speech sound made with the air flowing freely through the mouth, without the tongue or lips blocking it, such as the sounds in see, cat and boot.
  • voicedDescribes a speech sound produced while the vocal folds vibrate, such as /b/, /d/, /z/ and all vowels; sounds made without this vibration are voiceless.
  • place of articulationThe point in the mouth or throat where the airflow is blocked or narrowed to make a consonant, such as the two lips for /p/ or the teeth for /θ/.
  • phonemeThe smallest unit of sound that can change meaning in a particular language, such as /p/ and /b/, which make pin and bin different words in English.

More terms: Phonetics and Phonology

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