Consonant

From KneeQuickie

A consonant is a sound formed when the airflow is stopped or impeded at any point in the mouth or throat.

All natlangs make use of consonant sounds; on average there are around twice as many consonants as vowels, although this ratio can vary widely between languages. (Examples?) Some conlangs have been made that lack consonants altogether, although these tend to be jokelangs, such as Eeeeish.

There are many ways consonant sounds can vary. A given language will only use some of these distinctions; some distinctions may be phonemic in one language but not others.

• The obstruction may be complete (forming a stop) or partial, causing friction and forming a fricative, or very slight, in which case the consonant is called an approximant.
• The obstruction may be made in a different place of articulation; that is, a different place in the mouth. Consonants in the coronal area can also vary according to which part of the tongue is used: see apical, laminal.
• The consonant may be lateral (with more airflow to the sides of the mouth than in the centre) or central. Lateral consonants by definition require at least some airflow, so there are no lateral stops.
• The consonant may or may not be voiced. Unvoiced consonants may also partially devoice the following sound; this is called aspiration.
• The consonant may be nasal; that is, with airflow in the nose as well as the mouth.
• The consonant may be formed with a secondary articulation or with two simultaneous articulations; the latter is called coarticulation.
• If the consonant is a continuant – that is, anything other than a non-nasal stop – it may be lengthened.
• Stops may vary in their manner of release. One very frequent type of release is fricative release, which forms affricates.
• The consonant may use a different airstream mechanism. See implosives, ejectives and clicks.