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{{Short description|Speech sound articulated by  closing the vocal tract fully or partially}}
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In [[articulatory phonetics]], a '''consonant''' is a [[speech sound]] that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the [[vocal tract]], except for the h sound, which is pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Examples are {{IPA|[p]}} and [b], pronounced with the [[lips]]; {{IPA|[t]}} and [d], pronounced with the front of the [[tongue]]; {{IPA|[k]}} and [g], pronounced with the back of the tongue; {{IPA|[h]}}, pronounced throughout the vocal tract; {{IPA|[f]}}, [v], and {{IPA|[s]}}, pronounced by forcing air through a narrow channel ([[fricative]]s); and {{IPA|[m]}} and {{IPA|[n]}}, which have air flowing through the nose ([[nasal consonant|nasal]]s). Most consonants are [[Pulmonic consonant|pulmonic]], using air pressure from the lungs to generate a sound. Very few natural languages are non-pulmonic, making use of [[Ejective consonant|ejectives]], [[Implosive consonant|implosives]], and [[Click consonant|clicks]]. Contrasting with consonants are [[vowel]]s.

Since the number of speech sounds in the world's languages is much greater than the number of letters in any one [[alphabet]], [[Linguistics|linguists]] have devised systems such as the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] (IPA) to assign a unique and unambiguous [[symbol]] to each attested consonant. The [[English alphabet]] has fewer consonant letters than the English language has consonant sounds, so [[Digraph (orthography)|digraph]]s like {{angbr|ch}}, {{angle bracket|sh}}, {{angle bracket|th}}, and {{angle bracket|ng}} are used to extend the alphabet, though some letters and digraphs represent more than one consonant. For example, the sound spelled {{angle bracket|th}} in "this" is a different consonant from the {{angle bracket|th}} sound in "thin". (In the IPA, these are {{IPA|[ð]}} and {{IPA|[θ]}}, respectively.)

==Etymology==
The word ''consonant'' comes from [[Latin]] oblique stem {{lang|la|cōnsonant-}}, from {{lang|la|cōnsonāns}} 'sounding-together', a [[calque]] of [[Ancient Greek language|Greek]] {{lang|grc|σύμφωνον}} {{lang|grc-Latn|sýmphōnon}} (plural {{lang|grc-Latn|sýmphōna}}, {{lang|grc|σύμφωνα}}).<ref>{{LSJ|su/mfwnos|σύμφωνος|ref}}</ref><ref>Robert K. Barnhart, ''ed.'', ''Chambers Dictionary of Etymology'', Previously published as ''The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology'', originally ©1988 The H.W. Wilson Company; Edinburgh, reprinted 2001: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd., p. 210.</ref>

[[Dionysius Thrax]] calls consonants {{lang|grc-Latn|sýmphōna}} ({{lang|grc|σύμφωνα}} 'sounded with') because in Greek they can only be pronounced with a vowel.{{efn|[[Dionysius Thrax]]:
:{{lang|grc|σύμφωνα δὲ τὰ λοιπὰ ἑπτακαίδεκα· β γ δ ζ θ κ λ μ ν ξ π ρ σ τ φ χ ψ. σύμφωνα δὲ +λέγονται+, ὅτι αὐτὰ μὲν καθ᾽ ἑαυτὰ φωνὴν οὐκ ἔχει, συντασσόμενα δὲ μετὰ τῶν φωνηέντων φωνὴν ἀποτελεῖ.}}
:The remaining seventeen are consonants: b, g, d, z, th, k, l, m, n, x, p, r, s, t, ph, ch, ps. They are called 'sounded with' because they do not have a sound on their own, but, when arranged with vowels, they produce a sound.<ref name="Thrax">[[Dionysius Thrax]]. τέχνη γραμματική (Art of Grammar), [http://www.hs-augsburg.de/~harsch/graeca/Chronologia/S_ante02/DionysiosThrax/dio_tech.html#06 ς´ περὶ στοιχείου (6. On the Sound)]</ref>}} He divides them into two subcategories: {{lang|grc-Latn|hēmíphōna}} ({{lang|grc|ἡμίφωνα}} 'half-sounded'),<ref>{{LSJ|h(mi/fwnos|ἡμίφωνος|shortref}}</ref> which are the [[continuant]]s,{{efn|Dionysius Thrax:
:{{lang|grc|τούτων ἡμίφωνα μέν ἐστιν ὀκτώ· ζ ξ ψ λ μ ν ρ σ. ἡμίφωνα δὲ λέγεται, ὅτι παρ᾽ ὅσον ἧττον τῶν φωνηέντων εὔφωνα καθέστηκεν ἔν τε τοῖς μυγμοῖς καὶ σιγμοῖς.}}
:Of these, eight are half-sounded: z, x, ps, l, m, n, r, s. They are called 'half-sounded' because, though a little weaker than the vowels, they are still harmonious [well-sounding] in their moaning and hissing.<ref name="Thrax"/>}} and {{lang|grc-Latn|áphōna}} ({{lang|grc|ἄφωνος}} 'unsounded'),<ref>{{LSJ|a)/fwnos|ἄφωνος|shortref}}</ref> which correspond to [[plosive consonant|plosives]].{{efn|Dionysius Thrax:
:{{lang|grc|ἄφωνα δέ ἐστιν ἐννέα· β γ δ κ π τ θ φ χ. ἄφωνα δὲ λέγεται, ὅτι μᾶλλον τῶν ἄλλων ἐστὶν κακόφωνα, ὥσπερ ἄφωνον λέγομεν τὸν τραγωιδὸν τὸν κακόφωνον.}}
:Nine are unsounded: b, g, d, k, p, t, th, ph, ch. They are called 'unsounded' because, more than the others, they are discordant [ill-sounding], just as we call the ill-sounding tragedist 'unsounded'.<ref name="Thrax"/>}}

This description does not apply to some languages, such as the [[Salishan languages]], in which plosives may occur without vowels (see [[Nuxalk language|Nuxalk]]), and the modern concept of "consonant" does not require co-occurrence with a vowel.

==Consonant ''sounds'' and consonant ''letters''==
{{Unreferenced section|date=July 2021}}
The word ''consonant'' may be used ambiguously for both speech sounds and the [[Letter (alphabet)|letters of the alphabet]] used to write them. In English, these letters are [[B]], [[C]], [[D]], [[F]], [[G]], [[J]], [[K]], [[L]], [[M]], [[N]], [[P]], [[Q]], [[S]], [[T]], [[V]], [[X]], [[Z]] and often [[H]], [[R]], [[W]], [[Y]].

In [[English orthography]], the letters H, R, W, Y and the digraph GH are used for both consonants and vowels. For instance, the letter Y stands for the consonant/semi-vowel {{IPA|/j/}} in '''''y'''oke'', the vowel {{IPA|/ɪ/}} in ''m'''y'''th'', the vowel {{IPA|/i/}} in ''funn'''y''''', the diphthong {{IPA|/aɪ/}} in ''sk'''y''''', and forms several digraphs for other diphthongs, such as ''sa'''y''', bo'''y''', ke'''y'''''. Similarly, R commonly indicates or modifies a vowel in [[Rhoticity in English|non-rhotic accents]].

This article is concerned with consonant sounds, however they are written.

==Consonants versus vowels==
{{More citations needed section|date=July 2021}}
Consonants and vowels correspond to distinct parts of a [[syllable]]: The most sonorous part of the syllable (that is, the part that is easiest to sing{{Citation needed|reason=What does 'easiest to sing' mean?|date=August 2024}}), called the ''syllabic peak'' or ''[[syllable nucleus|nucleus]],'' is typically a vowel, while the less sonorous margins (called the ''[[syllable onset|onset]]'' and ''[[syllable coda|coda]]'') are typically consonants. Such syllables may be abbreviated CV, V, and CVC, where C stands for consonant and V stands for vowel. This can be argued to be the only pattern found in most of the world's languages, and perhaps the primary pattern in all of them. However, the distinction between consonant and vowel is not always clear cut: there are syllabic consonants and non-syllabic vowels in many of the world's languages.

One blurry area is in segments variously called ''[[semivowel]]s'', ''semiconsonants'', or ''glides''. On one side, there are vowel-like segments that are not in themselves syllabic, but form [[diphthong]]s as part of the syllable nucleus, as the ''i'' in English ''boil'' {{IPA|[ˈbɔɪ̯l]}}. On the other, there are [[approximant]]s that behave like consonants in forming onsets, but are articulated very much like vowels, as the ''y'' in English ''yes'' {{IPA|[ˈjɛs]}}. Some phonologists{{who?|date=September 2024}} model these as both being the underlying vowel {{IPA|/i/}}, so that the English word ''bit'' would [[phoneme|phonemically]] be {{IPA|/bit/}}, ''beet'' would be {{IPA|/bii̯t/}}, and ''yield'' would be phonemically {{IPA|/i̯ii̯ld/}}. Likewise, ''foot'' would be {{IPA|/fut/}}, ''food'' would be {{IPA|/fuu̯d/}}, ''wood'' would be {{IPA|/u̯ud/}}, and ''wooed'' would be {{IPA|/u̯uu̯d/}}. However, there is a (perhaps allophonic) difference in articulation between these segments, with the {{IPA|[j]}} in {{IPA|[ˈjɛs]}} ''yes'' and {{IPA|[ˈjiʲld]}} ''yield'' and the {{IPA|[w]}} of {{IPA|[ˈwuʷd]}} ''wooed'' having more constriction and a more definite place of articulation than the {{IPA|[ɪ]}} in {{IPA|[ˈbɔɪ̯l]}} ''boil'' or {{IPA|[ˈbɪt]}} ''bit'' or the {{IPA|[ʊ]}} of {{IPA|[ˈfʊt]}} ''foot''.

The other problematic area is that of syllabic consonants, segments articulated as consonants but occupying the nucleus of a syllable. This may be the case for words such as ''church'' in [[rhotic and non-rhotic accents|rhotic]] dialects of English, although phoneticians differ in whether they consider this to be a syllabic consonant, {{IPA|/ˈtʃɹ̩tʃ/}}, or a rhotic vowel, {{IPA|/ˈtʃɝtʃ/}}: Some distinguish an approximant {{IPA|/ɹ/}} that corresponds to a vowel {{IPA|/ɝ/}}, for ''rural'' as {{IPA|/ˈɹɝl/}} or {{IPA|[ˈɹʷɝːl̩]}}; others see these as a single phoneme, {{IPA|/ˈɹɹ̩l/}}.

Other languages use fricative and often trilled segments as syllabic nuclei, as in [[Czech language|Czech]] and several languages in [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], and [[China]], including [[Mandarin Chinese]]. In Mandarin, they are historically allophones of {{IPA|/i/}}, and spelled that way in [[Pinyin]]. Ladefoged and Maddieson<ref name=SOWL>{{SOWL}}</ref>{{page needed|date=August 2018}} call these "fricative vowels" and say that "they can usually be thought of as syllabic fricatives that are allophones of vowels". That is, phonetically they are consonants, but phonemically they behave as vowels.

Many [[Slavic languages]] allow the trill {{IPA|[r̩]}} and the lateral {{IPA|[l̩]}} as syllabic nuclei (see [[Words without vowels]]). In languages like [[Nuxálk language|Nuxalk]], it is difficult to know what the nucleus of a syllable is, or if all syllables even have nuclei. If the concept of 'syllable' applies in Nuxalk, there are syllabic consonants in words like {{IPA|/sx̩s/}} ({{IPA|/s̩xs̩/}}?) 'seal fat'. [[Miyako language|Miyako]] in Japan is similar, with {{IPA|/f̩ks̩/}} 'to build' and {{IPA|/ps̩ks̩/}} 'to pull'.

Each spoken consonant can be distinguished by several phonetic ''[[Distinctive feature|features]]'':

* The [[manner of articulation]] is how air escapes from the vocal tract when the consonant or [[approximant]] (vowel-like) sound is made. Manners include stops, fricatives, and nasals.

* The [[place of articulation]] is where in the vocal tract the obstruction of the consonant occurs, and which speech organs are involved. Places include [[bilabial consonant|bilabial]] (both lips), [[alveolar consonant|alveolar]] (tongue against the gum ridge), and [[velar consonant|velar]] (tongue against soft palate). In addition, there may be a simultaneous narrowing at another place of articulation, such as [[Palatalization (phonetics)|palatalisation]] or [[pharyngealisation]]. Consonants with two simultaneous places of articulation are said to be [[Co-articulated consonant|coarticulated]].

* The [[phonation]] of a consonant is how the [[vocal cords]] vibrate during the articulation. When the vocal cords vibrate fully, the consonant is called [[voiced]]; when they do not vibrate at all, it is [[voiceless]].

* The [[voice onset time]] (VOT) indicates the timing of the phonation. [[Aspiration (phonetics)|Aspiration]] is a feature of VOT.

* The [[airstream mechanism]] is how the air moving through the vocal tract is powered. Most languages have exclusively [[pulmonic egressive]] consonants, which use the lungs and diaphragm, but [[ejective]]s, [[click consonant|click]]s, and [[implosive]]s use different mechanisms.

* The [[gemination|length]] is how long the obstruction of a consonant lasts. This feature is borderline distinctive in English, as in "wholly" {{IPA|[hoʊlli]}} vs. "holy" {{IPA|[hoʊli]}}, but cases are limited to morpheme boundaries. Unrelated roots are differentiated in various languages such as Italian, Japanese, and Finnish, with two length levels, "single" and "[[geminate]]". [[Estonian language|Estonian]] and some [[Sami languages]] have three phonemic lengths: short, geminate, and long geminate, although the distinction between the geminate and overlong geminate includes suprasegmental features.

* The articulatory force is how much muscular energy is involved. This has been proposed many times{{by who?|date=August 2024}}, but no distinction relying exclusively on force has ever been demonstrated.

All English consonants can be classified by a combination of these features, such as "voiceless alveolar stop" {{IPA|[t]}}. In this case, the airstream mechanism is omitted.

Some pairs of consonants like ''p::b'', ''t::d'' are sometimes called [[fortis and lenis]], but this is a [[phonology|phonological]] rather than phonetic distinction.

Consonants are scheduled by their features in a number of IPA charts:
{{IPA pulmonic consonants}}
{{IPA non-pulmonic consonants|notes=no}}
{{IPA co-articulated consonants}}

==Examples==
The recently extinct [[Ubykh language]] had only 2 or 3 vowels but 84 consonants;<ref>Georges Dumézil and Tevfik Esenç, 1975, ''Le verbe oubykh: études descriptives et comparatives''. Adrien Maisonneuve: Paris.</ref> the [[Taa language]] has 87 consonants under [[consonant cluster|one analysis]], 164 under [[linguo-pulmonic|another]], plus some 30 vowels and tone.<ref>Naumann, Christfied (2008). "The Consonantal System of West !Xoon". ''3rd International Symposium on Khoisan Languages and Linguistics''. Riezlern.</ref> The types of consonants used in various languages are by no means universal. For instance, nearly all [[Australian languages]] lack fricatives; a large percentage of the world's languages lack voiced stops such as {{IPA|/b/}}, {{IPA|/d/}}, {{IPA|/ɡ/}} as phonemes, though they may appear phonetically. Most languages, however, do include one or more fricatives, with {{IPA|/s/}} being the most common, and a [[liquid consonant]] or two, with {{IPA|/l/}} the most common. The approximant {{IPA|/w/}} is also widespread, and virtually all languages have one or more [[nasal consonant|nasals]], though a very few, such as the Central dialect of [[Rotokas language|Rotokas]], lack even these. This last language has the smallest number of consonants in the world, with just six.

===Most common===
In rhotic American English, the consonants spoken most frequently are {{IPA|/n, ɹ, t/}}. ({{IPA|/ɹ/}} is less common in non-rhotic accents.)<ref>[https://thelanguagenerds.com/most-common-sounds-in-spoken-english/ The most common sounds in spoken English] The Language Nerds.</ref>
The most frequent consonant in many other languages is {{IPA|/p/}}.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vistawide.com/languages/language_statistics.htm|title=World Language Statistics and Facts|website=www.vistawide.com|access-date=2019-01-13|archive-date=2019-01-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190114100501/https://www.vistawide.com/languages/language_statistics.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The most universal consonants around the world (that is, the ones appearing in nearly all languages) are the three voiceless stops {{IPA|/p/}}, {{IPA|/t/}}, {{IPA|/k/}}, and the two nasals {{IPA|/m/}}, {{IPA|/n/}}. However, even these common five are not completely universal. Several languages in the vicinity of the [[Sahara Desert]], including [[Arabic language|Arabic]], lack {{IPA|/p/}}. Several languages of North America, such as [[Mohawk language|Mohawk]], lack both of the labials {{IPA|/p/}} and {{IPA|/m/}}. The [[Wichita language]] of [[Oklahoma]] and some West African languages, such as [[Ijo languages|Ijo]], lack the consonant {{IPA|/n/}} on a phonemic level, but do use it phonetically, as an [[allophone]] of another consonant (of {{IPA|/l/}} in the case of Ijo, and of {{IPA|/ɾ/}} in Wichita). A few languages on [[Bougainville Island]] and around [[Puget Sound]], such as [[Makah language|Makah]], lack both of the nasals {{IPA|[m]}} and {{IPA|[n]}} altogether, except in special speech registers such as baby-talk. The 'click language' [[Nǁng language|Nǁng]] lacks {{IPA|/t/}},{{efn|Nǀu has {{IPA|/ts/}} instead. [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]] is often said to lack {{IPA|/t/}}, but it actually has a consonant that varies between {{IPA|[t]}} and {{IPA|[k]}}.}} and colloquial [[Samoan language|Samoan]] lacks both alveolars, {{IPA|/t/}} and {{IPA|/n/}}.{{efn|Samoan words written with the letters ''t'' and ''n'' pronounce them as {{IPA|[k]}} and {{IPA|[ŋ]}} except in formal speech. However, Samoan does have another alveolar consonant, {{IPA|/l/}}.}} Despite the 80-odd consonants of [[Ubykh language|Ubykh]], it lacks the plain velar {{IPA|/k/}} in native words, as do the related [[Adyghe language|Adyghe]] and [[Kabardian language|Kabardian]] languages. But with a few striking exceptions, such as [[Xavante language|Xavante]] and [[Tahitian language|Tahitian]]—which have no dorsal consonants whatsoever—nearly all other languages have at least one velar consonant: most of the few languages that do not have a simple {{IPA|/k/}} (that is, a sound that is generally pronounced {{IPA|[k]}}) have a consonant that is very similar.{{efn|The Niʻihau–Kauaʻi dialect of [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]] is often said to have no {{IPA|[k]}}, but as in other dialects of Hawaiian it has a consonant that varies between {{IPA|[t]}} and {{IPA|[k]}}.}} For instance, an areal feature of the [[Pacific Northwest]] coast is that historical *k has become palatalized in many languages, so that [[Saanich language|Saanich]] for example has {{IPA|/tʃ/}} and {{IPA|/kʷ/}} but no plain {{IPA|/k/}};<ref>Ian Maddieson and Sandra Ferrari Disner, 1984, ''Patterns of Sounds.'' Cambridge University Press</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://wals.info/feature/18 |title=The World Atlas of Language Structures Online: Absence of Common Consonants |access-date=2008-10-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090601070340/http://wals.info/feature/18 |archive-date=2009-06-01 |url-status=dead }}</ref> similarly, historical *k in the [[Northwest Caucasian languages]] became palatalized to {{IPA|/kʲ/}} in extinct [[Ubykh language|Ubykh]] and to {{IPA|/tʃ/}} in most [[Circassian languages|Circassian]] dialects.<ref>Viacheslav A. Chirikba, 1996, ''Common West Caucasian: the reconstruction of its phonological system and parts of its lexicon and morphology'', p. 192. Research School CNWS: Leiden.</ref>

==See also==
* [[IPA consonant chart with audio]]
*[[Articulatory phonetics]]
*[[List of consonants]]
*[[List of phonetics topics]]
*[[Words without vowels]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

;Sources
*Ian Maddieson, ''Patterns of Sounds'', Cambridge University Press, 1984. {{ISBN|0-521-26536-3}}

==External links==
{{Spoken Wikipedia|Consonant.ogg|date=2005-07-20}}
*{{Commons category-inline|Consonants}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071220011219/http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~danhall/phonetics/sammy.html Interactive manner and place of articulation]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130513063441/http://www.journalofwestafricanlanguages.org/Consonants.aspx Consonants (Journal of West African Languages)]

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