Practice question · Select all that apply
Which are true of approximants?
Hints
- Three describe the class; one describes stops and nasals.
- Complete closure would make the sound a stop or a nasal.
Show the answer
- A. /w/ and /j/ are among them
- C. The constriction is too wide to produce turbulence
- D. English /l/ is one, with airflow passing at the sides of the tongue
Why
Approximants sit between vowels and fricatives: narrower than a vowel, wider than the gap needed for turbulence. The lateral /l/ is the special case, with the tongue tip closed against the ridge and the air escaping at the sides, a complete closure in the middle and an open channel at the edges.
Practise Classifying Consonants
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More questions on Classifying Consonants
- Why is the label "voiceless alveolar plosive" a set of instructions rather than a name?
- Arrange these manners of articulation from the most complete obstruction of the airstream to the least.
- How many places of articulation does English use for its consonants?
- Roughly what percentage of the world's languages have dental fricatives like the two th sounds of English?
- Complete the classification.
- A student assumes that because /m/ and /p/ are both bilabial consonants, the vocal tract is closed entirely…
- Match each place of articulation to the articulators involved.