How to Make Consonant Sounds
How to Make Consonant Sounds teaches you how to produce all of the English consonant sounds.
Each letter is either voiced or unvoiced. Voiced sounds come from your mouth and your voice box (throat). Unvoiced sounds come from your mouth, but you cannot feel them in your voice box (throat). When you make a sound, put your finger on your voice box to check if it is vibrating!
*Special note about videos - Videos may contain tips for more than one letter. For example, the video for letter Z offers an articulation guide for letters Z, S and J.
Press your lips together. Push air against your lips and then open
your mouth to let out the air and the B sound. B is voiced - you will feel your voice box (throat) vibrate.
Video Guide
Put the back of your tongue on the roof of your mouth. Open your mouth as you lower your tongue and push air out. C is unvoiced - you will not feel your voice box (throat) vibrate. Video Guide
Your tongue should be on the roof of your mouth just behind your top row front teeth. Push air out and lower your tongue. D is voiced - you will feel your voice box (throat) vibrate.
Put your top row teeth gently on your lower lip. While doing that, blow air out. F is unvoiced - you will not feel your voice box (throat) vibrate.
Put your tongue on the roof of your mouth. Push air out as you lower your tongue. G is voiced - you will feel your voice box (throat) vibrate.
Rest your tongue on the lower part of your mouth. Open your mouth and push air out from your lungs. H is unvoiced - you will not feel your voice box (throat) vibrate.
Put your tongue on the roof of your mouth. Then, push air out as you let your tongue fall away from your teeth. J is voiced - you will feel your voice box (throat) vibrate.
Put your tongue on the roof of your mouth. Lower it as you open your mouth and push air out. K is unvoiced - you will not feel your voice box (throat) vibrate.
Put your tongue behind your top front teeth. The sides of your tongue should be relaxed. Push air out as you lower your tongue. L is voiced - you will feel your voice box (throat) vibrate.
Press your lips together. Push air out through your nose. If you pinch your nose shut, you won’t be able to make the sound!
Put your tongue behind your top front teeth. Push air out through your nose. If you pinch your nose shut, you won’t be able to make the sound!
P is similar to B. Press your lips together. Push air against your lips and
then open your mouth to let out the air and the P sound. The difference here is that P is unvoiced (while B is voiced)- with P you will not feel your voice box (throat)
vibrate.
Video Guide
Put the back part of your tongue on the back roof of your mouth. Push air out as you lower your tongue. Q is unvoiced - you will not feel your voice box (throat) vibrate.
Your tongue should be up, but not on the roof of your mouth. Make the sound with your voice box. R is voiced - you will feel your voice box vibrate.
Put your teeth together like a smile (your lips are not touching). Put your tongue behind your teeth, but also not touching. Blow out. S in unvoiced - you will not feel your voice box (throat) vibrate.
Put your tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth behind your front teeth. Open your mouth a little as you push air out. T is unvoiced -you will not feel your voice box (throat) vibrate.
Put your top teeth on your lower lip gently. Blow air out as your throat vibrates. V is voiced – you will feel your voice box (throat) vibrate.
Put your lips close together, but not touching. The shape should look like an “o.” Let your lips open as your push air out. W is voiced - you will feel your voice box (throat) vibrate.
The letter X sounds like K + S when it is not the first letter of a word. Most of the time when it is the first letter sound (as in Xylophone), it sounds like Z. So look at K + S and look at Z for X sounds.
Put your tongue close to the top of your mouth. The sides of your tongue should touch your top teeth, and the tip of your tongue should be lowered. Push air out to make the Y sound. Y is voiced - you will feel your voice box (throat) vibrate.
Put your top and bottom teeth together. Put your tongue just behind your
front teeth. Your tongue may or may not touch the roof of your mouth. Push air out. Z is voiced - you will feel your voice box (throat) vibrate.
Video Guide
There are 4 more consonant sounds. Each uses 2 Letters to produce its sound.
VOICED
Your lips are open a little bit. Put your tongue on the rough of your mouth behind your top front teeth. Move your tongue down as your push air out.
VOICED
Stick out your lips and put your teeth close together (but not touching). Your tongue should rest. The front part of your tongue will touch the teeth on the sides of your mouth. Push the air out continually.
UNVOICED
Put the tip of your tongue on the back of your front teeth and blow air out. (Unvoiced.) Examples are: both, cloth and Seth.
VOICED
Put the tip of your tongue on the back of your front teeth. Now make sound with your voice box (throat). Examples are:
the, that, weather.
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