Editing Consonant (section)

==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|Mandarin]]. 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}}