| Share page | Visit Us On FB |
|
THE CONSONANTS. |
59 |
||
|
The first voiced and its corresponding breath consonants in each class are explosives—B, P, B, T, G, K; the remainder are fricatives or continuants.
73. Practice in Articulation.—The first lesson in articulation should be devoted to the practice of the differentiation of the voiced from the corresponding breath consonants. The voiced part of B, V, B, Th, Z, Zh, and G must be made in the larynx before the stops are opened; if continued afterwards another sound is introduced.
The second practice should be devoted to the accurate adjustment of the stop-positions by a mobile movement of the lips, tongue, soft palate, and lower jaw. Eigidity must be rigorously avoided. The contact of the lips with one another, or of the tongue with the palate, must be quite light, but firm enough to prevent any escape of air beyond the stop for the explosives. While narrowing for the continuants the articulatory apparatus must be kept mobile.
The third practice should be devoted to the control of the breath and the voice while sounding the consonants. The term explosive is suggestive of a forcible expulsion of imprisoned air when the barrier is suddenly removed. This is likely to be misleading. The stop must be very quickly moved by well lowering the jaw, but at the same time the breath must not be allowed to burst out, it must be controlled so that it flows out. The opening should be on or directly after the consonant in readiness for the following vowel. This rule applies to both classes of consonants, it makes no difference whether voice is present as in the voiced consonants, or voice is absent as in the breath consonants.
The control of the breath for the continuants removes |
|||