Lesson 1-2 How to pronounce vowels and consonants
- Stephen Kong
- Jul 1, 2015
- 2 min read
How to pronounce vowels
The pronunciation of vowels is basically determined by the position of the tongue and the shape of the mouth. Thus vowels can be categorized according to the shapes of the mouth, the vertical positions of the tongue (high vs. low), and the horizontal positions of the tongue (front vs. back).
The shape of the mouth can be divided into two kinds, rounded and unrounded.
How to pronounce consonants
The sounds for consonants are determined by the position where the exhaled air is blocked in the oral or nasal cavity, and the way the air is blocked or released.
In pronouncing Chinese consonants, the air stream usually is blocked in the oral cavity. The blocking of the air stream requires at least the cooperation of two articulators. Generally speaking, the blocking of the air stream in pronouncing different Chinese consonants is made by the 7 pairs of articulators listed below:
The two lips: b p m
The upper teeth and the lower lip: f
The tip of the tongue and the upper gum: d t n l
The root of the tongue and the soft palate: g k h ng
The surface of the tongue and the front part of the hard palate: j q x
The tip of the tongue and the front part of the hard palate: zh ch sh r
The tip of the tongue and the back of the upper teeth or lower teeth: z c s
Besides the position of the air stream obstruction (the place where the air stream is blocked), other factors are also involved in the pronunciation of individual consonant, such as the degree of obstruction (the air stream is totally or partially blocked), the variation of the obstruction (the change in the degree of air stream obstruction during the process of pronunciation), the strength of the air stream (being weak or strong), and the degree of vibration of the vocal cords (being vibrated or not) etc. The following terms will be used to describe the consonants’ manner of articulation:
Plosive sound: b, p, d, t, g, h
Fricative sound: f, h, x, sh, s, r
Affricate sound: j, q, zh, ch, z, c
Nasal sound: m, n, ng
Lateral sound: l
Voiced vs. unvoiced sound: r, q, ch, c, m, n, ng, l
Aspirated vs. unaspirated sound: b, p, f, d, t, g, k, h, x, j, sh, zh, ch, s, z, c
