- A consonant is a sound in the pro

- A consonant is a sound in the production of which an obstruction is formed in the mouth by the active organs of speech.
- English consonants are classified according to the following factors:
- The degree of noise.
- The manners of articulation.
- The points of articulation.
- The work of the vocal cords.
- The position of the soft palate.
- The force of articulation.

e- Vowels may be classified according to the following principles:
The position of the tongue
(The changes in the position of the tongue determine largely the shape of the mouth and pharyngeal cavities. The tongue may move forward, backward, up and down thus changing the quality of vowel sounds. According to what part of the tongue is raised, we have front, central and back vowels.)
- Front vowels: When the front of the tongue is raised in the direction of hard palate /ɪ, i:, e, æ/
- Central vowels: When the central part of the tongue is high /ə , 3:, Λ /
- Back vowels: When the back of the tongue is raised toward the soft palate. /ʊ , u: , ɔ: , ɔ, a:/
The height of the tongue
According to how high is the tongue in the mouth, vowels can be of: close, half-close, half-open, and open or high, mid, low.
Sometimes instead of four-way division of the tongue height, a 3-way division is made.
- Close vowels: (The tongue comes closer to the palate so the air passage is narrow) /ɪ, i: , ʊ, u:/
- Mid vowels: The tongue is in the middle position / e , ɜ: , ə, Λ /
- Open vowels: The tongue is low so the air passage is wide / æ , ɔ: , ɔ, a: /
Lip position ( Lip – rounding )
The shape of the mouth cavity is also largely dependent on the position of the lips. According to the shapes of the lips, vowels can be:
- Rounded: (the corners of the lip are brought toward each other and the lips pushed forwards)
​​​/ u: , ʊ, ɔ , ɔ: /
​- Unrounded ( spread ) : the corner of the lips moved away from each other as for a smile
​​​/ ɪ, i:, e, æ, a:/
- Neutral ( where the lips are not noticeably rounded or spread ) - / ə , ɜ:, Λ /
The length of vowels:
Length refers to the duration of a vowel, that is, the time during which a vowel is produced and sustained .
​- Long vowels : / i: , ɜ: , ɔ: , u: , a: /
- Short vowels : / ɪ , e , æ , Λ, ʊ, ɔ, ə /
Muscle tension:
Muscle tension refers to the degree of tension in the muscles of the tongue, jaw and throat. If such tension is noticeable when a vowel is produced, we call the vowel tense. If relaxation is falling instead of tension, the vowel is described as lax.
​- Tense: / i: , ɜ:, u: , a: , ɔ: /
​- Lax: / ɪ , e , æ , Λ , ʊ , ɔ , ɜ /

f- Vowels and two large groups
• Vowels are
- speech sounds in which the breath escapes from the lungs without construction. In the other words, a vowel is produced without stoppage of the air stream in the oral cavity.
- syllabic sounds. They form the center of the syllable.
- always voiced. (They are produced with the vibration of the vocal cords).
- oral sounds (the air flows out of the oral cavity ).
- produced with the movement of tongue, the tongue may be moved forward or backward, up and down.
• … divided into two large groups: Monophthongs and diphthongs.
- Monophthongs: A monophthong is a pure vowel sound, which is pronounced without changing their position of the organs of speech throughout the duration of the vowel’s articulation. There are 12 monophthongs in English including:
- 7 short vowels : / ɪ , e , æ , ɔ , ʊ , ə, ˄ /
​- 5 long vowels : / i: , ɔ: ,u:, ɜ:, a: /
- Diphthongs: a diphthongis a complex sound consisting of 2 vowel elements pronounced so as to form a single syllable. In the pronunciation of the diphthongs, the organs of speech start in the position of one vowel and glide gradually to another vowel. There are 8 diphthongs in English:
- 3 diphthongs gliding to / ɪ / : / eɪ , aɪ , ɔɪ /
- 2 diphthongs gliding to / ʊ / : / aʊ , əʊ /
- 3 diphthongs gliding to /ə/ : / eə , ɪə , ʊə/
g- Manners of articulation refer to the ways in which the air stream passes out of the mouth. According to the manners of articulation, consonants may be of 7 groups: stops, fricatives, retroflex, affricates, nasals, lateral, and glides.
1. Plosives (stop sounds)
It is so-called because the air stream is completely stopped for a moment, after which it is allowed to rush out of the mouth with an explosive sound. English has six stops / p b d t k g /
2. Fricative
A fricative is the sound formed by a narrowing of the air passage at some point so that the air in escaping makes a kind of hissing e.g /f/, /s/ or buzzing e.g /z/ sound. English fricatives have nine sounds. There are 9 fricative sounds in English: / v f ʃ ʒ Ө ð s z h /
3. Affricative
An affricative is a combination of a plosive consonant with an immediately following fricative /ʒ/ or / ʃ/ sound. There are 2 affricative sounds in English: /ʤ/ & / ʧ/
4. Nasals
A nasal is the sound in the production of which all the air from the lungs escapes down the nose and not through the mouth a