Classification of Consonants according to: POINT OF ARTICULATION

International Phonetic Point of Description

Alphabet Symbol Articulation
p,m,b Bilabial Made with the two lips
f,v Labio-dental The lower lip articulates with the upper teeth
, Dental The tip or blade of the tongue articulates with the upper teeth
t,d,n,L Alveolar The blade or the tip and blade articulate with the alveolar ridge
r Retroflex The tip of the tongue is curled back to articulate with the part of the palate
immediately behind the alveolar ridge, but there is no contact between the
organs
,,, Palate-alveolar The blade or the tip and blade of the tongue articulate with the back part of
or Alveo-palatal the alveolar ridge, and there is at the same time a raising of the front of the
tongue towards the hard palate
Palatal The front of the tongue articulates with the palate
k,g, Velar The back of the tongue articulates with the soft palate or velum
Uvular The back of the tongue articulates with the uvula (French r)
h Glottal The vocal cords narrow the glottis causing friction, but not vibration

Classification of Consonants according to: MANNER OF ARTICULATION

International Phonetic Manner of Description

Alphabet Symbol Articulation
p,b,t,d,k,g Stops or plosives Speech segments produced with a complete closure at some point I the vocal
tract behind which the air pressure builds up and can be released explosively
f,v,,,s,z,,,h Fricatives Speech segments produced by forcing the air stream through a passage which
has been so narrowed that audible friction results
, Affricates Speech segments produced with a complete closure at some point in the mouth
behind which the air pressure builds up; the separation of the organs is
sufficiently slow to produce audible friction
L Laterals Speech segments formed by an obstruction at a point along the center of the
vocal tract, the air being allowed to escape on one or both sides of the contact
m,n, Nasals Speech segments during whose production the velum is lowered closing the
entrance to the oral cavity, the air being allowed to escape through the nose
English: tt Flaps Speech segments produced by a single rapid contact of the tip of the tongue
against the alveolar ridge (In Spanish pero. In English matter)
Spanish: r
r Trills Speech segments produced by a series of rapid intermittent closures made by
the tip of the tongue against the alveolar ridge. (In Spanish perro)
J,w Approximants Speech segments where there is an approach of one articulator toward
 another, but without the tract being narrowed to such an extent that audible
friction is produced. This class of sounds include the semivowels and all vowel
sounds

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA): The consonant phonemes of English and Spanish

POINT
bilabial labiodenta dental alveolar retrofle alveopalat palatal velar uvular glottal
l x al
Stops Englis p b t d k g
h
Stops Spanis p b t d k g
h
Fricatives Englis f v , s z , h
h
Fricatives Spanis f s y h
h
Affricates Englis ,
h
Affricates Spanis
h
Laterals Englis L
h
Laterals Spanis L
h
Nasals Englis m n
h MANNER
Nasals Spanis m n
h
Flaps Englis
h
Flaps Spanis
h
Trills Englis
h
Trills Spanis r
h
Approxima Englis w r J
nts h
Approxima Spanis
nts h