English phonetics and phonology (Peter Roach)

6 Fricatives and affricates

6.1 Production of fricatives and affricates

Fricatives are consonants with the characteristic that, when they are produced, air escapes through a small passage and makes a hissing sound.

Affricates are rather complex consonants. They begin as plosives and end as fricatives.

The fortis fricatives have the effect of shortening a preceding vowel, as do fortis plosives.

Phonologically, h is a consonant. It is usually found before vowels. When hoccurs between voiced sounds, it is pronounced with voicing called breathy voice.

Most American and Scottish speakers, produce a voiceless fricative with the same lip, tongue and jaw position as w.

The phonetic symbol for this voiceless fricative is M.

t∫, dз are the only two affricate phonemes in English.

p, t, k may be followed not by a vowel

but by one of l, r, j, w. these voiced continuant aonsonants undergo a similar process: they lose their voicing. So words like ‘play’ pleI, ‘tray’ treI, ‘quick’ kwIk contain devoiced l, r, w,