1. Place of Articulation: This refers to where in the vocal tract the airflow is obstructed. The main places of articulation are:
* Bilabial: Both lips are used (e.g., /p/, /b/, /m/)
* Labiodental: Lower lip touches upper teeth (e.g., /f/, /v/)
* Dental: Tongue touches upper teeth (e.g., /θ/, /ð/)
* Alveolar: Tongue touches the alveolar ridge (e.g., /t/, /d/, /n/, /s/, /z/, /l/, /r/)
* Post-alveolar: Tongue is behind the alveolar ridge (e.g., /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/, /dʒ/)
* Palatal: Tongue touches the hard palate (e.g., /j/)
* Velar: Tongue touches the soft palate (e.g., /k/, /g/, /ŋ/)
* Uvular: Tongue touches the uvula (e.g., /q/)
* Glottal: Airflow is stopped at the glottis (e.g., /h/)
2. Manner of Articulation: This refers to how the airflow is obstructed. The main manners of articulation are:
* Stop: Airflow is completely stopped (e.g., /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/)
* Fricative: Airflow is constricted, creating friction (e.g., /f/, /v/, /θ/, /ð/, /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /h/)
* Affricate: A stop followed by a fricative (e.g., /tʃ/, /dʒ/)
* Nasal: Airflow is through the nose (e.g., /m/, /n/, /ŋ/)
* Liquid: Airflow is partially obstructed, but the sound is not a stop (e.g., /l/, /r/)
* Approximant: Airflow is nearly unobstructed (e.g., /j/, /w/)
3. Voicing: This refers to whether the vocal cords are vibrating during articulation.
* Voiced: Vocal cords vibrate (e.g., /b/, /d/, /g/, /v/, /z/, /m/, /n/, /ŋ/, /l/, /r/, /w/, /j/)
* Voiceless: Vocal cords don't vibrate (e.g., /p/, /t/, /k/, /f/, /s/, /θ/, /ʃ/, /h/)
4. Other Classifications:
* Place of Articulation: While the main places are listed above, there are more specific sub-classifications within each category. For example, there are different types of alveolar sounds depending on exactly where the tongue touches the alveolar ridge.
* Manner of Articulation: Some consonants have more specific manners, like the lateral fricative /ɬ/ (found in Welsh) or the implosive consonant /ɓ/ (found in some African languages).
* Secondary Articulation: Some consonants have secondary articulation features, like palatalization (e.g., /tʃ/ in English) or labialization (e.g., /w/ in English).
These classifications help linguists describe and understand the sounds of different languages and how they are produced. It is important to note that the specific classifications and terminology can vary depending on the linguistic tradition.