All English consonants can be described in terms of three properties:
- voicing: this indicates whether the vocal cords are vibrating or not in the production of consonant sounds. This is caused by air pressure from the lungs that repeatedly pushes the vocal cords to open and shut again which produces a buzzing sound. Speech sounds produced with the vocal cords vibrating are called voiced sounds while those produced with the vocal cords apart (not vibrating) are called voiceless sounds
- Place of articulation: the place in the oral cavity where the airstream is modified or most obstructed to produce speech
- Manner of articulation: the particular way we position and modify our lips, tongue and teeth to produce speech