20
2. Fricatives
Fricative consonants are consonants that are produced because of a closure, but the closure is not quite complete. It means that the air is not
blocked at any point. That is why there is no plosion in fricatives, but the obstruction is big enough. That obstruction can make a noise when the air
passes through. Fricatives may be labiodentals like [f] and [v], dental like [
θ] and [ð], alveolar like [s], and [z], palato-alveolar [∫], and [
Ʒ
] or glottal [h].
3. Affricates
Affricates are the combination of a plosive and a fricative. These sounds begin like a plosive, with a complete closure. However, they just have a
very slow release, moving backwards to a place where a friction can be heard palate-
alveolar. ɑffricate consonants are [t∫], and [d
Ʒ
].
4. Nasals
These sounds resemble plosives if there is not a complete closure in the mouth. Yet, because the velum is lowered, the air can escape through the
nasal cavity. The three English nasals are all voiced. They are [m], [n] and [ŋ].
5. Laterals
Laterals are sounds which are produced when the air escapes around the sides of the tongue. There is only one lateral sound in English. That sound
is [l]. There are two kinds of [l]. They are clear [l] and dark [l]. Clear [l] is the sound, which is found before vowel, like in the line, long, land.
21 Meanwhile dark [l] is found after vowel, like in the silk, bill, child and so
on.
6. Approximants
Approximants are sounds where the tongue only approaches the roof of the mouth, which is why there is not enough obstruction to create any friction.
There are three approximants in English sounds; they are [r], [j], [w].
The other component in segmental features of pronunciation is vowel. Vowel becomes the main concern in this research. According to Hickey,
definition of vowels is sounds, which are produced without any constriction of the vocal tract. They are nearly always voiced and are usually produced with airflow
solely through the oral cavity. There are twelve vowels in English sounds. The twelve vowels, itself is classified into three based on these following variables:
1. Based on Part of the Tongue Raised
Based on this variable, vowels are divided into three. They are: the front, the centre, and the back v.
2. Based on the Degree of Raising Tongue
This variable divides vowels into four. They are open, half-open, half-close, and close vowels.
3. Based on the Position of the Two Lips
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