Consonant Sounds

noun a speech sound produced by narrowing but not blocking the vocal tract

adjective relating to or denoting a consonant that is produced by narrowing but not blocking the vocal tract

• The phoneme /w/ is an approximant sound produced by rounding the lips.
• In casual conversation, people often pronounce 'approximant' as 'uh-prox-uh-muhnt'.
• I can't believe I nailed that approximant in my speech, it was perfect!
• Her singing voice was like a smooth approximant, gliding effortlessly through the song.

noun a member of a Caucasian people of Abkhazia, in the northwest Caucasus region of the eastern Black Sea

adjective relating to the Abkhaz people or their language

• The Abkhas language is one of the official languages of Abkhazia.
• I heard that Abkhas cuisine is very delicious.
• Let's go check out that new Abkhas restaurant in town.
• His knowledge of Abkhas culture runs deep, like a river flowing through the mountains.

noun a composite speech sound consisting of a stop consonant followed by a fricative or spirant consonant, as (ch, j), (psh, bzh), etc.

• The affricate sound in the word 'church' is a combination of a stop and a fricative.
• I find it difficult to pronounce the affricate correctly in certain words.
• Some people struggle with saying the affricate sound, but with practice, it gets easier.
• The affricate symbolizes the blending of two distinct sounds to create a new phonetic element.

noun a speech sound that begins like a stop (for example, [t]) but releases like a fricative (for example, [s])

• The phoneme /dʒ/ is an affricative sound in English.
• I find it difficult to pronounce affricative sounds correctly.
• Some people struggle with affricatives, but with practice, you can improve.
• Her words had a sharp affricative tone, cutting through the silence.