= Manner of articulation
{wiki}
<Manner of articulation> describes how a speech constriction controls airflow. A <plosive> builds an oral closure that can be released; a <fricative> narrows the passage enough to generate turbulent airflow. A <nasal consonant> can close the oral passage while allowing air to pass through the nose.<Essentials of Linguistics (2nd edition) by Catherine Anderson and others>[Section3.4, Describing consonants: Manner]{ref}
Compare `[p]`, `[f]` and `[m]`. Their differences cannot be reduced to whether the sound comes from the front of the mouth: the closure, friction-producing narrowing and nasal route produce different acoustic consequences. A sustained `[f]` contains a noise component generated by airflow through a narrow constriction; a sustained `[m]` combines <voicing> with a different resonant airway.
<Manner of articulation> complements <place of articulation>. Two sounds can share a place but differ in manner, so identifying only the location of a constriction leaves the mechanism underspecified.
Back to article page