Which of the following is a bilabial sound?
A/t/
B/m/
C/s/
D/ʃ/
Answer:
B. /m/
Read Explanation:
Understanding Bilabial Sounds in Phonetics
What are Bilabial Sounds?
- Bilabial sounds are a class of consonants produced by bringing both lips together (bi- meaning 'two' and labial referring to 'lips').
- This complete closure of the lips creates an obstruction in the vocal tract, which is then released to produce the sound.
Common Bilabial Sounds in English:
- There are primarily three bilabial consonants in English, distinguished by their manner of articulation and voicing:
- /p/: A voiceless bilabial plosive (e.g., in 'pen', 'pat'). The vocal cords do not vibrate.
- /b/: A voiced bilabial plosive (e.g., in 'ball', 'bat'). The vocal cords vibrate.
- /m/: A voiced bilabial nasal (e.g., in 'man', 'map'). Air escapes through the nose, not the mouth.
Articulation of /m/:
- The sound /m/ is formed by completely closing the lips and lowering the velum (soft palate) to allow air to escape through the nasal cavity. Simultaneously, the vocal cords vibrate, making it a voiced sound.
- It is a nasal consonant because the air exits through the nose, unlike plosives where air exits through the mouth after a build-up of pressure.
Importance in Competitive Exams:
- Understanding the place of articulation (like bilabial, labiodental, dental, alveolar, palatal, velar, glottal) and manner of articulation (plosive, fricative, affricate, nasal, lateral, approximant) is crucial for questions in English Phonetics and Phonology.
- Many competitive exams include questions on identifying sounds based on their phonetic properties, IPA symbols, and their classification.
- The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a system of phonetic notation based primarily on the Latin alphabet, used to represent speech sounds. Knowing the IPA symbols for different sounds is vital.