Editing English language (section)

=== Consonants ===
{{Main|English phonology#Consonants}}

Most English dialects share the same 24{{nbsp}}consonant phonemes. The consonant inventory shown below is valid for [[California English]],{{sfn|International Phonetic Association|1999|pages=41–42}} and for RP.{{sfn|König|1994|page=534}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|-
|+ Consonant phonemes
!
! colspan="2" | [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan="2" | [[Interdental consonant|Dental]]
! colspan="2" | [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! colspan="2" | [[Postalveolar consonant|Post-<br/>alveolar]]
! colspan="2" | [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! colspan="2" | [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! colspan="2" | [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPAlink|m}}
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPAlink|n}}
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPAlink|ŋ}}
| colspan="2" |
|-
! [[Stop consonant|Stop]]
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPAlink|p}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPAlink|b}}
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPAlink|t}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPAlink|d}}
| style="border-right: 0;" |  || style="border-left: 0;" | 
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPAlink|k}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPAlink|ɡ}}
| colspan="2" |
|-
! [[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
| style="border-right: 0;" |  || style="border-left: 0;" | 
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0;" |  || style="border-left: 0;" | 
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPAlink|tʃ}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPAlink|dʒ}}
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0;" |  || style="border-left: 0;" | 
| colspan="2" |  
|-
! [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPAlink|f}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPAlink|v}}
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPAlink|θ}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPAlink|ð}}
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPAlink|s}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPAlink|z}}
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPAlink|ʃ}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPAlink|ʒ}}
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPAlink|h}} || style="border-left: 0;" |
|-
! [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPAlink|l}}
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPAlink|ɹ}}*
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPAlink|j}}
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA link|w}}
| colspan="2" |
|}
<small><nowiki>*</nowiki> Conventionally transcribed {{IPA|/r/}}</small>

In the table, when [[obstruent]]s (stops, affricates, and fricatives) appear in pairs, such as {{IPA|/p b/}}, {{IPA|/tʃ dʒ/}}, and {{IPA|/s z/}}, the first is [[fortis and lenis|fortis]] (strong) and the second is lenis (weak). Fortis obstruents, such as {{IPA|/p tʃ s/}} are pronounced with more muscular tension and breath force than lenis consonants, such as {{IPA|/b dʒ z/}}, and are always [[voicelessness|voiceless]]. Lenis consonants are partly [[voice (phonetics)|voiced]] at the beginning and end of utterances, and fully voiced between vowels. Fortis stops such as {{IPA|/p/}} have additional articulatory or acoustic features in most dialects: they are [[aspirated consonant|aspirated]] {{IPA|[pʰ]}} when they occur alone at the beginning of a stressed syllable, often unaspirated in other cases, and often [[unreleased stop|unreleased]] {{IPA|[p̚]}} or pre-glottalised {{IPA|[ʔp]}} at the end of a syllable. In a single-syllable word, a vowel before a fortis stop is shortened: thus ''nip'' has a noticeably shorter vowel (phonetically, but not phonemically) than ''nib'' {{IPA|[nɪˑb̥]}} ([[#Vowels|see below]]).{{sfn|Collins|Mees|2003|pages=47–53}} 
* lenis stops: ''bin'' {{IPA|[b̥ɪˑn]}}, ''about'' {{IPA|[əˈbaʊt]}}, ''nib'' {{IPA|[nɪˑb̥]}}
* fortis stops: ''pin'' {{IPA|[pʰɪn]}}; ''spin'' {{IPA|[spɪn]}}; ''happy'' {{IPA|[ˈhæpi]}}; ''nip'' {{IPA|[nɪp̚]}} or {{IPA|[nɪʔp]}}

In RP, the lateral approximant {{IPA|/l/}}, has two main [[allophone]]s (pronunciation variants): the clear or plain {{IPA|[l]}}, as in ''light'', and the dark or [[velarized alveolar lateral approximant|velarised]] {{IPA|[ɫ]}}, as in ''full''.{{Sfn|Trudgill|Hannah|2008|p=13}} GA has dark ''l'' in most cases.{{Sfn|Trudgill|Hannah|2008|p=41}}
* clear ''l'': RP ''light'' {{IPA|[laɪt]}}
* dark ''l'': RP and GA ''full'' {{IPA|[fʊɫ]}}, GA ''light'' {{IPA|[ɫaɪt]}}

All [[sonorant]]s (liquids {{IPA|/l, r/}} and nasals {{IPA|/m, n, ŋ/}}) devoice when following a voiceless obstruent, and they are syllabic when following a consonant at the end of a word.{{sfn|Brinton|Brinton|2010|pages=56–59}}
* voiceless sonorants: ''clay'' {{IPA|[kl̥eɪ̯]}}; ''snow'' RP {{IPA|[sn̥əʊ̯]}}, GA {{IPA|[sn̥oʊ̯]}}
* syllabic sonorants: ''paddle'' {{IPA|[ˈpad.l̩]}}, ''button'' {{IPA|[ˈbʌt.n̩]}}