Sound | Tongue | Lips | Jaw | Teeth | Air | Vocal Chords |
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/ˈ/ | | | | | | |
/ʤ/ | Raise the middle part of your tongue towards the hard palate, which is the bony ridge in the roof of your mouth, just behind your front teeth. At the same time, lower the back of your tongue towards the floor of your mouth. | Keep your lips relaxed and slightly open. | Keep your jaw slightly open and relaxed. | Keep your teeth slightly apart. | Build up some pressure behind your tongue by briefly stopping the airflow with the tip of your tongue against the hard palate. Then, release the air by quickly pulling your tongue back from the hard palate. | Start vibrating your vocal cords just as you release the burst of air. This produces a voiced sound. |
/ɑ/ | The tongue is flat and low in the mouth. The tongue is in the center of the mouth. The tip of the tongue touches the back of the bottom front teeth. | The lips remain relaxed in a neutral position. | The jaw drops, opening the mouth as wide as possible. | | | The vocal cords vibrate. |
/g/ | The back part of the tongue reaches up and touches the soft palate, cutting off the air. The tongue pulls away and the air flows. | The lips position depends on the sound that comes next. | | | First, the air stops. Then it flows. | The vocal cords vibrate. |
/d/ | The tongue comes up. The front part touches the roof of the mouth behind the top teeth. Then it pulls down to release the air. | | | The teeth are together. Then they separate. | First, the air stops. Then it flows. | The vocal cords vibrate. |