Consonant Consonant In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are , pronounced with the lips; , pronounced with the front of the tongue; , pronounced with the back of the tongue; , pronounced in the throat; and , pronounced by forcing air through a narrow channel (fricatives); and and , which have air flowing through the nose (nasals). Contrasting with consonants are vowels. Since the number of possible sounds in all of the world's languages is much greater than the number of letters in any one
Vocal cord nodule fold nodules are most often characterized as bilaterally symmetrical whitish masses, and tend to form at the midpoint of the vocal folds. Nodules may prevent complete closure of the glottis, also known as glottal closure, and their presence may lead to an hourglass-shaped glottal closure. Voice problems may result from the presence of vocal fold nodules. They are diagnosed based on the presence of perceptual features not explicable by other causes. Such symptoms include: vocal fatigue, breathiness, loss of high pitch notes, lack of vocal control, or increased phonatory effort (i.e. increased effort to produce speech). For individuals who work