1. By Manner of Articulation: This describes how the air is manipulated to produce the sound. Some common categories include:
* Stops: Airflow is completely blocked for a moment (e.g., /p/, /t/, /k/, /b/, /d/, /g/).
* Fricatives: Air is forced through a narrow opening, creating friction (e.g., /f/, /θ/, /s/, /ʃ/, /v/, /ð/, /z/, /ʒ/).
* Affricates: Start as stops, then release into fricatives (e.g., /tʃ/, /dʒ/).
* Nasals: Air escapes through the nose (e.g., /m/, /n/, /ŋ/).
* Liquids: Air is directed around the tongue (e.g., /l/, /r/).
* Glides: Articulator moves quickly to a new position (e.g., /w/, /j/).
2. By Place of Articulation: This describes where in the mouth the air is blocked or restricted. Common categories include:
* Bilabial: Both lips (e.g., /p/, /b/, /m/).
* Labiodental: Lower lip against upper teeth (e.g., /f/, /v/).
* Dental/Interdental: Tongue against teeth (e.g., /θ/, /ð/).
* Alveolar: Tongue against alveolar ridge (e.g., /t/, /d/, /n/, /s/, /z/, /l/, /r/).
* Palatal: Tongue against hard palate (e.g., /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/, /dʒ/, /j/).
* Velar: Tongue against soft palate (e.g., /k/, /g/, /ŋ/).
* Glottal: Airflow blocked at the vocal cords (e.g., /h/).
3. By Voicing: This describes whether the vocal cords are vibrating during sound production.
* Voiced: Vocal cords vibrate (e.g., /b/, /d/, /g/, /v/, /z/, /m/, /n/, /l/, /r/, /w/, /j/).
* Voiceless: Vocal cords do not vibrate (e.g., /p/, /t/, /k/, /f/, /θ/, /s/, /ʃ/, /h/).
4. By Other Factors:
* Tonal: Some languages use pitch to distinguish phonemes (e.g., Mandarin Chinese).
* Stress: Some languages use stress to distinguish phonemes (e.g., English).
* Syllabic: Some phonemes are syllabic, meaning they can function as a syllable on their own (e.g., the /l/ in "bottle").
Important Notes:
* These categories are not mutually exclusive. A phoneme can be classified in multiple ways. For example, /t/ is a voiceless alveolar stop.
* The exact categories and subdivisions can vary between different phonological frameworks.
By understanding these classifications, we can analyze the sound systems of different languages and better understand how they work.