An approximant is formed by the constriction of the vocal tract, but with no obstruction in the vocal tract. Therefore, no turbulent airflow, as in a fricative. Instead, the air is allowed to flow freely through the vocal tract.
Examples of approximants in English are 
, 
, 
, 
.
The sound is also known as a lateral approximant, since the articulators do touch at a central point, but the air is allowed to flow through one or both sides of the contact point.
There are two other articulations in varieties of English that should be noted here: the tap and the trill.
A tap is formed by a quick contact between an articulator and the vocal tract. In Standard American English, for example, there is the tap 
, which can be found in the middle of words such as ladder, and butter.
A trill is formed by the rapid vibration of the tongue tip against the roof of the mouth. This vibration is caused by the motion of a current of air. This sound, represented by 
, is found, for example, in varieties of British and Scots English. It is also known as a "rolled r".
In this lesson, you have been introduced to several manners of articulation. These are listed below:
In the next lesson, you will be introduced to the classification of vowel sounds.
© 2001 The Language Samples Project