Radical consonant facts for kids

Radical consonants are consonants that are sounded out using the very back part of your tongue. Think of it as the root of your tongue, close to your throat!

What Are Consonants?

To understand radical consonants, let's first talk about what consonants are. Consonants are speech sounds where the air flowing out of your lungs is blocked or partly blocked. This blockage happens somewhere in your mouth or throat. For example, when you say "p," your lips block the air. When you say "t," your tongue touches the roof of your mouth.

How Your Tongue Makes Sounds

Your tongue is super important for making many different speech sounds. It can move to different parts of your mouth to create various sounds.

• The front of your tongue makes sounds like "t" or "d."
• The middle of your tongue makes sounds like "y" in "yes."
• The back of your tongue makes sounds like "k" or "g."

Exploring Radical Consonants

Radical consonants are special because they use the deepest part of your tongue. This part is called the "root" of the tongue. It moves towards the back wall of your throat, which is called the pharynx. When you make these sounds, the root of your tongue either blocks the air or narrows the space in your throat. This creates a unique sound. These sounds are not common in English.

Languages with Radical Sounds

You might not hear many radical consonants in English. However, they are very common in other languages! For example, languages like Arabic and Hebrew use radical consonants a lot. These sounds help to tell words apart. Learning to make them can be a fun challenge for language learners.