consonantal

Everyday

Consonantal means to do with consonants, or made of consonants. tree →

In the lessons

In English and phonics lessons, consonants are sounds like b, t, m, s, made by blocking the air with lips, tongue or teeth; vowels are open sounds. «Consonantal sounds» or a «consonantal cluster» like «str» in «street». Some writing systems, such as Hebrew and Arabic, are consonantal: they mostly write only consonants.

Examples

• «Str» is a consonantal cluster. tree →
• Hebrew uses a mostly consonantal alphabet. tree →
• The word «rhythm» is very consonantal. tree →
• We practised consonantal sounds in phonics. tree →
• Welsh has some unusual consonantal sounds, like «ll». tree →
• A consonantal sound blocks the air for a moment. tree →

Note

From «consonant» + «-al». Opposite: vocalic (about vowels). Technical word for language study.