Classifications of consonants

Mediolingual consonants are produced with the front part of the tongue. They are always palatal. Palatal consonants are articulated with the front part of the tongue raised high to the hard palate /j/.

Backlingual consonants are also called velar, they are produced with the back part of the tongue raised towards the soft palate “velum”  /k, g, ? /.

Within the group of lingual oppositions can be found among forelingual, mediolingual and backlingual: yet-get (medio vs. back), yes-less (medio vs. fore), tame-game (fore vs. back).

The glottal consonant /h/ is articulated in the glottis.

III. The classification of consonants according to the manner of noise production from the
viewpoint of the closure, which is formed in their articulation may be:

• 
  1) complete closure, then occlusive consonants 1. noise /p, b, t, d, k, g/ and 2.sonorants /m,
  n, ? / are produced; within the group of occlusive noise can be opposed to sonorant(pine-mine).
  
• 
  2) incomplete closure, then constrictive consonants 1. noise /f, v, ?, ? , h, s, z, ? , 3/ and 2. sonorants / w, j, 1, r/; within the group of constrictive noise can be opposed to sonorant (fine- wine)
  

3)        the combination of the two closures, then occlusive-constrictive, or affricates, are
produced / t?, d3 /.

This principle provides the basis for the following distinctive oppositions: occlusive vs. constrictive (came-lame), constrictive vs. affricate (fail-jail), occlusive vs. affricate (must-just).IV. According to the position of the soft palate all consonants are subdivided into oral and

nasal. When the soft palate is raised and the air from the lungs gets into the pharynx and then
into the mouth cavity, oral consonants are produced /p, t, k, f, v/ etc. When the soft palate is
lowered and the air on its way out passes through the nasal cavity, nasal consonants are
produced: /m, n, ? /.

This principle provides the basis for the following distinctive opposition: oral vs. nasal(sick-sing).As it has been pointed out the main method of establishing phonemes of a given language is the commutation test or discovery of minimal pairs through which the establishment of the phonemic status of each sound is accomplished. It helps to establish 24 phonemes of consonants:

/p, b, t, d, k, g, f, v, ?, ? , s, z, ?, 3, h, t? , d3, m, n, ? , w, r, j, l/.