The IPA charts are analogs of the speech mechanisms. The International Phonetic Alphabet can help a person transcribe and reproduce speech sounds accurately. We will use a face diagram or sagittal sections to compare and contrast speech sounds. Sounds can be described in terms of the source and direction of the airstream and the degree and location of any impedance of the airstream.
All languages distinguish between consonant and vowel sounds.
Consonants All consonants can be distinguished in terms of how and where the sound is produced. We can sort consonants by similar features or characteristics. All languages distinguish between consonant sounds, in which the air stream is constricted, and vowel sounds, in which the air stream is basically unconstricted. Vowels are also distinguished in terms of how and where each sound is produced, but they involve fewer parts of the overall vocal apparatus. The International Phonetic Alphabet is useful as a tool to describe the speech sounds of any human language.