Which description defines the bilabial place of articulation?

• A. Tongue against alveolar ridge
• B. Vocal cords vibrate
• C. Both lips pressed together (b, w, p, m)
• D. Tongue against palate

Answer: (C)

For place of articulation, we look at where in the vocal tract the air is constricted to make the sound. A bilabial consonant is produced with both lips coming together, so describing it as “both lips pressed together” perfectly captures the place of articulation. Examples include p, b, m, and w, which all involve the lips forming the constriction (with w also often involving some lip rounding and a bit of velar involvement). The other descriptions point to different aspects: tongue against the alveolar ridge shows an alveolar place, tongue against the palate indicates a palatal place, and vocal cords vibrating refers to voicing, not where the constriction occurs.