View source for Plosive

{{short description|Consonant in which the vocal tract is blocked so that all airflow ceases}}
{{redirect|Stop consonant|the broader definition|Occlusive}}
{{more citations needed|date=September 2019}}
{{IPA notice}}

In [[phonetics]], a '''plosive''', also known as an '''[[occlusive]]''' or simply a '''stop''', is a [[pulmonic consonant]] in which the vocal tract is [[manner of articulation|blocked]] so that all [[airstream mechanism|airflow]] ceases.

The occlusion may be made with the tongue tip or blade ({{IPAblink|t}}, {{IPAblink|d}}), tongue body ({{IPAblink|k}}, {{IPAblink|ɡ}}), lips ({{IPAblink|p}}, {{IPAblink|b}}), or glottis ({{IPAblink|ʔ}}). Plosives contrast with [[nasal occlusive|nasals]], where the vocal tract is blocked but airflow continues through the nose, as in {{IPAslink|m}} and {{IPAslink|n}}, and with [[fricatives]], where partial occlusion impedes but does not block airflow in the vocal tract.

==Terminology==
The terms ''stop, occlusive,'' and ''plosive'' are often used interchangeably. Linguists who distinguish them may not agree on the distinction being made. "Stop" refers to the stopping of the airflow, "occlusive" to the articulation which occludes (blocks) the vocal tract, and "plosive" to the plosion (release burst) of the consonant. Some object to the use of "plosive" for [[unreleased stop|inaudibly released stops]], which may then instead be called "applosives". The [[International Phonetic Association]] and the [[International Clinical Phonetics and Linguistics Association]] use the term "plosive".

Either "occlusive" or "stop" may be used as a general term covering the other together with nasals. That is, 'occlusive' may be defined as [[oral consonant|oral]] occlusive (plosives and [[affricate]]s) plus nasal occlusives (nasals such as {{IPAblink|m}}, {{IPAblink|n}}), or 'stop' may be defined as oral stops (plosives) plus nasal stops (nasals). [[Peter Ladefoged|Ladefoged]] and [[Ian Maddieson|Maddieson]] (1996) prefer to restrict 'stop' to oral non-affricated occlusives. They say,<ref>{{SOWL|102}}</ref>

{{blockquote|what we call simply nasals are called nasal stops by some linguists. We avoid this phrase, preferring to reserve the term 'stop' for sounds in which there is a complete interruption of airflow.}}

In addition, they restrict "plosive" for [[pulmonic consonant]]s; "stops" in their usage include [[ejective consonant|ejective]] and [[implosive consonant|implosive]] consonants.<ref>{{SOWL|77–78}}</ref>

If a term such as "plosive" is used for oral non-affricated obstruents, and nasals are not called nasal stops, then a ''stop'' may mean the [[glottal stop]]; "plosive" may even mean non-glottal stop. In other cases, however, it may be the word "plosive" that is restricted to the glottal stop. Generally speaking, plosives do not have plosion (a release burst). In English, for example, there are plosives with [[no audible release]], such as the {{IPA|/p/}} in ''apt''. However, English plosives do have plosion in other environments.

In [[Ancient Greek]], the term for plosive was {{lang|grc|ἄφωνον}} (''áphōnon''),<ref>{{LSJ|a)/fwnos|ἄφωνος|ref}}</ref> which means "unpronounceable", "voiceless", or "silent", because plosives could not be pronounced without a vowel. This term was [[calque]]d into [[Latin]] as {{lang|la|mūta}}, and from there borrowed into English as ''mute''.<ref>{{OED|mute}}</ref> ''Mute'' was sometimes used instead for voiceless consonants, whether plosives or fricatives, a usage that was later replaced with ''surd'', from Latin {{lang|la|surdus}} "deaf" or "silent",<ref>{{L&S|surdus|ref}}</ref> a term still occasionally seen in the literature.<ref>{{OED|surd}}</ref> For more information on the Ancient Greek terms, see {{section link|Ancient Greek phonology|Terminology}}.

==Articulation==
A plosive is typically analysed as having up to three phases:
*Approach, during which articulators come together
*Hold (or "occlusion" or "closure"), during which the articulators are held and block the airstream
*Release (or "burst" or "plosion"), when the articulators are separated, releasing the compressed air<ref>{{cite book|last1=Collins|first1=Beverly|last2=Mees|first2=Inger M.|year=2013|title=Practical Phonetics and Phonology: A Resource Book for Students|edition=3rd|publisher=Routledge|pages=85–6|isbn=978-0-415-50650-2}}</ref>

Only the hold phase is requisite. A plosive may lack an approach when it is preceded by a consonant that involves an occlusion at the same place of articulation, as in {{IPA|[d]}} in ''end'' or ''old''. In many languages, such as [[Malay language|Malay]] and [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]], word-final plosives lack a release burst, even when followed by a vowel, or have a [[nasal release]]. See [[no audible release]].

==Common plosives==
All spoken natural languages in the world have plosives,<ref>König, W. (ed) ''dtv Atlas zur deutschen Sprache'' dtv 1994{{full citation needed|date=August 2018}}</ref> and most have at least the voiceless plosives {{IPA|[p]}}, {{IPA|[t]}}, and {{IPA|[k]}}.  However, there are exceptions: Colloquial [[Samoan language|Samoan]] lacks the [[coronal consonant|coronal]] {{IPA|[t]}}, and several North American languages, such as the [[Iroquoian]] languages (e.g., [[Mohawk language|Mohawk]] and [[Cherokee]]), and [[Arabic]] lack the [[labial consonant|labial]] {{IPA|[p]}}. In fact, the labial is the least stable of the voiceless plosives in the languages of the world, as the unconditioned sound change {{IPA|[p]}} → {{IPA|[f]}} (→ {{IPA|[h]}} → {{IPA|Ø}}) is quite common in unrelated languages, having occurred in the history of [[Classical Japanese language|Classical Japanese]], [[Classical Arabic]], and [[Proto-Celtic language|Proto-Celtic]], for instance. Formal [[Samoan language|Samoan]] has only one word with [[velar consonant|velar]] {{IPA|[k]}}; colloquial Samoan conflates {{IPA|/t/}} and {{IPA|/k/}} to {{IPA|/k/}}. [[Niʻihau]] [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]] has {{IPA|[t]}} for {{IPA|/k/}} to a greater extent than [[Hawaiian language|Standard Hawaiian]], but neither distinguish a {{IPA|/k/}} from a {{IPA|/t/}}. It may be more accurate to say that Hawaiian and colloquial Samoan do not distinguish velar and coronal plosives than to say they lack one or the other. 

[[Ontena Gadsup]] has only 1 phonemic plosive {{IPA|/ʔ/}}.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-01728030/document |title=The Typology of the Distribution of Edge : the propensity for bipositionality|last=Ulfsbjorninn|first=Shanti|last2=Lahrouchi|first2=Mohamed|journal=Papers in Historical Phonology|volume=1|via=HAL-SHS - Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220219205744/https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-01728030/document |archive-date=2022-02-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sil.org/system/files/reapdata/14/55/28/145528924996124292827377513229587788840/Gadsup_Ontena.pdf |title=Organised Phonology Data - Gadsup ( Ontena dialect) Language [GAJ] - Eastern Highlands Province|website=[[SIL International]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308155324/https://www.sil.org/system/files/reapdata/14/55/28/145528924996124292827377513229587788840/Gadsup_Ontena.pdf |archive-date=2022-03-08}}</ref> [[Yanyuwa_language|Yanyuwa]] distinguishes plosives in 7 places of articulations {{IPA|/b d̪ d ḏ ɖ ɡ̟ ɡ̠/}} (it does not have voiceless plosives) which is the most out of all languages.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://phonetics.ucla.edu/appendix/languages/yanuya/yanuwa.html | title=Yanuyuwa |website=UCLA Phonetics Lab Data |publisher=University of California, Los Angeles}}</ref>

See [[Occlusive#Common occlusives|Common occlusives]] for the distribution of both plosives and nasals.

==Classification==
===Voice===
'''[[voiced consonant|Voiced]] plosives''' are pronounced with vibration of the [[vocal cords]], '''[[voiceless]] plosives''' without. Plosives are commonly voiceless, and many languages, such as [[Mandarin Chinese]] and [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]], have only voiceless plosives. Others, such as most [[Australian languages]], are indeterminate: plosives may vary between voiced and voiceless without distinction, some of them like [[Yanyuwa language|Yanyuwa]] and [[Yidiny language|Yidiny]] have only voiced plosives.

===Aspiration===
In '''[[Aspiration (phonetics)|aspirated]] plosives''', the [[vocal cords]] (vocal folds) are abducted at the time of release.  In a prevocalic aspirated plosive (a plosive followed by a vowel or sonorant), the time when the vocal cords begin to vibrate will be delayed until the vocal folds come together enough for voicing to begin, and will usually start with breathy voicing. The duration between the release of the plosive and the voice onset is called the ''[[voice onset time]]'' (VOT) or the ''aspiration interval''. Highly aspirated plosives have a long period of aspiration, so that there is a long period of voiceless airflow (a phonetic {{IPA|[h]}}) before the onset of the vowel. In [[Tenuis consonant|tenuis]] plosives, the vocal cords come together for voicing immediately following the release, and there is little or no aspiration (a voice onset time close to zero). In English, there may be a brief segment of breathy voice that identifies the plosive as voiceless and not voiced.  In voiced plosives, the vocal folds are set for voice before the release, and often vibrate during the entire hold, and in English, the voicing after release is not breathy.  A plosive is called "fully voiced" if it is voiced during the entire occlusion. In English, however, initial voiced plosives like {{IPA|/#b/}} or {{IPA|/#d/}} may have no voicing during the period of occlusion, or the voicing may start shortly before the release and continue after release, and word-final plosives tend to be fully devoiced: In most dialects of English, the final /b/, /d/ and /g/ in words like ''rib'', ''mad'' and ''dog'' are fully devoiced.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Cruttenden, Alan Gimsons Pronunciation of English}}{{full citation needed|date=August 2018}}</ref> Initial voiceless plosives, like the ''p'' in ''pie'', are aspirated, with a palpable puff of air upon release, whereas a plosive after an ''s'', as in ''spy'', is [[tenuis consonant|tenuis]] (unaspirated). When spoken near a candle flame, the flame will flicker more after the words ''par, tar,'' and ''car'' are articulated, compared with ''spar, star,'' and ''scar''.  In the common pronunciation of ''papa'', the initial ''p'' is aspirated whereas the medial ''p'' is not.

===Length===
In a [[Gemination|geminate]] or '''long''' consonant, the occlusion lasts longer than in simple consonants. In languages where plosives are only distinguished by length (e.g., Arabic, Ilwana, Icelandic), the long plosives may be held up to three times as long as the short plosives. [[Italian language|Italian]] is well known for its geminate plosives, as the double ''t'' in the name ''Vittoria'' takes just as long to say as the ''ct'' does in English ''Victoria''.  [[Japanese language|Japanese]] also prominently features geminate consonants, such as in the minimal pair 来た ''kita'' 'came' and 切った ''kitta'' 'cut'. [[Estonian language|Estonian]] is unusual for contrasting three lengths, as in the minimal triplet ''kabi'' {{IPA|/kɑpi/}} 'hoof', ''kapi'' {{IPA|/kɑpːi/}} 'wardrobe [gen. sg.]', and ''kappi'' {{IPA|/kɑpːːi/}} 'wardrobe [ill. sg.]'.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Türk |first1=Helen |last2=Lippus |first2=Pärtel |last3=Šimko |first3=Juraj |title=Context-dependent articulation of consonant gemination in Estonian |journal=Laboratory Phonology |date=2017 |volume=8 |issue=1 |page=26}}</ref>

There are many languages where the features voice, aspiration, and length reinforce each other, and in such cases it may be hard to determine which of these features predominates. In such cases, the terms [[fortis and lenis|fortis]] is sometimes used for aspiration or gemination, whereas [[lenis]] is used for single, tenuous, or voiced plosives. However, the terms ''fortis'' and ''lenis'' are poorly defined, and their meanings vary from source to source.

===Nasalization===
{{Further|Nasal consonant|Nasalization}}
Simple [[Nasal occlusive|nasals]] are differentiated from plosives only by a lowered [[Soft palate|velum]] that allows the air to escape through the nose during the occlusion. Nasals are acoustically [[sonorant]]s, as they have a non-turbulent airflow and are nearly always voiced, but they are articulatorily [[obstruent]]s, as there is complete blockage of the oral cavity. The term [[occlusive]] may be used as a cover term for both nasals and plosives.

A [[prenasalized stop]] starts out with a lowered velum that raises during the occlusion. The closest examples in English are consonant clusters such as the [nd] in ''candy'', but many languages have prenasalized stops that function phonologically as single consonants. [[Swahili language|Swahili]] is well known for having words beginning with prenasalized stops, as in ''ndege'' 'bird', and in many languages of the South Pacific, such as [[Fijian language|Fijian]], these are even spelled with single letters: ''b'' [mb], ''d'' [nd].

A [[Nasal release|postnasalized plosive]] begins with a raised velum that lowers during the occlusion. This causes an audible nasal ''release'', as in English ''sudden''. This could also be compared to the /dn/ cluster found in [[Russian language|Russian]] and other Slavic languages, which can be seen in the name of the [[Dnieper River]].

The terms ''prenasalization'' and ''postnasalization'' are normally used only in languages where these sounds are phonemic: that is, not analyzed into sequences of plosive plus nasal.

===Airstream mechanism===
Stops may be made with more than one [[airstream mechanism]]. The normal mechanism is [[pulmonic egressive]], that is, with air flowing outward from the lungs. All spoken languages have pulmonic stops. Some languages have stops made with other mechanisms as well: [[Ejective consonant|ejective stops]] ([[glottalic egressive]]), [[implosive consonant|implosive stops]] ([[glottalic ingressive]]), or [[click consonant]]s ([[lingual ingressive]]).

===Tenseness===
{{further|Tenseness}}
A '''[[fortis and lenis|fortis]] plosive''' is produced with more muscular tension than a '''[[lenis]] plosive'''. However, this is difficult to measure, and there is usually debate over the actual mechanism of alleged fortis or lenis consonants.

There are a series of plosives in the [[Korean language]], sometimes written with the IPA symbol for ejectives, which are produced using "[[stiff voice]]", meaning there is increased contraction of the glottis than for normal production of voiceless plosives. The indirect evidence for stiff voice is in the following vowels, which have a higher fundamental frequency than those following other plosives. The higher frequency is explained as a result of the glottis being tense. Other such [[phonation]] types include [[breathy voice]], or murmur; [[slack voice]]; and [[creaky voice]].

==Transcription==
The following plosives have been given dedicated symbols in the [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]].

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Symbols for plosive consonants
! {{angbr IPA|p}}
| [[voiceless bilabial plosive]]
! {{angbr IPA|b}}
| [[voiced bilabial plosive]]
|-
! {{angbr IPA|t}}
| [[voiceless alveolar plosive]]
! {{angbr IPA|d}}
| [[voiced alveolar plosive]]
|-
! {{angbr IPA|ʈ}}
| [[voiceless retroflex plosive]]
! {{angbr IPA|ɖ}}
| [[voiced retroflex plosive]]
|-
! {{angbr IPA|c}}
| [[voiceless palatal plosive]]
! {{angbr IPA|ɟ}}
| [[voiced palatal plosive]]
|-
! {{angbr IPA|k}}
| [[voiceless velar plosive]]
! {{angbr IPA|ɡ}}
| [[voiced velar plosive]]
|-
! {{angbr IPA|q}}
| [[voiceless uvular plosive]]
! {{angbr IPA|ɢ}}
| [[voiced uvular plosive]]
|-
! {{angbr IPA|ʡ}}
| [[epiglottal plosive]]
| colspan="2" rowspan="2" style="background: gray;" |
|-
! {{angbr IPA|ʔ}}
| [[glottal stop]]
|}

===English===
{| class="wikitable"
! {{IPA|[p t k]}}
| voiceless,<br />aspirated word-initially, tenuis in clusters after ''s'', word-final often with no audible release
|-
! {{IPA|[b d ɡ]}}
| unaspirated,<br />partially voiced word-initially, fully voiced intervocalically, fully devoiced when word-final
|-
! {{IPA|[ʔ]}}
| [[glottal stop]], not as a [[phoneme]] in most dialects
|}

===Variations===
Many subclassifications of plosives are transcribed by adding a [[diacritic]] or [[modifier letter]] to the IPA symbols above.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ [[Phonation]] and [[voice-onset time]]
! {{angbr IPA| t}}
| voiceless
! {{angbr IPA| d}}
| voiced
|-
! {{angbr IPA|t˭}}
| tenuis
! {{angbr IPA|tʰ}}
| aspirated
|-
| colspan="2" |
! {{angbr IPA| dʱ}}
| breathy-voiced
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Airstream mechanism
! {{angbr IPA|t}}
|
! {{angbr IPA|d}}
| pulmonic egressive
|-
! {{angbr IPA|tʼ}}
| ejective
! {{angbr IPA|ɗ}}
| implosive
|-
! {{angbr IPA|!}}
| click
| colspan="2" |
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Nasality
! {{angbr IPA|ⁿd}}
| prenasalized
! {{angbr IPA|dⁿ}}
| nasally released
|}

{| class="wikitable"
! {{angbr IPA|d̥}}
| lenis:<br />{{angbr IPA|d}} with [[voicelessness]] diacritic
! {{angbr IPA|t͈}}
| tense
! {{angbr IPA|tt dd}}<br />{{angbr IPA|tː dː}}
| geminate
|}

==See also==
* [[Continuant]] (the opposite of a stop)
* [[List of phonetics topics]]
* [[Pop filter]]
* [[Nonexplosive stop]]

==References==
<references/>

==Further reading==
*Ian Maddieson, ''Patterns of Sounds'', [[Cambridge University Press]], 1984. {{ISBN|0-521-26536-3}}

==External links==
* {{cite web |url=http://www.rothenberg.org/Breath-Stream/BSD_contents.htm |title=The Breath-Stream Dynamics of Simple-Released Plosive Production |author=Rothenberg M. |work=Vol. 6 }} Bibliotheca Phonetica, Karger, Basel, 1968

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