Release and unreleased plosives - phonetics

Release and unreleased plosives

1. Release and unreleased plosives By: Diana Agudo & Massiel Álvarez

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

3. Place of articulation Refers to the specific location where your tongue comes into contact with another part of your mouth or throat to create a closure. Some common places of articulation include: Bilabial:  Lips come together (e.g., /p/, /b/) Alveolar:  Tongue tip touches the alveolar ridge (bumpy part behind your upper front teeth) (e.g., /t/, /d/) Velar:  Back of the tongue touches the velum (soft palate) (e.g., /k/, /g/).

4. Manner of articulation Describes how the airflow is blocked or modulated by the closure created at the place of articulation. Here, we'll focus on the manner of articulation relevant to released and unreleased consonants: Plosive:  A complete closure is formed, trapping air momentarily before releasing it with a pop or burst (e.g., /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/)

5. Examples Released Consonants Start of words:  In most cases, consonants at the beginning of words are released. Notice the pop or burst of air at the beginning of these words: p it / pɪt / b et / bɛt / k it / kɪt / t op / tɒp / d og / dɒg / Unreleased Consonants End of words:  Plosive consonants (p, b, t, d, k, g) at the end of words are often unreleased, especially in casual speech. There's no pop or burst because the closure carries over into silence: ca t  / kæt ̚/ (notice the little corner symbol indicating unreleased sound) do g  / dɒg ̚/ sto p  (unreleased /p/ if followed by a pause) / stɒp ̚/

6. IPA CHART

7. Explanation video