Puretavat

Puretavat is a term used in some linguistic contexts, particularly in discussions of phonetics and phonology, to describe a specific type of consonant sound. These sounds are characterized by the way air is obstructed and then released during speech. The term "puretavat" generally refers to stops or plosives. These are consonants produced by completely stopping the airflow in the vocal tract and then suddenly releasing it. Examples of puretavat sounds in English include the sounds represented by the letters 'p', 't', and 'k' when they are articulated at the beginning of a word, such as in "pat," "tap," and "cap."

The articulation of a puretavat sound involves three phases: the closure, where the air is held back; the release, where the closure is broken; and the aspiration, which is a brief puff of air that may follow the release, though this is not always present in all languages or for all puretavat sounds. The location in the mouth where the closure is made also distinguishes different puretavat sounds, such as bilabial (using both lips, like 'p'), alveolar (using the tongue tip against the alveolar ridge, like 't'), or velar (using the back of the tongue against the soft palate, like 'k'). The term itself, while not universally standard across all linguistic traditions, serves to categorize these distinct and fundamental speech sounds.