fricative

A fricative is a type of consonant produced by forcing airflow through a narrow constriction in the vocal tract, creating turbulent noise known as frication. This continuous airflow distinguishes fricatives from stops, nasals, and approximants, which involve complete closure or semi-closure at some point in the vocal tract.

Fricatives can be voiceless or voiced, and they occur at a variety of places of articulation. Common examples include labiodental f and v, dental θ and ð, alveolar s and z, and postalveolar or palato-alveolar ʃ and ʒ. Other languages have fricatives at the palatal, velar, glottal, or even uvular places of articulation. Some languages also feature less common types such as lateral fricatives.

The acoustic hallmark of fricatives is a sustained, noisy spectrum produced by the narrow constriction. Sibilants, a subgroup of fricatives, generate a sharp, high-frequency hiss (such as s, z, ʃ, ʒ). Non-sibilants like f, v, and h tend to have softer, lower-energy frication. The precise auditory character depends on the place and width of the constriction, as well as voicing.

In phonology, fricatives contrast with other manners of articulation, contributing to sound inventories through features such as voicing, place of articulation, and sometimes secondary articulations. They are typically represented in the International Phonetic Alphabet by dedicated symbols, and they commonly appear across languages with diverse inventories, from simple systems to those with extensive fricative sets.