plosief

Plosief (plosive) is a consonant produced with a complete closure of the vocal tract at a specific place of articulation, blocking the airflow. The closure is released suddenly, producing a short burst of noise. This burst distinguishes plosives from other consonants such as fricatives and nasals.

Plosives can be voiced or voiceless: examples of voiceless plosives are p, t, k; voiced plosives are b, d, g. In many languages, voiceless plosives are aspirated at the onset of stressed syllables, producing an extra breath after the release, while in other languages the release is unaspirated or less aspirated.

Common places of articulation are bilabial (p, b), alveolar (t, d), and velar (k, g). Other languages may have palatal or glottal plosives. Some languages also feature ejective or implosive stops, which use different glottal or airstream mechanisms but are still categorized as plosives.

Phonological role: Plosives are a basic building block of many syllable structures and often contrast with other manners of articulation to distinguish meaning. They can occur at various positions within words, and their surface realization may vary with phonological context and language.