Into
the chapter 4 we have English plosives. Plosive (also known as stops, mutes,
occlusives, explosives) sounds are formed by the air being completely blocked
in the mouth and then suddenly released. A plosive is a consonant articulation
with the following characteristics: One articulator is moved against another,
or two articulators are moved against each other, so as to form a stricture
that allows no air escape from the vocal tract. The stricture is, then, total. After
the stricture has been formed and air has been compressed (held) behind it, it
is released; that is, air is allowed to escape. If the air behind the stricture
is still under pressure when the plosive is released, it is probable that the
escape of air will produce noise loud enough to be heard. This noise is called
plosion. There may be voicing during part or all of the plosive articulation. We
have 6 Plosive sounds in English: /p/b/t/d/k/g/. All six plosives can occur initially,
medially and finally. First, Initial Position: The closing phase for /p/ t/ k/
and /b/d/g/ takes place silently. During the hold phase of there is no voicing
in /p/t/k/, but in /b/d/g/, on the other hand, we normally very little voicing.
The release phase of /p/t/k/ is followed by an audible plosion, that is, a
burst of noise. There is then, in the post-release phase, a period during which
air escapes through the vocal folds, making a sound like “h”. This is called
aspiration. For example: pin, tin, kin. The release of /b/d/g/, on the other
hand, is followed by weak plosion. Second, Medial position: The pronunciation
of /p/t/k/ and /b/d/g/ in medial position depends to some extent on whether the
syllables preceding and following the plosive are stressed (both depend on the
context). In general we can say that a medial plosive may have the
characteristics either of final or initial plosives. Third, Final Position: The
final /b/d/g/ have little voicing. /p/t/k/ are voiceless. The plosion for both
is non-audible. The difference is that the vowels preceding /p/t/k/ are shorter
than the ones preceding /b/g/d/.
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