Understanding Plosive Consonants: P, B, T, D, K, G
Understanding Plosive Consonants
/p/ Voiceless, Plosive, Bilabial
The air coming from the lungs passes through the larynx. At this moment, the glottis (the opening between the vocal folds) is wide open, so the air goes freely through it, without vibration of the vocal folds.
The air continues its way up to the oral cavity where it finds an obstacle. Two articulators (the upper and lower lips) get into contact to interfere with the airstream or are completely closed. This forces the air to be retained for a short time. Then the two articulators are opened, so the air escapes rapidly making a loud noise called plosion.
/b/ Voiced, Plosive, Bilabial
The air coming from the lungs passes through the larynx. At this moment, the vocal folds are closed. The pressure of the air causes them to open, so the air is able to pass through them. At this moment, the air pressure decreases and the change in pressure makes the vocal folds get closed again, getting to the beginning of the process when the vocal folds were closed. So the result is that there is continuous vibration of the vocal folds.
The air continues its way up to the oral cavity where it finds another obstacle. Two articulators (the upper and lower lips) get into contact to interfere with the airstream or are completely closed. This forces the air to be retained for a short time. Then the two articulators are opened, so the air escapes rapidly making a loud noise called plosion.
/t/ Voiceless, Plosive, Alveolar
The air coming from the lungs passes through the larynx. At this moment, the glottis (the opening between the vocal folds) is wide open, so the air goes freely through it, without vibration of the vocal folds.
The air continues its way up to the oral cavity where it finds an obstacle. The tip of the tongue gets into contact with the alveolar ridge (the area behind the upper front teeth) to interfere with the airstream. This forces the air to be retained for a short time and then, the blockage is released rapidly making a loud noise called plosion.
/d/ Voiced, Plosive, Alveolar
The air coming from the lungs passes through the larynx. At this moment, the vocal folds are closed. The pressure of the air causes them to open, so the air is able to pass through them. At this moment, the air pressure decreases and the change in pressure makes the vocal folds get closed again, getting to the beginning of the process when the vocal folds were closed. So the result is that there is continuous vibration of the vocal folds.
The air continues its way up to the oral cavity where it finds an obstacle. The tip of the tongue gets into contact with the alveolar ridge (the area behind the upper front teeth) to interfere with the airstream. This forces the air to be retained for a short time and then, the blockage is released rapidly making a loud noise called plosion.
/k/ Voiceless, Plosive, Velar
The air coming from the lungs passes through the larynx. At this moment, the glottis (the opening between the vocal folds) is wide open, so the air goes freely through it, without vibration of the vocal folds.
The air continues its way up to the oral cavity where it finds an obstacle. The obstacle is formed by a closure between the back of the tongue and the soft palate (velum). It forces the air to be retained for a short time and then the two articulators are opened, so the air is released abruptly making a loud noise called plosion.
/g/ Voiced, Plosive, Velar
The air coming from the lungs passes through the larynx. At this moment, the vocal folds are closed. The pressure of the air causes them to open, so the air is able to pass through them. At this moment, the air pressure decreases and the change in pressure makes the vocal folds get closed again, getting to the beginning of the process when the vocal folds were closed. So the result is that there is continuous vibration of the vocal folds.
In its way out, the air finds an obstacle in the oral cavity. The back of the tongue is pressed against the soft palate (velum). It forces the air to be retained for a short time, and then when the two articulators are opened, the air escapes rapidly making a loud noise called plosion.