In English alphabets, the letters that have a specific speech sound produced by partial or complete closing of the vocal region. All alphabets of the English language are called consonants except vowels (a, e, i, o, u). These letters have a non-vowel sound. When you pronounce the consonants, your vocal region blocks the flow of the air to come out of the mouth for a short interval.
What are Plosive Consonants ?
In phonetics, plosive means stop. The plosive consonants are those consonants that are pronounced by the complete blocking of the air through the mouth. Airflow plays an important role in creating the sound. In this type of sound, the lungs are blocked to prevent the air from coming out of the mouth for a short time. This builds up pressure behind the blockage and creates a sound generally associated with six letters i.e. s, p, d, t, b, g. These six letters are categorized as plosive consonants.
The speech sound associated with consonants p, b is termed as bilabial plosives as this sound is produced when both lips come together and close the path for the airflow. While pronouncing t, d our tongue presses against the alveolar ridge (the upper portion above the tongue) so these are termed as alveolar plosives. Similarly, the remaining two, k and g are called velar plosives as the tongue presses against the velum while producing this sound. Bilabial, alveolar, velar are technical terms used in phonetics. These are known as the places of articulation.
When we pronounce some alphabet, our vocal cords vibrate and produce the sound in most cases. However, sometimes the air will do all the job of producing the sound. The sound involving b, g, d is called voiced plosives because the vocal folds vibrate when these words are pronounced. On the other hand, the sounds associated with p, t, k are called voiceless plosives as the air passes freely through the vocal cords.
Examples of Plosive Consonant Sounds
Some common examples of plosive consonants are;
- /p/: pull, purse
- /b/: bet, bell
- /t/: tell, talk
- /d/: debt, done
- /k/: king, queen, cone
- /g/: goat, gone