Plosive
A plosive (also called a stop) is a consonant produced by completely blocking the airflow in the vocal tract, building up air pressure behind the closure, and then releasing it in a burst. Plosives are classified by place of articulation and voicing.
English Plosives
| Place | Voiceless | Voiced |
|---|---|---|
| Bilabial | /p/ pin | /b/ bin |
| Alveolar | /t/ tin | /d/ din |
| Velar | /k/ kin | /ɡ/ give |
| Glottal | /ʔ/ (allophonic) | — |
The three phases of plosive production:
- Closure — the articulators come together, blocking airflow
- Hold — air pressure builds behind the closure
- Release — the articulators separate, producing a burst of air
Allophonic Variation
English plosives show rich allophonic variation depending on their position in the syllable and word:
Aspiration
Voiceless plosives are aspirated [pʰ tʰ kʰ] at the beginning of a stressed syllable but unaspirated after /s/:
- pool [pʰuːl] vs. spool [spuːl]
- take [tʰeɪk] vs. stake [steɪk]
- key [kʰiː] vs. ski [skiː]
Unreleased Plosives
In syllable-final position, plosives are often unreleased [p̚ t̚ k̚] — the closure is made but never audibly released:
- cap [kʰæp̚]
- cat [kʰæt̚]
- back [bæk̚]
This is particularly common before another consonant: act [æk̚t], stopped [stɒp̚t].
Glottal Reinforcement and Replacement
In many varieties of English, /t/ (and sometimes /p k/) is reinforced or replaced by a glottal stop /ʔ/:
- Glottal reinforcement: button [bʌʔtn̩] — a glottal stop accompanies the alveolar closure
- Glottal replacement: bottle [bɒʔl̩] — the glottal stop entirely replaces /t/ (common in Estuary English, Cockney, and many urban dialects)
Nasal Release
Before a homorganic nasal, the plosive is released through the nose:
- button [bʌtn̩] — /t/ released nasally into /n/
- hidden [hɪdn̩] — /d/ released nasally into /n/
Lateral Release
Before /l/, alveolar plosives are released laterally:
- bottle [bɒtl̩]
- middle [mɪdl̩]
L2 Teaching Considerations
- The voiced/voiceless distinction in English plosives relies heavily on aspiration rather than voicing per se — teach aspiration explicitly if learners' L1 lacks it.
- Final unreleased plosives are difficult for learners whose L1s either lack final plosives entirely (Mandarin, Vietnamese to some extent) or always release them.
- Glottal replacement of /t/ is widespread in native speech — learners should recognise it even if they don't produce it.
- Plosives are high-frequency sounds involved in many minimal pairs: /p–b/, /t–d/, /k–ɡ/.