Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
Britannica Sources used in this answer

How are stop consonants such as p, t, k, b, d, and g formed?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Diagram of a human head in profile showing the location of vocal organs and possible places of articulation for speech sounds, with labels for lips, teeth, tongue, palate, uvula, pharynx, and vocal cords, and numbered regions corresponding to types of articulation such as bilabial, alveolar, and velar.
pronunciation Diagram depicting the location of human vocal organs and possible places of articulation used for speech.

Stop consonants, also known as plosives, are speech sounds characterized by the complete, momentary obstruction of the airstream within the oral cavity. A typical stop involves three distinct stages: the catch (implosion), where the blockage begins; the hold (occlusion), where the air is momentarily trapped; and the release (explosion), where the air passage is reopened.12

To form an oral stop, the soft palate is raised to block the nasal tract, causing air pressure to build up in the mouth before being released. These sounds are classified by their place of articulation:21

  • Bilabial stops: Formed at the lips (p, b).13
  • Alveolar stops: Formed by the tongue against the ridge behind the upper front teeth (t, d).13
  • Velar stops: Formed between the back of the tongue and the soft palate (k, g).13

The primary difference between these pairs lies in voicing: p, t, and k are voiceless (produced without vocal cord vibration), while b, d, and g are voiced (produced with vocal cord vibration).43