labial stop

phonetics

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June 30, 2026

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In phonetics, a labial stop is a consonant sound produced by momentarily blocking airflow using the lips. This blockage, or occlusion, is complete, distinguishing it from fricatives. The production of a stop involves three stages: an initial blockage (implosion), a hold (occlusion), and a release (explosion) of air.

Labial stops specifically involve the lips as the articulators. In English, the sounds represented by the letters 'p' and 'b' are examples of bilabial stops, meaning they are produced using both lips. The term "labial stop" refers to this manner of articulation at the lips.1

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Indo-European languages
Consonants
Correspondences pointing to the voiced labial stop b are rare, leading some scholars to deny that b existed at all in the parent language. A minority view holds that the traditionally reconstructed voiced stops were actually glottalized sounds produced with accompanying closure of the vocal cords. The status of the…
Read More
Correspondences pointing to the voiced labial stop b are rare, leading some scholars to deny that b existed at all in the parent language. A minority view holds that the traditionally reconstructed voiced stops were actually glottalized sounds produced with accompanying closure of the vocal cords. The status of the…
Read More