release

Phonetics is the study of speech sounds, focusing on how they are produced, transmitted, and perceived. Speech sounds are broadly categorized into vowels and consonants. Vowels are produced with a relatively free passage of air, while consonants involve some form of obstruction in the vocal tract.1

Consonants are further classified by their place and manner of articulation. The place of articulation refers to where the vocal tract is obstructed (e.g., lips, teeth, palate), and the manner describes how the air is obstructed (e.g., stops, fricatives). Stops, for instance, involve a complete closure of articulators to obstruct airflow, which is then released. The term "release" in phonetics specifically refers to the manner in which a sound is ended or the movement of vocal organs when quitting the position for a speech sound.12