fricative consonant

Also known as spirant, strident, Fricatives

A fricative is a consonant produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate in the case of German (the final consonant of Bach); or the side of the tongue against the molars, in the case of Welsh (appearing twice in the name Llanelli). This turbulent airflow is called frication.

AI overview

A fricative consonant is a sound made by forcing air through a narrow gap between two parts of your mouth—such as between your lower lip and upper teeth, or between your tongue and the roof of your mouth—creating a turbulent hissing or rushing sound. Fricatives matter because they're common sounds across many languages, including English, and understanding how they're produced helps explain the variety of consonant sounds we use to speak.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

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Article

15 sections

Contents

Types
Sibilants
Central non-sibilant fricatives
Lateral fricatives
IPA letters used for both fricatives and approximants
Pseudo-fricatives
{{anchor|Aspiration}}Aspirated fricatives
Nasalized fricatives
Occurrence
Acoustics
See also
Notes
References
Sources
External links

A particular subset of fricatives are the sibilants. When forming a sibilant, one still is forcing air through a narrow channel, but in addition, the tongue is curled lengthwise to direct the air over the edge of the teeth. English , , , and are examples of sibilants.