Affricates

Definition

Affricates are consonant sounds that begin as stops and release as fricatives, resulting in a combined articulation that creates a unique sound. They are produced by first obstructing airflow completely and then allowing it to flow through a narrow constriction, creating turbulent noise. This dual nature makes affricates distinct from other consonants and plays an important role in various languages.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. In English, the common affricates are /tʃ/ as in 'church' and /dʒ/ as in 'judge'.
2. Affricates are categorized based on their place of articulation, such as postalveolar or alveolar, which influences their sound characteristics.
3. The production of affricates involves a specific sequence: a complete closure of the vocal tract followed by a gradual release into a fricative sound.
4. Languages around the world may exhibit different affricates or even lack them entirely, affecting phonetic inventories.
5. Affricates can influence the pronunciation of surrounding sounds due to coarticulation, which is when speech sounds affect each other during articulation.

Review Questions

• How do affricates differ from stops and fricatives in terms of their articulation?
  • Affricates combine the characteristics of both stops and fricatives in their articulation. They start with a complete closure of the vocal tract, like stops, before transitioning into a fricative sound with a narrow constriction that allows air to flow turbulently. This unique blend makes affricates distinct from stops, which do not involve the fricative release, and from fricatives, which do not have an initial stop phase.
• Discuss the role of affricates in different languages and how they can affect phonetic inventories.
  • Affricates play a significant role in many languages around the world but are not universally present. Their presence or absence can greatly influence the phonetic inventory of a language. For example, while English includes affricates like /tʃ/ and /dʒ/, other languages may have entirely different sets of affricates or none at all. This variation can affect how speakers of different languages perceive and produce sounds.
• Evaluate the impact of affricate articulation on surrounding phonetic sounds during speech production.
  • The articulation of affricates can significantly impact adjacent phonetic sounds due to coarticulation. When producing an affricate, the position and movement of articulators can influence nearby sounds, leading to variations in pronunciation. For instance, an affricate may assimilate features from neighboring vowels or consonants, altering their quality or timing. This phenomenon showcases the interconnected nature of speech sounds and how they can affect each other during fluent speech.

Related terms

Stops:

Consonants produced by completely blocking airflow at some point in the vocal tract before releasing it, such as /p/, /t/, and /k/.

Fricatives:

Consonants made by forcing air through a narrow channel, causing turbulence, such as /f/, /v/, /s/, and /z/.

Voiced vs. Voiceless: Refers to whether the vocal cords vibrate during the production of consonants; voiced consonants (like /b/) involve vibration, while voiceless consonants (like /p/) do not.