Obstruent

An obstruent is a consonant sound produced by significantly restricting the airflow through the vocal tract. This restriction can involve complete closure (stopping the airflow), as in plosives, or a narrow channel through which air is forced (causing friction), as in fricatives and affricates. Obstruents are typically characterized by a noticeable degree of acoustic energy during their production, and they often contribute to the 'noisy' quality of speech sounds. The term primarily applies to phonetic analysis and classification of speech sounds based on their manner of articulation. This class of consonants contrasts with sonorants, which allow for more open vocal tract configurations. Furthermore, obstruents often play crucial roles in linguistic processes like allophonic variation and phonological rules.

Obstruent meaning with examples

• The /p/ sound in 'pen' is an obstruent, as airflow is stopped briefly before being released with a burst. It's part of a class called plosives or stops, and is a voiceless obstruent.
• The fricative /f/ sound in 'fan' is produced with partial closure, creating friction in the airflow. Fricatives, like /f/, /s/, and /ʃ/ are obstruents that use friction.
• The 'ch' sound in 'church' (/tʃ/) is an affricate, combining a stop and a fricative, thus categorized as an obstruent. Affricates such as 'ch' require both a stop and fricative.
• In phonological analysis, the word-initial 'st-' cluster in 'start' frequently triggers devoicing. It involves obstruent consonants. This is due to the properties of obstruents
• Understanding the difference between obstruents and sonorants is critical in analyzing syllable structure, particularly with regards to consonant clusters. Obstruents often create more 'difficult' sounds.