Which sound is classified as an affricate ?
A/ʧ/
B/r/
C/f/
D/m/
Answer:
A. /ʧ/
Read Explanation:
Understanding Affricate Sounds in Phonetics
- An affricate is a consonant sound produced by a complete closure of the vocal tract, like a stop consonant, immediately followed by a slow release of air through a narrow opening, creating friction, like a fricative consonant. Essentially, it's a combination of a plosive (stop) and a fricative at the same point of articulation.
- The production involves two phases: first, a complete stoppage of airflow, and second, a gradual, noisy release of air.
- The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbol /ʧ/ represents the voiceless palato-alveolar affricate. This sound is commonly found in English words like 'church', 'chip', and 'watch'.
- Another common affricate in English is /ʤ/, which is the voiced palato-alveolar affricate, as heard in words like 'judge', 'jam', and 'bridge'.
- Affricates are distinct from pure plosives (stops), which have an abrupt release (e.g., /p/, /t/, /k/), and pure fricatives, which involve continuous turbulent airflow without complete closure (e.g., /f/, /s/, /ʃ/).
- In English, /ʧ/ is formed by combining the voiceless alveolar stop /t/ and the voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/. Similarly, /ʤ/ combines the voiced alveolar stop /d/ and the voiced postalveolar fricative /ʒ/.
- Understanding consonant classifications (e.g., place of articulation, manner of articulation, voicing) is fundamental in Phonetics, a crucial branch of linguistics often tested in competitive exams.
- Manner of articulation refers to how the airflow is obstructed by the vocal organs, and affricates are one specific manner, alongside plosives, fricatives, nasals, laterals, and approximants.