Q&A

Q:

* Virág Bendl <…> [2020-09-17 16:20]:
>During the first lesson we've had you told us about the difference between
>a mute sound and an explosive one (by "p", "t" and "k"). My problem is to
>create a proper definition for them. Is a sound mute, when it doesn't let
>the pressure behind itself be heard and is it explosive, when it does? Is
>the difference between them in the way we create them or is it more than
>this?
		

A:

"Muta" is the name the Romans gave to plosives, which indicates that
during the stop phase nothing is to be heard.  The alternative name
"plosive" reflects on the fact that when the stop phase ends, the
closure is suddenly released, the air explodes out of the mouth.  Yet
another name for these consonants is "occlusive", which refers to their
beginning, when you close the articulators.

Here is some more background on this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plosive_consonant#Terminology

In this course, I will use these terms as follows:

stops: p t k b d g m n ŋ
plosives: p t k b d g
nasals: m n ŋ