Fricative consonant | Wikipedia audio article
Channel: wikipedia tts
Date: 2018-11-04

This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Fricative consonant

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SUMMARY
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Fricatives are consonants 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 [f]; the back of the tongue against the soft palate, in the case of German [x] (the final consonant of Bach); or the side of the tongue against the molars, in the case of Welsh [ɬ] (appearing twice in the name Llanelli). This turbulent airflow is called frication.  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 [s], [z], [ʃ], and [ʒ] are examples of sibilants.
The usage of two other terms is less standardized: "Spirant" can be a synonym of "fricative", or (as in e.g. Uralic linguistics) refer to non-sibilant fricatives only. "Strident" could mean just "sibilant", but some authors include also labiodental and uvular fricatives in the class.