Background: Wu Chinese has a three-way distinction in stops and affricates: /p pʰ b/. In addition to aspirated and unaspirated consonants, there is a series of muddy consonants, like /b/. These are pronounced with slack or breathy voice: that is, they are weakly voiced. Muddy consonants as initial cause a syllable to be pronounced with low pitch or light (陽 yáng) tone.
Question: What is the actual distinction for Wu Chinese?
Answer:<extra_id_0>.
<extra_id_0> /p pʰ b/<extra_id_1>