Fricative (Noun)
Meaning
A continuant consonant produced by breath moving against a narrowing of the vocal tract.
Classification
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents.
Examples
- The fricative sounds in the word 'shoe' and 'sue' are similar but distinct, reflecting differences in vowel quality.
- Fricative consonants such as /s/ and /z/ can be either voiceless or voiced, with varying degrees of friction.
- Phonetic transcriptions often highlight the differences between stop consonants and fricative consonants like /θ/ and /ð/.
- Some languages make a distinction between two types of fricative sounds: one made with the tongue against the alveolar ridge and the other against the uvula.
- Fricative consonants, especially /s/ and /f/, are frequently found in combination with stop consonants to form affricate sounds.