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In linguistics, a tenuis consonant (/ ˈ t ɛ n. j uː ɪ s / or / ˈ t ɛ n uː ɪ s /) [2] is an obstruent that is voiceless, unaspirated and unglottalized. In other words, it has the "plain" phonation of [p, t, ts, tʃ, k] with a voice onset time close to zero (a zero-VOT consonant), as Spanish p, t, ch, k or English p, t, k after s ( s p y ...
Simple unaspirated voiceless stops, sometimes called "tenuis" stops, have a voice onset time at or near zero, meaning that the voicing of a following sonorant (such as a vowel) begins at or near to when the stop is released. (An offset of 15 ms or less on [t] and 30 ms or less on [k] is inaudible, and counts as tenuis.)
Ancient Greek had nine stops. The grammarians classified them in three groups, distinguished by voice-onset time: voiceless aspirated, [14] voiceless unaspirated (tenuis), [15] and voiced. [16] The aspirated stops are written /pʰ tʰ kʰ/. The tenuis stops are written /p˭ t˭ k˭/, with ˭ representing lack of aspiration and voicing, or /p t k/.
(See voice onset time.) Aspiration varies with place of articulation. The Spanish voiceless stops /p t k/ have voice onset times (VOTs) of about 5, 10, and 30 milliseconds, and English aspirated /p t k/ have VOTs of about 60, 70, and 80 ms. Voice onset time in Korean has been measured at 20, 25, and 50 ms for /p t k/ and 90, 95, and 125 for ...
Highly aspirated plosives have a long period of aspiration, so that there is a long period of voiceless airflow (a phonetic [h]) before the onset of the vowel. In tenuis plosives, the vocal cords come together for voicing immediately following the release, and there is little or no aspiration (a voice onset time close to zero). In English ...
What we hear as a /p/ or /k/ is the effect that the onset of the occlusion has on the preceding vowel, as well as the release burst and its effect on the following vowel. The shape and position of the tongue (the place of articulation) determine the resonant cavity that gives different stops their characteristic sounds.
Obstruents are subdivided into: plosives (oral stops), such as [p, t, k, b, d, ɡ], with complete occlusion of the vocal tract, often followed by a release burst ...
All languages in the world have occlusives [2] and most have at least the voiceless stops [p], [t], [k] and the nasals [n], and [m].However, there are exceptions. Colloquial Samoan lacks the coronals [t] and [n], and several North American languages, such as the northern Iroquoian languages, lack the labials [p] and [m].