Obstruent voiced obstruents are common. This contrasts with sonorants, which are prototypically voiced and only rarely voiceless. Obstruent An obstruent is a speech sound such as , , or that is formed by "obstructing" airflow. Obstruents contrast with sonorants, which have no such obstruction and so resonate. All obstruents are consonants, but sonorants include both vowels and consonants. Obstruents are subdivided into plosives (oral stops), such as , with complete occlusion of the vocal tract, often followed by a release burst; fricatives, such as , with limited closure, not stopping airflow but making it turbulent; and affricates, which begin with complete
Vocal cord dysfunction Vocal cord dysfunction Vocal cord dysfunction (VCD), also known as Paradoxical Vocal Fold Motion (PVFM) or Paradoxical Vocal Cord Movement (PVCM), is a pathology affecting the vocal folds (commonly referred to as the vocal cords). VCD is characterized by full or partial vocal fold closure, causing difficulty and distress during respiration, especially during inhalation. Symptoms of VCD are not always present. Rather, they often occur episodically, often defined as "attacks," where the sufferer will be symptomatic for a short period of time. Due to the similarity in symptoms, VCD attack are often mistaken for asthma attacks or laryngospasms. Although several