Obstruent 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 occlusion but then release into a fricative-like release, such as . Obstruents are prototypically voiceless, but
Vocal resonation singers who are recognized by their pronounced nasal quality; whereas others are noted for their deep, dark, and "chesty" sound; and still others are noted for their breathy or heady sound; and so on. In part, such individuality depends on the structure of the singer's vocal instrument, that is, the inherent shape and size of the vocal cords and of the vocal tract. The quality or color of a voice also depends on the singer's ability to develop and use various resonances by controlling the shape and size of the chambers through which the sound flows. It has been demonstrated