Affricatives are consonant sounds made up of a stop followed by a fricative.

Affricatives are consonant sounds made up of a stop followed by a fricative.

• A. Consonant sounds made up of a stop followed by a fricative
• B. Vowel sounds
• C. Nasal sounds
• D. Glottal stops

Answer: (A)

Affricates are a type of consonant produced in two phases within a single articulation: first a complete closure like a stop, momentarily trapping the air, then a rapid release through a narrow constriction that creates turbulence like a fricative. English examples are the sounds in the church and judge, often written as ch and j in phonetic notation. Because the stop and the fricative are fused into one perceptual segment, affricates behave as single consonants even though their production has both a stop and a fricative component. This is why the statement describing them as consonant sounds made up of a stop followed by a fricative is the correct characterization. The other options describe different sound types—vowels have open vocal tracts, nasal sounds route air through the nose, and glottal stops involve a closure at the vocal folds—none of which combine a stop and fricative in the same coordinated way.

Affricates are a type of consonant produced in two phases within a single articulation: first a complete closure like a stop, momentarily trapping the air, then a rapid release through a narrow constriction that creates turbulence like a fricative. English examples are the sounds in the church and judge, often written as ch and j in phonetic notation. Because the stop and the fricative are fused into one perceptual segment, affricates behave as single consonants even though their production has both a stop and a fricative component. This is why the statement describing them as consonant sounds made up of a stop followed by a fricative is the correct characterization. The other options describe different sound types—vowels have open vocal tracts, nasal sounds route air through the nose, and glottal stops involve a closure at the vocal folds—none of which combine a stop and fricative in the same coordinated way.