stop (n.)

A term used in the PHONETIC classification of speech sounds on the basis of their MANNER OF ARTICULATION. It refers to any sound which is produced by a complete CLOSURE in the VOCAL TRACT, and thus traditionally includes the class of PLOSIVES. Both NASAL and ORAL sounds can be classified as stops, though the term is usually reserved for the latter. A distinction is sometimes made between ‘simple’ and ‘complex’ stops, depending on whether the closure is made at one place or at two places simultaneously (e.g. the  COARTICULATION heard in some African languages, or CONSONANTS produced with a simultaneous GLOTTAL stop). Other classifications of stop consonants involve taking into account the direction of airflow, whether INGRESSIVE or EGRESSIVE: ‘ingressive stops’ are often referred to as suction stops, ‘egressive stops’ as pressure stops. In the DISTINCTIVE FEATURE theory of PHONOLOGY, the term ‘stop’ is sometimes used in opposition to CONTINUANT.