Alveolar Stops

Alveolar stops are formed by the tip and blade of the tongue forming a full closure against the teeth ridge. The sound is produced when the closure is abruptly released so that the air escapes as a puff or air. The alveolar stops occur as a pair, i.e. with a Fortis and Lenis realisation. The fortis stop /t/ is never voiced, and there is generally a devoicing of the lenis sound as well when it is not surrounded by other voiced sounds. Devoicing is therefore most common in the end position of a word. The lenis stop will generally have a marked lengthening effect on the preceding sound(s).