Affricates

consonants consisting of plosive (obstruent) and fricative elements; for example, Russian ts and ch. An affricate is a type of obstruent consonant the occlusion of which, when it is pronounced, does not terminate with the explosion of the plosive organs of speech but with their incomplete closure, which causes the formation of a fricative. Affricates are distinguished from combinations of plosive consonants with fricatives; compare Russian ch and tsh in the words ochutit’sia and otshutit’sia.