In phonetics and phonology, nonexplosive stops are posited class of non-pulmonic[citation needed] ("non-obstruent") stop consonants that lack the pressure build-up and burst release associated with pulmonic stops, but also the laryngeal lowering of implosive stops. They are reported to occur in Ikwerre, an Igboid (Niger–Congo) language of Nigeria.

Ikwerre's two nonexplosive stops, transcribed as voiced ⟨ḅ⟩ and pre-glottalized ⟨ʼḅ⟩, correspond to labial-velars /k͡p/ and /ɡ͡b/, respectively, in most other Igboid languages, and to implosives /ɓ̥/ and /ɓ/ in some varieties of Igbo. Ikwerre's stops resemble both, in that they are velarized and have a non-pulmonic airstream mechanism.[clarification needed]

  • Clements, George N.; Osu, Sylvester (2002). . In Carlos Gussenhoven and Natasha Warner (ed.). Laboratory Phonology 7. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. pp. 299–350. doi:. ISBN 9783110170863.
  • Clements, George N.; Osu, Sylvester (2005). "Nasal harmony in Ikwere, a language with no phonemic nasal consonants". Journal of African Languages and Linguistics. 26 (2): 165–200. doi:. S2CID .