release (n./v.)

A term used in PHONETICS to refer to the type of movement made by the VOCAL ORGANS away from a point of ARTICULATION, particularly with reference to PLOSIVES. English plosives, for example, may be released with or without ASPIRATION, or as a LATERAL or NASAL (as in button and bottle). In the DISTINCTIVE FEATURE approach to PHONOLOGY of Chomsky and Halle, DELAYED and INSTANTANEOUS (or ABRUPT) types of release are recognized.