Which of the following are the three types of classifiers used in phonetics?

The correct choice identifies the three main categories of consonant sounds based on how they are articulated. Stops, fricatives, and affricates represent distinct manners of articulation that describe how airflow is obstructed or modified in the vocal tract during speech production.

Stops are produced by obstructing airflow completely for a brief moment, creating a build-up of pressure that is released suddenly, as in the sounds /p/, /b/, /t/, and /d/. This complete closure results in a characteristic bursting sound when the airflow is released.

Fricatives, on the other hand, involve narrowing the vocal tract to create turbulent airflow, allowing the sound to be produced continuously, such as in /f/, /v/, /s/, and /z/. The friction caused by the airflow creates a distinctive hissing or buzzing sound.

Affricates begin as stops but release into a fricative. This means that there is an initial complete closure followed by a release that has fricative quality, like /tʃ/ (as in 'ch') or /dʒ/ (as in 'j'). The unique aspect of affricates is that they combine properties of both stops and fricatives, making them a crucial category of classification