Editing Implosive consonant (section)

==Articulation==
During the occlusion of the stop, pulling the glottis downward rarefies the air in the vocal tract. The stop is then released. In languages whose implosives are particularly salient, that may result in air rushing into the mouth before it flows out again with the next vowel. To take in air sharply in that way is to implode a sound.<ref>"Implode" (2. [with obj.] [phonetic terminology]: utter or pronounce (a consonant) with a sharp intake of air.) ''New Oxford American Dictionary'' 3rd ed., 2010</ref>

However, probably more typically, there is no movement of air at all, which contrasts with the burst of the pulmonary plosives. This  is the case with many of the [[Kru languages]], for example. That means that implosives are phonetically sonorants (not obstruents) as the concept of sonorant is usually defined. However, implosives can phonologically pattern as both; that is, they may be phonological [[sonorant]]s or [[obstruent]]s depending on the language.

[[George N. Clements]] (2002) actually proposes that implosives are phonologically neither obstruents nor sonorants.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Clements |first1=George |title=Explosives, Implosives, and Nonexplosives: the Linguistic Function of Air Pressure Differences in Stops |url=http://nickclements.free.fr/publications/2002a.pdf |access-date=19 November 2024}}</ref>

The vast majority of implosive consonants are [[voiced consonant|voiced]], so the glottis is only partially closed. Because the airflow required for voicing reduces the vacuum being created in the mouth, implosives are easiest to make with a large oral cavity.{{Citation needed|date=August 2020|reason=While the claim that the vast majority of implosives are voiced is pretty well-known, a source is needed for how their mechanics make them easier or harder to produce}}