Editing Plosive (section)

===Length===
In a [[Gemination|geminate]] or '''long''' consonant, the occlusion lasts longer than in simple consonants. In languages where plosives are only distinguished by length (e.g., Arabic, Ilwana, Icelandic), the long plosives may be held up to three times as long as the short plosives. [[Italian language|Italian]] is well known for its geminate plosives, as the double ''t'' in the name ''Vittoria'' takes just as long to say as the ''ct'' does in English ''Victoria''.  [[Japanese language|Japanese]] also prominently features geminate consonants, such as in the minimal pair 来た ''kita'' 'came' and 切った ''kitta'' 'cut'. [[Estonian language|Estonian]] is unusual for contrasting three lengths, as in the minimal triplet ''kabi'' {{IPA|/kɑpi/}} 'hoof', ''kapi'' {{IPA|/kɑpːi/}} 'wardrobe [gen. sg.]', and ''kappi'' {{IPA|/kɑpːːi/}} 'wardrobe [ill. sg.]'.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Türk |first1=Helen |last2=Lippus |first2=Pärtel |last3=Šimko |first3=Juraj |title=Context-dependent articulation of consonant gemination in Estonian |journal=Laboratory Phonology |date=2017 |volume=8 |issue=1 |page=26}}</ref>

There are many languages where the features voice, aspiration, and length reinforce each other, and in such cases it may be hard to determine which of these features predominates. In such cases, the terms [[fortis and lenis|fortis]] is sometimes used for aspiration or gemination, whereas [[lenis]] is used for single, tenuous, or voiced plosives. However, the terms ''fortis'' and ''lenis'' are poorly defined, and their meanings vary from source to source.