An affricate is a type of consonant sound that begins as a stop and releases as a fricative. This means that the airflow is completely blocked at first, then released with some friction. In English, common examples of affricates include the sounds represented by the letters ch in "church" and j in "judge." Affricates are produced by a combination of two articulatory gestures. The first part involves a complete closure in the vocal tract, similar to a stop consonant, while the second part involves a narrow constriction that creates turbulence, like a fricative. This unique combination gives affricates their distinct sound quality.