These
are pronounced with a complete closure in the same way as in Hindi-Urdu
and English. The air pressure builds up behind the closure and is released
with a mild explosion. The stop sounds are of the following three types:
-
the voiceless unaspirated
 ,  ,  ,  ,
-
voiceless aspirated
 ,  ,  ,  ,
and
-
voiced unaspirated b,
d,
 ,
g.
On the basis of place
of articulation, these may be further be grouped into four types.
The two lips are the
primary articulators, and these are completely closed. The , ,
and b are bilabial stops. They are pronounced in the same way as
p,
ph,
and b in such Hindi-Urdu words as pa:ni: 'water',
phu:l
'flower' and bartan 'utensil'. The Kashmiri
is not aspirated, as in English put, it is like p in spin.
The b is pronounced the same way as the b in English bull
or body.
The tongue tip articulates
with the upper teeth. The , ,
and d are dental stops. They are pronounced in the same way as the
comparable stops in Hindi-Urdu ta:l 'rhythmic beat', tha:na:
'police station', and dard 'pain'.
The tongue tip is curled
back. It articulates with the hard palate. The , ,
and
are retroflex stops. These sounds are similar to the initial sounds of
the Hindi-Urdu words 
'gunny bag', 
'cold' and 
'fear', respectively.
The back of the tongue
articulates with the soft palate.
, , and
g
are velar stops. These sounds are similar to the initial sounds in the
Hindi-Urdu words ka:m 'work', kha:na: 'food' and ga:na:
'song', respectively.
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Introduction
