Apical consonant
Encyclopedia
An apical consonant is a phone (speech sound) produced by obstructing the air passage with the apex of the tongue (i.e. the tip of the tongue). This contrasts with laminal consonant
s, which are produced by creating an obstruction with the blade of the tongue (which is just behind the apex).
This is not a very common distinction, and typically applied only to fricatives and affricates. Thus many varieties of the English language
have either apical or laminal pairs of [t]/[d]. However, some varieties of Arabic, including Hadhrami Arabic
, realizes [t] as laminal but [d] as apical.
The Basque language
uses this distinction for alveolar
fricatives, as does Serbo-Croatian
. Mandarin Chinese uses it for postalveolar
fricatives (the "alveolo-palatal" and "retroflex" series). St'at'imcets
uses this as a secondary feature in contrasting velarized and non-velarized affricates. A distinction between apical and laminal is common in Australian languages for the nasals, plosives and usually also the lateral approximants.
In the International Phonetic Alphabet
, the diacritic for apical consonants is .
Laminal consonant
A laminal consonant is a phone produced by obstructing the air passage with the blade of the tongue, which is the flat top front surface just behind the tip of the tongue on the top. This contrasts with apical consonants, which are produced by creating an obstruction with the tongue apex only...
s, which are produced by creating an obstruction with the blade of the tongue (which is just behind the apex).
This is not a very common distinction, and typically applied only to fricatives and affricates. Thus many varieties of the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
have either apical or laminal pairs of [t]/[d]. However, some varieties of Arabic, including Hadhrami Arabic
Hadhrami Arabic
Hadhrami Arabic is a variety of Arabic spoken by the Hadhrami people living in the . It is also spoken by many Hadhrami emigrants who migrated from to East Africa , South-east Asia and, recently, to the other Gulf countries...
, realizes [t] as laminal but [d] as apical.
The Basque language
Basque language
Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...
uses this distinction for alveolar
Alveolar consonant
Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli of the superior teeth...
fricatives, as does Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian language
Serbo-Croatian or Serbo-Croat, less commonly Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian , is a South Slavic language with multiple standards and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro...
. Mandarin Chinese uses it for postalveolar
Postalveolar consonant
Postalveolar consonants are consonants articulated with the tongue near or touching the back of the alveolar ridge, further back in the mouth than the alveolar consonants, which are at the ridge itself, but not as far back as the hard palate...
fricatives (the "alveolo-palatal" and "retroflex" series). St'at'imcets
St'at'imcets language
Lillooet or Lilloet, also known as St’át’imcets , is the Interior Salishan language of the St’át’imc, spoken in southern British Columbia, Canada around the middle Fraser and Lillooet rivers. The dialect of the Lower Lillooet people uses the name Ucwalmícwts as St’át’imcets properly means "the...
uses this as a secondary feature in contrasting velarized and non-velarized affricates. A distinction between apical and laminal is common in Australian languages for the nasals, plosives and usually also the lateral approximants.
In the International Phonetic Alphabet
International Phonetic Alphabet
The International Phonetic Alphabet "The acronym 'IPA' strictly refers [...] to the 'International Phonetic Association'. But it is now such a common practice to use the acronym also to refer to the alphabet itself that resistance seems pedantic...
, the diacritic for apical consonants is .
See also
- Coronal consonantCoronal consonantCoronal consonants are consonants articulated with the flexible front part of the tongue. Only the coronal consonants can be divided into apical , laminal , domed , or subapical , as well as a few rarer orientations, because only the front of the tongue has such...
- Laminal consonantLaminal consonantA laminal consonant is a phone produced by obstructing the air passage with the blade of the tongue, which is the flat top front surface just behind the tip of the tongue on the top. This contrasts with apical consonants, which are produced by creating an obstruction with the tongue apex only...
- List of phonetic topics
- Voiceless apicoalveolar fricative
- Voiced apicoalveolar fricative