Retroflex trill
Encyclopedia
The retroflex trill is a sound that has been reported from the Dravidian language
Toda
, and confirmed with laboratory measurements. Peter Ladefoged
transcribes it with the IPA symbol normally associated with the retroflex flap, ɽ. Although the tongue starts out in a sub-apical retroflex position, trilling involves the tip of the tongue and causes it to move forward to the alveolar ridge; this means that the retroflex trill gives a preceding vowel retroflex coloration the way other retroflex consonants do, but the vibration itself is not much different from an alveolar trill
. Thus the narrower transcription [ɽ͡r] is also appropriate.
Wintu
and Lardil
are other languages with a reported (apico-)retroflex trill where the tongue apex "approaches" the hard palate (this is not sub-apical as in Toda). The trill has a retroflex flap allophone occurring in intervocalic position.
Several languages have been reported to have trilled retroflex affricates such as [ɳɖ͡ɽ̝] and [ʈ͡ɽ̝̊], including Mapudungun, Malagasy
, and Fijian
. However, the exact articulation is seldom clear from the descriptions. In Fijian, for example, further investigation revealed that the sound (written dr) is seldom trilled, usually realized as a postalveolar stop [n̠d̠] instead. In Mapudungun, the sound (written tr) is strongly retroflex, causing /l/ and /r/ following the subsequent vowel to become retroflex as well. In the southern dialect it varies between /ʈɽ/ and /ʈʂ/, but it is not clear whether the symbol ⟨ɽ⟩ represents a trill or a non-sibilant fricative.
Dravidian languages
The Dravidian language family includes approximately 85 genetically related languages, spoken by about 217 million people. They are mainly spoken in southern India and parts of eastern and central India as well as in northeastern Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Iran, and...
Toda
Toda language
Toda is a Dravidian language well known for its many fricatives and trills. It is spoken by the Toda people, a population of about one thousand who live in the Nilgiri Hills of southern India.-Vowels:...
, and confirmed with laboratory measurements. Peter Ladefoged
Peter Ladefoged
Peter Nielsen Ladefoged was an English-American linguist and phonetician who traveled the world to document the distinct sounds of endangered languages and pioneered ways to collect and study data . He was active at the universities of Edinburgh, Scotland and Ibadan, Nigeria 1953–61...
transcribes it with the IPA symbol normally associated with the retroflex flap, ɽ. Although the tongue starts out in a sub-apical retroflex position, trilling involves the tip of the tongue and causes it to move forward to the alveolar ridge; this means that the retroflex trill gives a preceding vowel retroflex coloration the way other retroflex consonants do, but the vibration itself is not much different from an alveolar trill
Alveolar trill
The alveolar trill is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents dental, alveolar, and postalveolar trills is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is r. It is commonly called the rolled R, rolling R, or trilled R...
. Thus the narrower transcription [ɽ͡r] is also appropriate.
Wintu
Wintu language
Wintu is an endangered Wintuan language spoken by the Wintu people of Northern California.Wintu is the northernmost member of the Wintun family of languages....
and Lardil
Lardil language
Lardil is a moribund language spoken on Mornington Island , in the Wellesley Islands of Queensland in northern Australia. Lardil is unusual among Australian languages in that it features a ceremonial register, called Damin...
are other languages with a reported (apico-)retroflex trill where the tongue apex "approaches" the hard palate (this is not sub-apical as in Toda). The trill has a retroflex flap allophone occurring in intervocalic position.
Malagasy language
Malagasy is the national language of Madagascar, a member of the Austronesian family of languages. Most people in Madagascar speak it as a first language as do some people of Malagasy descent elsewhere.-History:...
, and Fijian
Fijian language
Fijian is an Austronesian language of the Malayo-Polynesian family spoken in Fiji. It has 450,000 first-language speakers, which is less than half the population of Fiji, but another 200,000 speak it as a second language...
. However, the exact articulation is seldom clear from the descriptions. In Fijian, for example, further investigation revealed that the sound (written dr) is seldom trilled, usually realized as a postalveolar stop [n̠d̠] instead. In Mapudungun, the sound (written tr) is strongly retroflex, causing /l/ and /r/ following the subsequent vowel to become retroflex as well. In the southern dialect it varies between /ʈɽ/ and /ʈʂ/, but it is not clear whether the symbol ⟨ɽ⟩ represents a trill or a non-sibilant fricative.