Sub-apical consonant
Encyclopedia
A subapical consonant is a consonant made by contact with the underside of the tip of the tongue. The only common subapical articulations are in the postalveolar
to palatal
region, which are called "retroflex
".
However, most so-called retroflex consonants are actually apical
. True subapical retroflexes are found in the Dravidian languages
of southern India
.
Occasionally the term "sublaminal" is used for subapical. However, that term might be better used for rare sounds pronounced between the underside of the tongue and the floor of the mouth, such as the "sublaminal lower alveolar click" pronounced between the tongue and the lower gums, symbolized by a [¡] in the Extended IPA
.
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...
to palatal
Palatal consonant
Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate...
region, which are called "retroflex
Retroflex consonant
A retroflex consonant is a coronal consonant where the tongue has a flat, concave, or even curled shape, and is articulated between the alveolar ridge and the hard palate. They are sometimes referred to as cerebral consonants, especially in Indology...
".
However, most so-called retroflex consonants are actually apical
Apical consonant
An apical consonant is a phone produced by obstructing the air passage with the apex of the tongue . This contrasts with laminal consonants, which are produced by creating an obstruction with the blade of the tongue .This is not a very common distinction, and typically applied only to fricatives...
. True subapical retroflexes are found in the Dravidian languages
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...
of southern India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Occasionally the term "sublaminal" is used for subapical. However, that term might be better used for rare sounds pronounced between the underside of the tongue and the floor of the mouth, such as the "sublaminal lower alveolar click" pronounced between the tongue and the lower gums, symbolized by a [¡] in the Extended IPA
Extensions to the IPA
The Extensions to the IPA are extensions of the International Phonetic Alphabet and were designed for disordered speech. However, some of the symbols are occasionally used for transcribing normal speech as well, particularly in certain languages.-Brackets:The Extended IPA for speech pathology has...
.