Alveolar consonant

Alveolar consonants (Template:IPAc-en;<ref>Template:OED
Template:MW</ref> UK also Template:IPAc-en<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}
Template:Cite Collins Dictionary</ref>) are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli (the sockets) of the upper teeth. Alveolar consonants may be articulated with the tip of the tongue (the apical consonants), as in English, or with the flat of the tongue just above the tip (the "blade" of the tongue; called laminal consonants), as in French and Spanish.

The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) does not have separate symbols for the alveolar consonants. Rather, the same symbol is used for all coronal places of articulation that are not palatalized like English palato-alveolar sh, or retroflex. To disambiguate, the bridge ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}, etc.) may be used for a dental consonant, or the under-bar ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}, etc.) may be used for the postalveolars. {{#invoke:IPA|main}} differs from dental {{#invoke:IPA|main}} in that the former is a sibilant and the latter is not. {{#invoke:IPA|main}} differs from postalveolar {{#invoke:IPA|main}} in being unpalatalized.

The bare letters {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, etc. cannot be assumed to specifically represent alveolars. The language may not make such distinctions, such that two or more coronal places of articulation are found allophonically, or the transcription may simply be too broad to distinguish dental from alveolar. If it is necessary to specify a consonant as alveolar, a diacritic from the Extended IPA may be used: {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, etc., though that could also mean extra-retracted.<ref>E.g. in Laver (1994) Principles of Phonetics, p. 559–560</ref> The letters Template:Angbr are frequently called 'alveolar', and the language examples below are all alveolar sounds.

(The Extended IPA diacritic was devised for speech pathology and is frequently used to mean "alveolarized", as in the labioalveolar sounds {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, where the lower lip contacts the alveolar ridge.)

In IPA

Alveolar consonants are transcribed in the IPA as follows:

IPA	Description	Example
		Language	Orthography	IPA	Meaning in English
main}}	voiceless alveolar nasal	BurmeseTemplate:Sfnp	lang}}	main}}	'nose'
main}}	voiced alveolar nasal	English	run	main}}
main}}	voiceless alveolar plosive	English	top	main}}
main}}	voiced alveolar plosive	English	debt	main}}
main}}	voiceless alveolar affricate	German	lang}}	main}}	time
main}}	voiced alveolar affricate	Italian	lang}}	main}}	backpack
main}}	voiceless alveolar fricative	English	suit	main}}
main}}	voiced alveolar fricative	English	zoo	main}}
main}}	voiceless alveolar lateral affricate	Tsez	lang}}	main}}	winter
main}}	voiced alveolar lateral affricate	Pa Na<ref>Chen, Qiguang [陈其光]. 2001. "A Brief Introduction of Bana Language [巴那语概况]". Minzu Yuwen.</ref>		main}}	'deep'
main}}	voiceless alveolar lateral fricative	Welsh	lang}}	main}}	grey
main}}	voiced alveolar lateral fricative	Zulu	lang}}	main}}	to play
main}}	voiceless alveolar non-sibilant fricative	Irish English	Italy	main}}
main}}	voiced alveolar non-sibilant fricative	Scouse English	maid	main}}
main}}	voiced alveolar approximant	English	red	main}}
main}}	alveolar lateral approximant	English	loop	main}}
main}}	velarized alveolar lateral approximant	English	milk	main}}
main}}	voiceless alveolar lateral flap	Karu		main}}	'that'
main}}	voiced alveolar lateral flap	Venda		main}}	'to open'
main}}	voiceless alveolar flap	Icelandic	lang}}	main}}	'raven'
main}}	voiced alveolar tap	English	better	main}}
main}}	voiceless alveolar trill	Konda		main}}	'anthill'
main}}	voiced alveolar trill	Spanish	lang}}	main}}	'dog'
main}}	alveolar ejective	Georgian	lang}}	main}}	'tulip'
main}}	alveolar ejective affricate	Chechen	lang}}	main}}	'name'
main}}	alveolar ejective fricative	Amharic	lang}}	main}}
main}}	alveolar lateral ejective affricate	Navajo	lang}}	main}}	'(at) the outside'
main}}	alveolar lateral ejective fricative	Adyghe	lang}}	main}}	'four'
main}}	voiceless alveolar implosive	Mam	lang}}	main}}	'finish'
main}}	voiced alveolar implosive	Vietnamese	lang}}	main}}	Past tense indicator
main}}	apical alveolar clicks (many distinct consonants)	Nama	lang}}	main}}	hollow
main}}	alveolar lateral clicks (many distinct consonants)	Nama	lang}}	main}}	discussed

Lack of alveolars

There are no languages that have no alveolars at all. The alveolar or dental consonants {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and {{#invoke:IPA|main}} are, along with {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, the most common consonants in human languages.<ref>Ian Maddieson and Sandra Ferrari Disner, 1984, Patterns of Sounds. Cambridge University Press</ref> Nonetheless, there are a few languages that lack them. A few languages on Bougainville Island and around Puget Sound, such as Makah, lack nasals and therefore {{#invoke:IPA|main}} but have {{#invoke:IPA|main}}. Colloquial Samoan, however, lacks both {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and {{#invoke:IPA|main}} but has a lateral alveolar approximant {{#invoke:IPA|main}}. (Samoan words written with t and n are pronounced with {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and {{#invoke:IPA|main}} in colloquial speech.) In Standard Hawaiian, {{#invoke:IPA|main}} is an allophone of {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, but {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and {{#invoke:IPA|main}} exist.

Template:Vanchor consonants

In labioalveolars, the lower lip contacts the alveolar ridge. Such sounds are typically the result of a severe overbite. In the Extensions to the IPA for disordered speech, they are transcribed with the alveolar diacritic on labial letters: Template:Angbr IPA.

See also

• Index of phonetics articles
• Perception of English /r/ and /l/ by Japanese speakers
• Place of articulation

References

• Template:SOWL