Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Central consonant
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
{{Short description|Consonant sound}} {{More footnotes|date=August 2018}} {{Multiple image|total_width=250 |image1=An outline of English phonetics fig18.png |image2=An outline of English phonetics fig35.png |footer=[[Palatogram]]s of central {{IPAblink|t}} and lateral {{IPAblink|l}} }} A '''central consonant''', also known as a '''median consonant''',<ref>{{cite book|last1=Pullum|first1=Geoffrey K.|authorlink1=Geoffrey K. Pullum|last2=Ladusaw|first2=William A.|year=1996|title=[[Phonetic Symbol Guide]]|publisher=University of Chicago Press|page=xxxiv|isbn=0-226-68536-5}}</ref> is a [[consonant]] sound that is produced when air flows across the center of the mouth over the tongue. The class contrasts with [[lateral consonant]]s, in which air flows over the sides of the tongue rather than down its center. Examples of central consonants are the [[voiced alveolar fricative]] (the "z" in the English word "zoo") and the [[palatal approximant]] (the "y" in the English word "yes"). Others are the central fricatives {{IPA|[θ ð s z ʃ ʒ ʂ ʐ ɕ ʑ ç ʝ x ɣ χ ʁ]}}, the central approximants {{IPA|[ɹ ɻ j ɥ ɰ w ʍ]}}, the trills {{IPA|[r ʀ]}}, and the central flaps {{IPA|[ɾ ɽ]}}. The term is most relevant for approximants and fricatives (for which there are contrasting lateral and central consonants - e.g. {{IPA|[l]}} versus {{IPA|[ɹ]}} and {{IPA|[ɮ]}} versus {{IPA|[z]}}). Stops that have "lateral release" can be written in the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] using a superscript symbol, e.g. {{IPA|[tˡ]}}, or can be implied by a following lateral consonant, e.g. {{IPA|[tɬ]}}. The labial fricatives {{IPA|[f v]}} often—perhaps usually—have lateral airflow, as occlusion between the teeth and lips blocks the airflow in the center, but nonetheless they are not considered lateral consonants because no language makes a distinction between the two. In some languages, the centrality of a phoneme may be indeterminate. In Japanese, for example, there is a [[liquid consonant|liquid]] phoneme {{IPA|/r/}}, which may be either central or lateral, resulting in /ro/ produced as either {{IPA|[ɾo]}} or {{IPA|[lo]}}. ==See also== *[[Manner of articulation]] *[[List of phonetics topics]] ==References== {{reflist}} *{{SOWL}} [[Category:Central consonants| ]] [[Category:Consonants by manner of articulation]]
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Pages transcluded onto the current version of this page
(
help
)
:
Template:Cite book
(
edit
)
Template:IPA
(
edit
)
Template:More footnotes
(
edit
)
Template:Multiple image
(
edit
)
Template:Reflist
(
edit
)
Template:SOWL
(
edit
)
Template:Short description
(
edit
)