Voiceless retroflex plosive
| Voiceless retroflex plosive | |
|---|---|
| ʈ | |
| Audio sample | |
| Encoding | |
| X-SAMPA | t` |
The voiceless retroflex stop is a sound used in some spoken languages. It is not in English. It is similar to /t/ but your tongue is curled back.
Characteristics
[change | change source]- The phonation is voiceless. This means that this sound is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords. In some languages the vocal cords are actively separated, so it is always voiceless; in others the cords are lax, so that it may take on the voicing of adjacent sounds.
- The place of articulation (where the sound is produced) is retroflex, which prototypically means it is articulated sub-apical - with the tip of the tongue curled up. But more generally This means that it is postalveolar without being palatalized. That is, besides the prototypical sub-apical articulation, the tongue contact can be apical (pointed) or laminal (flat).
- The manner of articulation (how the sound is produced) is stop, or plosive. This means that this sound is produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract. (The term plosive contrasts with nasal stops, where the blocked airflow is redirected through the nose.)
