Sulcalization (from 'groove'), also called internal rounding, in
phonetics
Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds or, in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians ...
, is the pronunciation of a sound, typically a
sibilant consonant
Sibilants (from 'hissing') are fricative and affricate consonants of higher amplitude and pitch, made by directing a stream of air with the tongue towards the teeth. Examples of sibilants are the consonants at the beginning of the English word ...
, such as
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Culture, language and peoples
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
* ''English'', an Amish ter ...
and , with a deep ''groove'' running along the back of the tongue that focuses the airstream on the teeth, producing a more intense sound. This is accomplished by raising the sides of the back of the tongue ("lateral contraction") and leaving a hollow along the mid-line. It is not clear if all sibilants are grooved to at least some extent. Catford (1977) observed that the degree of tongue grooving differs between places of articulation as well as between languages; however, no language is known to contrast sibilants based purely on the presence or absence of tongue grooving.
English , which allows various tongue positions without apparent distinction, may also receive its characteristic quality from having a grooved tongue shape. has also been reported to show tongue grooving in English, despite being a non-sibilant fricative (Stone & Lundberg 1996).
Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
, but not , has also been described as being produced with accompanying sulcalization (Lowman 1932: 278).
In
phonology
Phonology (formerly also phonemics or phonematics: "phonemics ''n.'' 'obsolescent''1. Any procedure for identifying the phonemes of a language from a corpus of data. 2. (formerly also phonematics) A former synonym for phonology, often pre ...
and
historical linguistics
Historical linguistics, also known as diachronic linguistics, is the scientific study of how languages change over time. It seeks to understand the nature and causes of linguistic change and to trace the evolution of languages. Historical li ...
, ''sulcalization'' is the development of such a groove in a non-sulcal consonant. For example,
close vowel
A close vowel, also known as a high vowel (in U.S. terminology), is any in a class of vowel sounds used in many spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a close vowel is that the tongue is positioned approximately as close as possible to ...
s triggered this effect in
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
, where historic *''tu'' and *''ti'' have become and , respectively. A similar sound change also took place in the history of the
Senufo languages
The Senufo or Senufic languages () comprise around 15 languages spoken by the Senufo people, Senufo in the north of Ivory Coast, the south of Mali and the southwest of Burkina Faso. An isolated language, Nafaanra language, Nafaanra, is also spok ...
. (The
palatalization
Palatalization may refer to:
*Palatalization (phonetics), the phonetic feature of palatal secondary articulation
*Palatalization (sound change)
Palatalization ( ) is a historical-linguistic sound change that results in a palatalized articulati ...
of *''tsi'' to in Japanese is a different process and does not occur in Senufo.)
Vowels may also be sulcalized, which has been described as giving them a "throaty" sound (Jones 1967: 82). The vowel of
Received Pronunciation
Received Pronunciation (RP) is the Accent (sociolinguistics), accent of British English regarded as the Standard language, standard one, carrying the highest Prestige (sociolinguistics), social prestige, since as late as the beginning of the 2 ...
, which is normally described as a
rounded, is pronounced by some speakers without rounded lips for whom the characteristic quality is rather one of sulcality (Lass 1984: 124).
One scholar has also suggested that the vowel in the RP pronunciation of words like ''bird'', typically transcribed , is actually a sulcal schwa, retaining the sulcality of the original rhotic consonant. Accordingly, the realization of the -element of the centring diphthongs , , in words such as ''near'', ''pure'' and ''scare'', is interpreted as the product of a loss of sulcality (Erickson 2003: 197).
See also
*
Tongue rolling
Tongue rolling is the ability to roll the lateral edges of the tongue upwards into a tube. The tongue's intrinsic muscles allow some people to form their tongues into specific shapes. Rolling the tongue into a tube shape is often described as a ...
*
Tillamook language
Tillamook is an extinct Salishan language, formerly spoken by the Tillamook people in northwestern Oregon, United States. The last fluent speaker was Minnie Scovell who died in 1972. In an effort to prevent the language from being lost, a gro ...
References
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Fricative consonants
Phonetics
Secondary articulation