The voiced retroflex sibilant affricate is a type of
consonant
In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract, except for the h sound, which is pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Examples are and pronou ...
al sound, used in some
spoken language
Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...
s. The symbol in the
International Phonetic Alphabet
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is an alphabetic system of phonetic notation based primarily on the Latin script. It was devised by the International Phonetic Association in the late 19th century as a standard written representation ...
that represents this sound is , sometimes simplified to or , and the equivalent
X-SAMPA symbol is
dz`. Its apical variant is and laminal variant . It occurs in such languages as
Polish (the laminal affricate ''dż'') and
Northwest Caucasian languages
The Northwest Caucasian languages, also called West Caucasian, Abkhazo-Adyghean, Abkhazo-Circassian, Circassic, or sometimes Pontic languages (from Ancient Greek, ''pontos'', referring to the Black Sea, in contrast to the Northeast Caucasian ...
(apical).
Features
Features of the voiced retroflex affricate:
* Its
place of articulation
In articulatory phonetics, the place of articulation (also point of articulation) of a consonant is an approximate location along the vocal tract where its production occurs. It is a point where a constriction is made between an active and a pa ...
is
retroflex
A retroflex () or cacuminal () 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 consona ...
, which prototypically means , but more generally, it means that it is
postalveolar without being
palatalized. That is, besides the prototypical subapical articulation, the tongue contact can be
apical (pointed) or
laminal (flat).
Occurrence
Voiced retroflex non-sibilant affricate
Features
Occurrence
See also
*
Index of phonetics articles
Notes
References
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External links
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{{IPA navigation
Retroflex consonants
Affricates
Pulmonic consonants
Voiced oral consonants
Central consonants