Dorsal consonant

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Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Dorsal consonants are articulated with the mid body of the tongue (the dorsum). They include the palatal, velar, and in some cases alveolo-palatal and uvular consonants. Dorsals contrast with coronal consonants, articulated with the flexible front of the tongue, and laryngeal consonants, articulated in the pharyngeal cavity.

Function

The dorsum of the tongue can contact a broad region of the roof of the mouth, from the hard palate (palatal consonants), the flexible velum behind that (velar consonants), to the uvula at the back of the mouth cavity (uvular consonants). These distinctions are not clear cut, and sometimes finer gradations such as pre-palatal, pre-velar, and post-velar will be noted.

Because the tip of the tongue can curl back to also contact the hard palate for retroflex consonants (subapical-palatal), consonants produced by contact between the dorsum and the palate are sometimes called dorso-palatal.

Examples

Familiar dorsal consonants
IPA symbol Name of the consonant Language Example IPA
j Palatal approximant English yellow /ˈjɛloʊ/
ɡ Voiced velar stop garden /ˈgɑrdən/
k Voiceless velar stop cake /ˈkeɪk/
x Voiceless velar fricative Scottish English loch /ˈlɒx/
w Labio-velar approximant English water /ˈwɒtər/
q Voiceless uvular stop Arabic Qurʾān (قرآن) /qurʔaːn/
ʁ Voiced uvular fricative
or approximant
French Paris /paʁi/
χ Voiceless uvular fricative German Bach [baχ]

See also

References

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