A dental consonant is a consonant articulated with the tongue against the upper teeth, such as /θ/, /ð/. In some languages, dentals are distinguished from other groups, such as alveolar consonants, in which the tongue contacts the gum ridge. Dental consonants share acoustic similarity and in the Latin script are generally written with consistent symbols (e.g. t, d, n).
| Dental | |
|---|---|
| ◌̪ | |
| IPA number | 408 |
| Encoding | |
| Entity (decimal) | ̪ |
| Unicode (hex) | U+032A |
In the International Phonetic Alphabet, the diacritic for dental consonant is U+032A ◌̪ COMBINING BRIDGE BELOW. When there is no room under the letter, it may be placed above, using the character U+0346 ◌͆ COMBINING BRIDGE ABOVE, such as in /p͆/.
Cross-linguistically
For many languages, such as Albanian, Irish and Russian, velarization is generally associated with more dental articulations of coronal consonants. Thus, velarized consonants, such as Albanian /ɫ/, tend to be dental or denti-alveolar, and non-velarized consonants tend to be retracted to an alveolar position.
Sanskrit, Hindustani and all other Indo-Aryan languages have an entire set of dental stops that occur phonemically as voiced and voiceless and with or without aspiration. The nasal /n/ also exists but is quite alveolar and apical in articulation.[citation needed] To native speakers, the English alveolar /t/ and /d/ sound more like the corresponding retroflex consonants of their languages than like dentals.[citation needed]
Spanish /t/ and /d/ are denti-alveolar, while /l/ and /n/ are prototypically alveolar but assimilate to the place of articulation of a following consonant. Likewise, Italian /t/, /d/, /t͡s/, /d͡z/ are denti-alveolar ([t̪], [d̪], [t̪͡s̪], and [d̪͡z̪] respectively) and /l/ and /n/ become denti-alveolar before a following dental consonant.
Although denti-alveolar consonants are often described as dental, it is the point of contact farthest to the back that is most relevant, defines the maximum acoustic space of resonance and gives a characteristic sound to a consonant. In French, the contact that is farthest back is alveolar or sometimes slightly pre-alveolar.
Occurrence
Dental/denti-alveolar consonants as transcribed by the International Phonetic Alphabet include:
| IPA | Description | Example | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Language | Orthography | IPA | Meaning | ||
| n̪ | dental nasal | Russian | банк / bank | [ban̪k] | 'bank' |
| t̪ | voiceless dental plosive | Finnish | tutti | [t̪ut̪ːi] | 'pacifier' |
| d̪ | voiced dental plosive | Arabic | دين / din | [d̪iːn] | 'religion' |
| s̪ | voiceless dental sibilant fricative | Polish | kosa | [kɔs̪a] | 'scythe' |
| z̪ | voiced dental sibilant fricative | Polish | koza | [kɔz̪a] | 'goat' |
| θ | voiceless dental nonsibilant fricative (also often called "interdental") | English | thing | [θɪŋ] | |
| ð | voiced dental nonsibilant fricative (also often called "interdental") | English | this | [ðɪs] | |
| ð̞ | dental approximant | Spanish | codo | [koð̞o] | 'elbow' |
| l̪ | dental lateral approximant | Spanish | alto | [al̪t̪o] | 'tall' |
| t̪ʼ | dental ejective | Dahalo | [t̪ʼat̪t̪a] | 'hair' | |
| ɗ̪ | voiced dental implosive | Sindhi | ڏسڻي | [ɗ̪əsɪɳiː] | 'forefinger' |
| k͡ǀ q͡ǀ ɡ͡ǀ ɢ͡ǀ ŋ͡ǀ ɴ͡ǀ | dental clicks (many different consonants) | Xhosa | ukúcola | [ukʼúkǀola] | 'to grind fine' |
See also
- Denti-alveolar consonant
- Place of articulation
- Index of phonetics articles
References
Sources
- Ladefoged, Peter; Maddieson, Ian (1996). The Sounds of the World's Languages. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-19815-6.
- Martínez-Celdrán, Eugenio; Fernández-Planas, Ana Ma.; Carrera-Sabaté, Josefina (2003), "Castilian Spanish", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 33 (2): 255–259, doi:10.1017/S0025100303001373
- Recasens, Daniel; Espinosa, Aina (2005), "Articulatory, positional and coarticulatory characteristics for clear /l/ and dark /l/: evidence from two Catalan dialects", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 35 (1): 1–25, doi:10.1017/S0025100305001878, S2CID 14140079
- Rogers, Derek; d'Arcangeli, Luciana (2004), "Italian", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 34 (1): 117–121, doi:10.1017/S0025100304001628
- Real Academia Española; Association of Spanish Language Academies (2011), Nueva Gramática de la lengua española (English: New Grammar of the Spanish Language), vol. 3 (Fonética y fonología), Espasa, ISBN 978-84-670-3321-2
A dental consonant is a consonant articulated with the tongue against the upper teeth such as 8 d In some languages dentals are distinguished from other groups such as alveolar consonants in which the tongue contacts the gum ridge Dental consonants share acoustic similarity and in the Latin script are generally written with consistent symbols e g t d n Dental IPA number408EncodingEntity decimal amp 810 Unicode hex U 032A In the International Phonetic Alphabet the diacritic for dental consonant is U 032A COMBINING BRIDGE BELOW When there is no room under the letter it may be placed above using the character U 0346 COMBINING BRIDGE ABOVE such as in p Cross linguisticallyFor many languages such as Albanian Irish and Russian velarization is generally associated with more dental articulations of coronal consonants Thus velarized consonants such as Albanian ɫ tend to be dental or denti alveolar and non velarized consonants tend to be retracted to an alveolar position Sanskrit Hindustani and all other Indo Aryan languages have an entire set of dental stops that occur phonemically as voiced and voiceless and with or without aspiration The nasal n also exists but is quite alveolar and apical in articulation citation needed To native speakers the English alveolar t and d sound more like the corresponding retroflex consonants of their languages than like dentals citation needed Spanish t and d are denti alveolar while l and n are prototypically alveolar but assimilate to the place of articulation of a following consonant Likewise Italian t d t s d z are denti alveolar t d t s and d z respectively and l and n become denti alveolar before a following dental consonant Although denti alveolar consonants are often described as dental it is the point of contact farthest to the back that is most relevant defines the maximum acoustic space of resonance and gives a characteristic sound to a consonant In French the contact that is farthest back is alveolar or sometimes slightly pre alveolar OccurrenceDental denti alveolar consonants as transcribed by the International Phonetic Alphabet include IPA Description ExampleLanguage Orthography IPA Meaningn dental nasal Russian bank bank ban k bank t voiceless dental plosive Finnish tutti t ut ːi pacifier d voiced dental plosive Arabic دين din d iːn religion s voiceless dental sibilant fricative Polish kosa kɔs a scythe z voiced dental sibilant fricative Polish koza kɔz a goat 8 voiceless dental nonsibilant fricative also often called interdental English thing 8ɪŋ d voiced dental nonsibilant fricative also often called interdental English this dɪs d dental approximant Spanish codo kod o elbow l dental lateral approximant Spanish alto al t o tall t ʼ dental ejective Dahalo t ʼat t a hair ɗ voiced dental implosive Sindhi ڏسڻي ɗ esɪɳiː forefinger k ǀ q ǀ ɡ ǀ ɢ ǀ ŋ ǀ ɴ ǀ dental clicks many different consonants Xhosa ukucola ukʼukǀola to grind fine See alsoDenti alveolar consonant Place of articulation Index of phonetics articlesReferencesRecasens amp Espinosa 2005 4 Martinez Celdran Fernandez Planas amp Carrera Sabate 2003 257 Rogers amp d Arcangeli 2004 117 Real Academia Espanola 2011 Ladefoged amp Maddieson 1996 page needed SourcesLadefoged Peter Maddieson Ian 1996 The Sounds of the World s Languages Oxford Blackwell ISBN 0 631 19815 6 Martinez Celdran Eugenio Fernandez Planas Ana Ma Carrera Sabate Josefina 2003 Castilian Spanish Journal of the International Phonetic Association 33 2 255 259 doi 10 1017 S0025100303001373 Recasens Daniel Espinosa Aina 2005 Articulatory positional and coarticulatory characteristics for clear l and dark l evidence from two Catalan dialects Journal of the International Phonetic Association 35 1 1 25 doi 10 1017 S0025100305001878 S2CID 14140079 Rogers Derek d Arcangeli Luciana 2004 Italian Journal of the International Phonetic Association 34 1 117 121 doi 10 1017 S0025100304001628 Real Academia Espanola Association of Spanish Language Academies 2011 Nueva Gramatica de la lengua espanola English New Grammar of the Spanish Language vol 3 Fonetica y fonologia Espasa ISBN 978 84 670 3321 2
