Voiced retroflex fricative

Consonantal sound represented by ⟨ʐ⟩ in IPA

The voiced retroflex sibilant fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ʐ⟩, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is z`. Like all the retroflex consonants, the IPA symbol is formed by adding a rightward-pointing hook extending from the bottom of a z (the letter used for the corresponding alveolar consonant).

Features

Schematic mid-sagittal section

Features of the voiced retroflex sibilant:

• Its manner of articulation is sibilant fricative, which means it is generally produced by channeling air flow along a groove in the back of the tongue up to the place of articulation, at which point it is focused against the sharp edge of the nearly clenched teeth, causing high-frequency turbulence.
• Its place of articulation is retroflex, which prototypically means it is articulated subapical (with the tip of the tongue curled up), but more generally, it means that it is postalveolar without being palatalized. That is, besides the prototypical subapical articulation, the tongue can be apical (pointed) or, in some fricatives, laminal (flat).
• Its phonation is voiced, which means the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation.
• It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.
• It is a central consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream along the center of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
• The airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air solely with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles, as in most sounds.

Occurrence

In the following transcriptions, diacritics may be used to distinguish between apical [ʐ̺] and laminal [ʐ̻].

The commonality of [ʐ] cross-linguistically is 2% in a phonological analysis of 2155 languages.^[1]

Voiced retroflex non-sibilant fricative

Features

Features of the voiced retroflex non-sibilant fricative:

• Its manner of articulation is fricative, which means it is produced by constricting air flow through a narrow channel at the place of articulation, causing turbulence.
• Its place of articulation is retroflex, which prototypically means it is articulated subapical (with the tip of the tongue curled up), but more generally, it means that it is postalveolar without being palatalized. That is, besides the prototypical subapical articulation, the tongue can be apical (pointed) or, in some fricatives, laminal (flat).
• Its phonation is voiced, which means the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation.
• It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.
• It is a central consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream along the center of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
• The airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air solely with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles, as in most sounds.

Occurrence

See also

• Index of phonetics articles
• Voiced postalveolar fricative

Notes

1. Phoible.org. (2018). PHOIBLE Online – Segments. [online] Available at: http://phoible.org/parameters.
2. Drude (2020), p. 190.
3. Šewc-Schuster (1984:40–41)
4. Zygis (2003:180–181, 190–191)
5. Sadowsky et al. (2013), p. 90.
6. Felipe (2020), pp. 87–89.
7. Hamann (2004:65)
8. "Gwary polskie – Frykatywne rż (ř)". Archived from the original on 2013-11-13. Retrieved 2013-11-06.
9. "Gwary polskie – Gwara regionu". www.gwarypolskie.uw.edu.pl. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
10. "Gwary polskie – Szadzenie". www.gwarypolskie.uw.edu.pl. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
11. Ziya, Muhammad Amin, Prof. (2010, October). Gilti Shina Urdu Dictionary / ݜِناٗ - اُردو لغت. Publisher: Zia Publications, Gilgit. ضیاء پبلیکبشنز، گلیٗتISBN: 978-969-942-00-8 https://archive.org/details/MuhammadAmeenZiaGiltiShinaUrduDictionary/page/n5/mode/1up
12. Hanulíková & Hamann (2010:374)
13. Merrill (2008:109)
14. Lunsford (2001:16–20)
15. Šewc-Schuster (1984:41)
16. Zygis (2003:180)
17. Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996:165)

References

• Hamann, Silke (2004), "Retroflex fricatives in Slavic languages" (PDF), Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 34 (1): 53–67, doi:10.1017/S0025100304001604, S2CID 2224095
• Hanulíková, Adriana; Hamann, Silke (2010), "Slovak" (PDF), Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 40 (3): 373–378, doi:10.1017/S0025100310000162
• Ladefoged, Peter; Maddieson, Ian (1996). The Sounds of the World's Languages. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-19815-6.
• Lunsford, Wayne A. (2001), "An overview of linguistic structures in Torwali, a language of Northern Pakistan" (PDF), M.A. Thesis, University of Texas at Arlington
• Merrill, Elizabeth (2008), "Tilquiapan Zapotec" (PDF), Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 38 (1): 107–114, doi:10.1017/S0025100308003344
• Sadowsky, Scott; Painequeo, Héctor; Salamanca, Gastón; Avelino, Heriberto (2013), "Mapudungun", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 43 (1): 87–96, doi:10.1017/S0025100312000369
• Šewc-Schuster, Hinc (1984), Gramatika hornjo-serbskeje rěče, Budyšin: Ludowe nakładnistwo Domowina
• Zygis, Marzena (2003), "Phonetic and Phonological Aspects of Slavic Sibilant Fricatives", ZAS Papers in Linguistics, 3: 175–213, doi:10.21248/zaspil.32.2003.191
• Drude, Sebastian (2020), "A Fonologia do Awetí", Revista Brasileira de Línguas Indígenas (in Brazilian Portuguese), 3 (2): 190, doi:10.18468/rbli.2020v3n2.p183-205, S2CID 234223262
• Felipe, Paulo Henrique Pereira Silva de (2020), Fonologia e morfossintaxe da língua mehináku (arawak) (Thesis), pp. 87–89, hdl:20.500.12733/1640175

External links

• List of languages with [ʐ] on PHOIBLE