Dental, alveolar and postalveolar nasals
Alveolar nasal | |
---|---|
n | |
IPA number | 116 |
Encoding | |
Entity (decimal) |
n |
Unicode (hex) | U+006E |
X-SAMPA |
n |
Kirshenbaum |
n |
Braille | |
Sound | |
source · help |
The alveolar nasal is a type of consonantal sound used in numerous spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents dental, alveolar, and postalveolar nasals is ⟨n⟩, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is n.
The vast majority of languages have either an alveolar or dental nasal. There are a few languages that lack either sound but have [m] (e.g. colloquial Samoan). There are some languages (e.g. Rotokas) that lack both [m] and [n].
True dental consonants are relatively uncommon. In the Romance, Dravidian, and Australian languages, n is often called "dental" in the literature. However, the rearmost contact (which is what gives a consonant its distinctive sound) is actually alveolar or denti-alveolar. The difference between the Romance languages and English is not so much where the tongue contacts the roof of the mouth, as which part of the tongue makes the contact. In English it is the tip of the tongue (such sounds are termed apical), whereas in the Romance languages it is the flat of the tongue just above the tip (such sounds are called laminal).
However, there are languages with true apical (or less commonly laminal) dental n. It is found in the Mapuche language of South America, where it is actually interdental. A true dental generally occurs allophonically before /θ/ in languages which have it, as in English tenth. Similarly, a denti-alveolar allophone will occur in languages which have denti-alveolar stops, as in Spanish cinta.
Some languages contrast laminal denti-alveolar and apical alveolar nasals. For example, in the Malayalam pronunciation of Nārāyanan, the first n is dental, the second is retroflex, and the third alveolar.
A postalveolar nasal occurs in a number of Australian Aboriginal languages, including Djeebbana and Jingulu.[1]
Features
Features of the alveolar nasal:
- Its manner of articulation is occlusive, which means it is produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract. Because the consonant is also nasal, the blocked airflow is redirected through the nose.
- There are four specific variants of [n]:
- Dental, which means it is articulated with either the tip or the blade of the tongue at the upper teeth, termed respectively apical and laminal.
- Denti-alveolar, which means it is articulated with the blade of the tongue at the alveolar ridge, and the tip of the tongue behind upper teeth.
- Alveolar, which means it is articulated with either the tip or the blade of the tongue at the alveolar ridge, termed respectively apical and laminal.
- Postalveolar, which means it is articulated with either the tip or the blade of the tongue behind the alveolar ridge, termed respectively apical and laminal.
- Its phonation is voiced, which means the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation.
- It is a nasal consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the nose, either exclusively (nasal stops) or in addition to through the mouth.
- Because the sound is not produced with airflow over the tongue, the central–lateral dichotomy does not apply.
- The airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air solely with the lungs and diaphragm, as in most sounds.
Occurrence
Dental or denti-alveolar
Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Belarusian[2] | новы | [ˈn̪ovɨ] | 'new' | Laminal denti-alveolar. Contrasts with palatalized form. See Belarusian phonology | |
Bulgarian[3] | жена | [ʒɛˈn̪a] | 'woman' | Laminal denti-alveolar. | |
Catalan[4] | cantar | [kən̪ˈt̪ä(ɾ)] | 'to sing' | Laminal denti-alveolar. Allophone of /n/ before /t, d/.[4] See Catalan phonology | |
Dutch | Belgian | nicht | [n̻ɪxt̻] | 'niece' | Laminal denti-alveolar, sometimes simply alveolar. See Dutch phonology |
English | month | [mʌn̪θ] | 'month' | Interdental. Allophone of /n/ before /θ, ð/. | |
French[5] | connexion | [kɔn̻ɛksjɔ̃] | 'connection' | Laminal denti-alveolar, sometimes simply alveolar. See French phonology | |
Greek[6] | άνθος/ánthos | [ˈɐn̪θo̞s] | 'flower' | Interdental. Allophone of /n/. See Modern Greek phonology | |
Hungarian[7] | nagyi | [ˈn̪ɒɟi] | 'grandma' | Laminal denti-alveolar. See Hungarian phonology | |
Italian[8][9] | cantare | [kän̪ˈt̪äːre] | 'to sing' | Laminal denti-alveolar.[9] Allophone of /n/ before /t, d, s, z, t͡s, d͡z/.[8][9] See Italian phonology | |
Kashubian[10] | Laminal denti-alveolar. | ||||
Kazakh | көрінді | [kœɾɪn̪d̪ɪ] | 'it seemed' | Laminal denti-alveolar. Allophone of /n/ before /t, d/. | |
Kyrgyz | беделинде | [be̞d̪e̞lin̪d̪e̞] | 'in the authority' | Laminal denti-alveolar. Allophone of /n/ before /t, d/. | |
Latvian[11] | nakts | [n̪äkt̪s̪] | 'night' | Laminal denti-alveolar. See Latvian phonology | |
Macedonian[12] | нос | [n̪o̞s̪] | 'nose' | Laminal denti-alveolar. See Macedonian phonology | |
Malayalam[13] | പന്നി | [pən̪n̪i] | 'pig' | Interdental for some speakers. | |
Mapudungun[14] | müṉa | [mɘ̝ˈn̪ɐ̝] | 'male cousin on father's side' | Interdental.[14] | |
Polish[15] | nos | [n̪ɔs̪] | 'nose' | Laminal denti-alveolar. Alveolar before /t͡ʂ, d͡ʐ/. See Polish phonology | |
Portuguese | General[16][17] | nariz | [n̻ɐˈɾiʃ] | 'nose' | Laminal denti-alveolar. May nasalize preceding vowel (especially if stressed). Has [ɲ̟] as allophone, forming from clusters with [j], and before /i/. |
Vernacular Brazilian[18][19] | percebendo | [pe̞ʁse̞ˈbẽn̻u] | 'perceiving' | Laminal denti-alveolar. Allophone of /d/ after a stressed nasal vowel in more stigmatized varieties. See Portuguese phonology | |
Romanian[20] | alună | [äˈlun̪ə] | 'hazelnut' | Laminal denti-alveolar. See Romanian phonology | |
Serbo-Croatian | студент / student | [s̪t̪ǔd̪e̞n̪t̪] | 'student' | Laminal denti-alveolar. Allophone of /n/ before /t, d, s, z, t͡s/. See Serbo-Croatian phonology | |
Slovene | amarant | [amaˈɾaːn̪t̪] | 'amaranth' | Laminal denti-alveolar. Allophone of /n/ before /t, d, s, z, t͡s/. See Slovene phonology | |
Spanish | Most dialects | cantar | [kän̪ˈt̪är] | 'to sing' | Laminal denti-alveolar. Allophone of /n/ before /t, d/. See Spanish phonology |
Ukrainian[21] | наш | [n̪ɑʃ] | 'our' | Laminal denti-alveolar, contrasts with palatalized form. See Ukrainian phonology | |
Uzbek[22] | Laminal denti-alveolar. | ||||
Alveolar
Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adyghe | нэфнэ | [nafna] | 'light' | ||
Arabic | Standard | نار | [naːr] | 'fire' | See Arabic phonology |
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic | nora | [noɾa:] | 'mirror' | ||
Basque | ni | [ni] | 'I' | ||
Bengali | নাক | [na:k] | 'nose' | See Bengali phonology | |
Catalan[23] | nou | [ˈnɔw] | 'new' | See Catalan phonology | |
Chinese | Mandarin | 難/nán | [nan˧˥] | 'difficult' | See Mandarin phonology |
Czech | na | [na] | 'on' | See Czech phonology | |
Dutch[24] | nacht | [nɑxt] | 'night' | See Dutch phonology | |
English | nice | [naɪs] | 'nice' | See English phonology | |
Finnish | annan | [ˈɑnːɑn] | 'I give' | See Finnish phonology | |
Georgian[25] | კანი | [ˈkʼɑni] | 'skin' | ||
Greek | νάμα/náma | [ˈnama] | 'communion wine' | See Modern Greek phonology | |
Gujarati | નહી | [nəhi] | 'no' | See Gujarati phonology | |
Hawaiian[26] | naka | [naka] | 'to shake' | See Hawaiian phonology | |
Hebrew | נבון | [navon] | 'wise' | See Modern Hebrew phonology | |
Hindustani | नया / نیا | [nəjaː] | 'new' | See Hindi–Urdu phonology | |
Italian[27] | nano | [ˈnäːno] | 'dwarf' | See Italian phonology | |
Japanese[28] | 反対/hantai | [hantai] | 'opposite' | See Japanese phonology | |
Korean | 나/na | [na] | 'I' | See Korean phonology | |
Kyrgyz[29] | банан | [baˈnan] | 'banana' | ||
Malay | nasi | [näsi] | 'cooked rice' | ||
Malayalam[13] | കന്നി | [kənni] | 'virgin' | ||
Maltese | lenbuba | [lenbuˈba] | 'truncheon' | ||
Mapudungun[14] | müna | [mɘ̝ˈnɐ̝] | 'enough' | ||
Marathi | नख | [nəkʰ] | 'fingernail' | See Marathi phonology | |
Ngwe | Mmockngie dialect | [nøɣə̀] | 'sun' | ||
Pirahã | gíxai | [níˈʔàì̯] | 'you' | ||
Polish[15] | poncz | [ˈpɔn̥t͡ʂ] | 'punch' | Allophone of /n/ (which is normally laminal denti-alveolar [n̪]) before /t͡ʂ, d͡ʐ/. See Polish phonology | |
Punjabi | ਨੱਕ | [nəkː] | 'nose' | ||
Slovak | na | [na] | 'on' | ||
Slovene[30] | novice | [nɔˈʋìːt̪͡s̪ɛ] | 'news' | ||
Spanish[31] | nada | [ˈnäð̞ä] | 'nothing' | See Spanish phonology | |
Turkish | neden | [ne̞d̪æn] | 'reason' | See Turkish phonology | |
Vietnamese[32] | bạn đi | [ɓan˧ˀ˨ʔ ɗi] | 'you're going' | Occurs only before alveolar consonants. See Vietnamese phonology | |
Welsh | nain | [nain] | 'grandmother' | See Welsh phonology | |
Western Apache | non | [nòn] | 'cache' | ||
West Frisian | nekke | [ˈnɛkə] | 'neck' | ||
Yi | ꆅ/na | [na˧ ] | 'hurt' | ||
Zapotec | Tilquiapan[33] | nanɨɨ | [nanɨˀɨ] | 'lady' | contrasts with a fortis alveolar nasal that is not represented in the orthography. |
Postalveolar
Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Catalan[4] | panxa | ['pän̠ɕə][34] | 'belly' | Allophone of /n/ before /ʃ, ʒ, t͡ʃ, d͡ʒ/, may be alveolo-palatal instead.[4] See Catalan phonology | |
Czech | manželka | [ˈman̠ʒelka] | 'wife' | Allophone of /n/ before postalveolar sibilants. See Czech phonology | |
Djeebbana[35] | barnmarramarlón̠a | [ban̠maramal̠ɔn̪a] | 'they two swam' | Result of rhotic plus alveolar [n].[35] | |
English | Australian[36] | enrol | [əṉˈɹ̠ɔo̯ɫ] | 'enrol' | Allophone of /n/ before /r/.[36] See Australian English phonology |
Italian[37] | angelo | [ˈän̠ʲːd͡ʒelo] | 'angel' | Palatalized laminal; allophone of /n/ before /ʃ, t͡ʃ, d͡ʒ/.[37] See Italian phonology |
Variable
Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
English | Scottish[38] | nice | [nəis] | 'nice' |
Laminal denti-alveolar for some speakers, alveolar for other speakers.[38][39] |
Welsh[39] | |||||
German | Standard[40] | Lanze | [ˈlant͡sə] | 'lance' | Varies between laminal denti-alveolar, laminal alveolar and apical alveolar.[40] See Standard German phonology |
Norwegian | Standard Eastern[41] | mann | [mɑn̻ː] | 'man' | Varies between laminal denti-alveolar and laminal alveolar.[41] See Norwegian phonology |
Swedish | Central Standard[42] | nu | [nʉ̟ː] | 'now' | Varies between laminal denti-alveolar and alveolar, with the former being predominant.[42] See Swedish phonology |
See also
References
- ↑ Chadwick, Neil J. (1975). A descriptive study of the Djingili language. Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies.
- ↑ Padluzhny (1989), pp. 49–50.
- ↑ Klagstad Jr. (1958), p. 46.
- 1 2 3 4 Rafel (1999), p. 14.
- ↑ Fougeron & Smith (1993), p. 73.
- ↑ Arvaniti (2007), p. 15.
- ↑ Siptár & Törkenczy (2000), pp. 75–76.
- 1 2 Bertinetto & Loporcaro (2005), p. 133.
- 1 2 3 Canepari (1992), p. 58.
- ↑ Jerzy Treder. "Fonetyka i fonologia".
- ↑ Nau (1998), p. 6.
- ↑ Lunt (1952), p. 1.
- 1 2 Ladefoged (2005), p. 165.
- 1 2 3 Sadowsky et al. (2013), pp. 88–89.
- 1 2 Rocławski (1976), p. 136.
- ↑ Cruz-Ferreira (1995), p. 91.
- ↑ Barbosa & Albano (2004), p. 230.
- ↑ (Portuguese) Unesp's digital collection – The deleting of /d/ in the morpheme of the gerund in São José do Rio Preto's accent
- ↑ (Portuguese) The deletting of /d/ in the morpheme of the gerund in São José do Rio Preto's accent – PDF
- ↑ Chițoran (2001), p. 10.
- ↑ Danyenko & Vakulenko (1995), p. 10.
- ↑ Sjoberg (1963), p. 12.
- ↑ Carbonell & Llisterri (1992), p. 53.
- ↑ Gussenhoven (1992), p. 45.
- ↑ Shosted & Chikovani (2006), p. 255.
- ↑ Ladefoged (2005), p. 139.
- ↑ Rogers & d'Arcangeli (2004), p. 117.
- ↑ Okada (1991), p. 94.
- ↑ Kara (2003), p. 11.
- ↑ Pretnar & Tokarz (1980), p. 21.
- ↑ Martínez-Celdrán, Fernández-Planas & Carrera-Sabaté (2003), p. 255.
- ↑ Thompson (1959), pp. 458–461.
- ↑ Merrill (2008), p. 108.
- ↑ Valencian pronunciation: ['pän̠t͡ɕä]. Note that what's transcribed /ʃ, ʒ, t͡ʃ, d͡ʒ/ in Catalan are actually alveolo-palatal sibilants [ɕ, ʑ, t͡ɕ, d͡ʑ].
- 1 2 Dixon (2002), p. 585.
- 1 2 Mannell, Cox & Harrington (2009).
- 1 2 Canepari (1992), pp. 58–59.
- 1 2 Scobbie, Gordeeva & Matthews (2006), p. 4.
- 1 2 Wells (1982), p. 388.
- 1 2 Mangold (2005), p. 49.
- 1 2 Kristoffersen (2000), p. 22.
- 1 2 Riad (2014), p. 46.
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