dental consonant
Definition
Noun: A speech sound (consonant) produced by placing the tip of the tongue against or near the upper front teeth or the alveolar ridge (the gum ridge behind the upper front teeth).
Usage and Examples
A dental consonant is a technical term in phonetics, the study of speech sounds. It describes the specific place of articulation—where in the mouth the sound is made.
- In English, the "th" sounds in "thin" and "this" are dental consonants. The tongue tip touches the upper teeth.
- In Spanish, the "t" and "d" are often dental consonants, articulated with the tongue on the back of the upper teeth, unlike the English alveolar "t" and "d".
- The phonetic symbols [θ] (as in ) and [ð] (as in ) represent voiceless and voiced dental fricative consonants.
Advanced Usage
- Contrast with Alveolar Consonants: A key distinction in phonetics is between dental consonants (tongue on teeth) and alveolar consonants (tongue on the gum ridge). For example, the French "t" is typically dental, while the English "t" is alveolar.
- Dentalization: This refers to the secondary articulation where a non-dental sound is produced with the tongue approaching the teeth. For instance, in some accents, an /n/ or /l/ might be slightly dentalized before a dental consonant.
Variants and Related Words
- Dental (Adjective): Pertaining to the teeth or to dental consonants. (e.g., )
- Interdental (Adjective): A subtype of dental consonant where the tongue tip is placed the upper and lower teeth (e.g., the English "th" sounds).
- Alveolar Consonant (Noun): A related place of articulation where the tongue tip touches the alveolar ridge (gum ridge), as in English /t/, /d/, /n/.
Synonyms
- Apico-dental consonant: A more precise synonym, as "apico" specifies the tongue tip () as the active articulator.
Related Phrases and Concepts
- Place of articulation: The general phonetic category that includes dental, alveolar, palatal, velar, etc.
- Manner of articulation: How the airflow is obstructed (e.g., stop, fricative, nasal). A dental consonant can be a dental stop, dental fricative, or dental nasal, depending on the manner.
Noun
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a consonant articulated with the tip of the tongue near the gum ridge
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