Retroflex approximant

Retroflex approximant
ɻ
Image
IPA number	152
Encoding
Entity (decimal)	ɻ
Unicode (hex)	U+027B
X-SAMPA	r\`
Kirshenbaum	r.
Sound

The retroflex approximant is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ɻ ⟩, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is r\`. The IPA symbol is a turned lowercase letter r with a rightward hook protruding from the lower right of the letter.

Features

Features of the retroflex approximant:

• Its manner of articulation is approximant, which means it is produced by narrowing the vocal tract at the place of articulation, but not enough to produce a turbulent airstream.
• Its place of articulation is retroflex, which prototypically means it is articulated sub-apical - 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 sub-apical articulation, the tongue contact can be apical (pointed) or 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 lungs and diaphragm, as in most sounds.

Occurrence

The retroflex approximant occurs in many languages of India and Australia. Elsewhere it is rare, though it occurs in two languages with a very large number of speakers, English and Mandarin.

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Arrernte
Chinese	Mandarin	肉/ròu	[ɻou̯˥˩]	'meat'	May also be a voiced retroflex fricative ([ʐ]). See Mandarin phonology
English	American dialects	red	[ɻʷɛd]	'red'	See English phonology
Enindhilyagwa		angwura	[aŋwuɻa]	'fire'
Malayalam		വഴി	[ʋɐɻi]	'way'
Mapuche		rúka	[ˈɻuka]	'house'
Pitjantjatjara		Uluṟu	[ʊlʊɻʊ]	'Uluru'
Tamil		வழி	[ʋɐɻi]	'way '	See Tamil phonology
Yaghan		wárho	[ˈwaɻo]	'cave'

See also

• Alveolar approximant
• Retroflex consonant
• List of phonetics topics

Bibliography

• Keane, Elinor (2004), "Tamil", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 34 (1): 111–116