Voiceless bidental fricative
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| Voiceless bidental fricative | |
|---|---|
| h̪͆ | |
| Audio sample | |
The voiceless bidental fricative is a rare consonantal sound used in some languages. The only natural language known to use it is the Shapsug dialect of Adyghe. It is also used for a geminate voiceless glottal fricative (so phonemically /hː/) in the original version of the constructed language Ithkuil,[1] its offshoot Ilaksh,[2] and the new version of Ithkuil as one of two allophones.[3] For example and .
Features
Features of the voiceless bidental 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 bidental, which means it is articulated with the lower and upper teeth pressed together.
- Its phonation is voiceless, which means it is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords.
- It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.
- Because the sound is not produced with airflow over the tongue, the central–lateral dichotomy does not apply.
- Its 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
| Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adyghe | Black Sea (Shapsug) dialect | дахэ | [daːh̪͆a] | 'pretty' | Corresponds to [x] in other dialects. |
See also
References
- ^ The Phonology of Ithkuil, see section 1.2.3 Allophonic Distinctions Archived June 23, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The Phonology of Ilaksh, see section 1.2.5.1 Archived March 11, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The Phonology of Ithkuil, see section 1.2.5.1 Consonantal allophones