Alveolar approximant

All you want to know about Alveolar approximant

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IPA – number 151
IPA – text ɹ
IPA – image {{{imagesize}}}
Entity ɹ
X-SAMPA r\
Kirshenbaum r
Sound sample (help·info)

The alveolar approximant is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents dental, alveolar, and postalveolar approximants is ɹ, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is r\. The IPA symbol is a turned lowercase letter r. The segment is rare among the world's languages, and is sometimes called English R.

Some phonemic transcriptions use the <r> symbol instead of <ɹ> for ease of typesetting, even though that former symbol technically represents the alveolar trill.

Features

Features of the alveolar approximant:

  • Its manner of articulation is approximant, which means it is produced by bringing one articulator close to another but without the vocal tract being narrowed to such an extent that a turbulent airstream is produced.
  • Its place of articulation is alveolar, which means it is articulated with either the tip or the blade of the tongue against the alveolar ridge, termed respectively apical and laminal.
  • Its phonation type is voiced, which means the vocal cords are vibrating during the articulation.
  • It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth.
  • It is a central consonant, which means it is produced by allowing the airstream to flow over the middle of the tongue, rather than the sides.
  • The airstream mechanism is pulmonic egressive, which means it is articulated by pushing air out of the lungs and through the vocal tract, rather than from the glottis or the mouth.

Acoustically, the formants of [ɹ] are characterized by compressed f1-f3, particularly because of its low f3 value. Its low f3 values result from perturbations at three locations; rounded lips, alveolar constriction, and a constriction around the velum or pharynx. These constrictions cause perturbations at velocity maxima in the third harmonic of the voice signal, causing a sharp decrease in resonance frequency to below 1000 Hz.[citation needed]

Occurrence

Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Armenian սուրճ [suɹtʃʰ] 'coffee'
Chukchi ңирэк [ŋiɹek] 'two'
Dutch werk [ʋɛɹk] 'work' Some dialects. Most dialects use an alveolar trill. See Dutch phonology
English red [ɹɛd] 'red' Most dialects. Some dialects use an alveolar trill. See English phonology
Faroese róður [ɹɔuwʊɹ] 'rudder'
German Rebe [ɹeːbə] 'vine shoot' Some dialects. Most dialects use a uvular trill. See German phonology
Portuguese Caipira dialect porta [ˈpɔɹta] 'door' See Portuguese phonology
Vietnamese rơ [ɹɤ] 'to clean' See Vietnamese phonology

See also

v • d • e
Consonants
List · Table
Pulmonics Bila​bial Labio​d. Den​tal Alv. Post. Retro​fl. Pal​a​tal Ve​lar Uvu​lar Pha​ryn. Epi​glot​t. Glot​tal Non-pulmonics and other symbols
Nasals m ɱ n̪ n ɳ ɲ ŋ ɴ Clicks  ʘ ǀ ǃ ǂ ǁ
Plosives p b p̪ b̪ t̪ d̪ t d ʈ ɖ c ɟ k ɡ q ɢ ʡ ʔ Impl.  ɓ ɗ ʄ ɠ ʛ
Fricatives  ɸ β f v θ ð s z ʃ ʒ ʂ ʐ ç ʝ x ɣ χ ʁ ħ ʕ ʜ ʢ h ɦ Eject.  pʼ tʼ kʼ qʼ sʼ
Approxim.  ʋ ɹ ɻ j ɰ Affr.  t͡s d͡z t͡ʃ d͡ʒ t͡ɕ d͡ʑ t͡ʂ d͡ʐ t͡ɬ d͡ɮ p̪͡f
Trills ʙ r • ʀ • Other laterals  ɺ • ɫ
Flaps / taps • ѵ ɾ ɽ • • Co-art. fricatives  ɕ ʑ ɧ
Lateral Fric. ɬ ɮ • • • Co-art. approxim.  ʍ w ɥ
Lateral Appr. l ɭ ʎ ʟ Co-articulated stops  k͡p ɡ͡b ŋ͡m
This table contains phonetic information in IPA, which may not display correctly in some browsers. [Help]
Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a voiced consonant. Shaded areas denote pulmonic articulations judged to be impossible.
See also IPA · Vowels

The Letter "R"
General: The letter R · Rhotic consonants (R-like sounds) · Rhotic and non-rhotic accents · R-colored vowels · Guttural R · Linking R and Intrusive R
Pronunciations: Alveolar trill [r] · Alveolar approximant [ɹ] · Alveolar tap [ɾ] · Alveolar lateral flap [ɺ] ·Retroflex approximant [ɻ] · Retroflex flap [ɽ] ·Uvular trill [ʀ] ·Voiced uvular fricative [ʁ]
Variations: R rotunda · Ɍɍ (R with stroke) · Ʀʀ · Ȑȑ · Ŕŕ · Ŗŗ · Řř · Ȓȓ · Ṙṙ · Ṛṛ · Ṝṝ · Ṟṟ · Rd · Rh · Rl · Rn · Rr · Rt · Rnd · ᚱ (Raidô) · ℛ (Riemann integral) · ℜ (Real part) · ℝ (Real number) · ® (Registered trademark symbol) · Ⓡ (Enclosed R)
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