Non English Consonants: Part III

Eric Armstrong

15 Non English Consonants: Part III

Palatal

Palatal sounds are made with the body of the middle of the tongue articulating with the hard palate. The one palatal consonant we’ve met thus far, the voice palatal approximant [j] is one of the most common sounds in the world’s languages, so though they may sound similar to our English alveolar stops, nasals, fricatives, they are distinctive, and worth getting to know in greater depth.

Palatal Stops

Lowercase C: [c]

Symbol	Name	Notes
[c]	Lowercase C	This is so easy! It’s just a plain old lowercase c. Onward!
	The Sound & the Action: Lowercase C [c] is a voiceless plosive stop plosive, which is articulated with the mid tongue positioned on the hard palate. Begin to produce the [c] sound with partially opened lips, with your tongue tip firmly behind your lower front teeth and the middle of your tongue pressing up against the hard palate to stop the airstream, with the soft palate lifted. The air pressure is then released forward by “exploding” the tongue from its initial position. The sound is produced in the middle of the mouth and does not require the onset of voice. In some accents there’s a quality that sounds a bit like [cj]. Think of saying ta ta ta with your tongue tip down and articulating the sound on the roof of your mouth, and you should get an awesome [ca ca ca]. View an MRI of [c] ^[1]
	Linguistic Term: Voiceless palatal plosive.
	Examples (from Wikipedia): Albanian shqip [ʃcip] “Albanian” (take care to make /ʃ/ postalveolar!) Basque ttantta [cäɲcä] “droplet” (with centralized [ä]) Blackfoot akikoan [aˈkicoan] “girl” Dinka car [car] “black” (with a trilled final /r/) Northern Kurdish kîso [cʰiːsoː] “tortoise”

Barred Dotless J or Turned F: [ɟ]

Symbol	Name	Notes
[ɟ]	Barred Dotless J or Turned F	This symbol is essentially <f> turned upside down. But it’s easier to draw if you think of a dotless <j> and add a crossbar.
	The Sound & the Action: Barred Dotless J or Turned F [ɟ] is a voiced palatal plosive sound which is articulated with the mid tongue positioned on the hard palate. Begin to produce the [ɟ] sound with partially opened lips, with the tip of your tongue behind your lower front teeth and the middle of your tongue pressing up against the hard palate to stop the voiced airstream, with the soft palate lifted. The air pressure is then released forward by “exploding” the tongue from its initial position. The sound is produced in the middle of the mouth and requires the onset of voice. In some accents there’s a quality that sounds a bit like [ɟj]. think of saying da da da with your tongue tip down and articulating the sound on the roof of your mouth, and you should get a good [ɟa ɟa ɟa]. View an MRI of [ɟ] ^[2]
	Linguistic Term: Voiced palatal plosive.
	Examples (from Wikipedia): Albanian gjuha [ˈɟuha] “tongue” (Some) Yemeni, Sudanese and Egyptian Arabic جمل [ˈɟamal] “camel” Bulgarian гьол [ɟoɫ] “swamp” Latvian ģimene [ˈɟime̞ne̞] “family” Occitan Auvergnat diguèt [ɟiˈɡɛ] “he said”

Enye: [ɲ]

Symbol	Name	Notes
[ɲ]	Enye (Lowercase N With Leftward Hook on Left Stem)	Start by drawing a dotless <j>, then finish the lowercase <n> shape.
	The Sound & the Action: Lowercase N With Leftward Hook on Left Stem [ɲ] is a voiced palatal plosive sound, which is articulated with the mid tongue positioned on the hard palate. Begin to produce the [ɲ] with the tip of your tongue behind your lower front teeth and the middle of your tongue pressing up against the hard palate to stop the voiced airstream, with the soft palate dropped to let the air pass out through the nose. The sound is shaped in the middle of the mouth and requires the onset of voice. This sound is familiar as the “teasing” sound nyah-nyah, with the rhythm of “Ring Around the Rosie”. View an MRI of [ɲ] ^[3]
	Linguistic Term: Voiced palatal nasal.
	Examples (from Wikipedia): Quechua ñuqa [ˈɲɔqɑ] “I” Spanish español [e̞späˈɲol] “Spanish” Swahili nyama /نْيَامَ [ɲɑmɑ] “meat” West Frisian njonken [ˈɲoŋkən] “next to” Zulu inyoni [iɲ̟óːni] “bird”

Lowercase C With Cedilla: [ç]

Symbol	Name	Notes
[ç]	Lowercase C With Cedilla [səˈdɪlə]	Start by drawing a lowercase <c>, then draw the bottom half of the numeral 5 off the bottom centre of the <c>
	The Sound & the Action: Lowercase C With Cedilla [ç] is a voiceless palatal fricative sound which is articulated with the mid-tongue positioned very close to the hard palate, with a tiny groove down the centre. Begin to produce the [ç] sound with the tip of your tongue behind your lower front teeth and the middle of your tongue pressing up against the hard palate to almost stop the voiced airstream, with the soft palate lifted. The air pressure then flows forward through the groove. The sound is produced in the middle of the mouth and is just breath. This is the sound people use to imitate a cat hissing. This is sometimes used for /hj/ in words like huge, human, Hugh, humour, Hugo, hugely, humanity, etc. View an MRI of [ç] ^[4]
	Linguistic Term: Voiceless palatal fricative.
	Examples (from Wikipedia): Danish Standard pjaske [ˈpçæskə] “splash” German nicht [nɪçt] “not” Haida xíl [çɪ́l] “leaf” Icelandic hérna [ˈçɛrtn̥a] “here” Welsh hiaith [çaɪ̯θ] “language”

Curly Tail J: [ʝ]

Symbol	Name	Notes
[ʝ]	Curly Tail J	Make a lowercase <j> and at the end, loop the hook over the descender to make a curly tail.
	The Sound & the Action: Curly Tail J [ʝ] is a voiced palatal fricative sound which is produced with the mid-tongue positioned very close to the hard palate. Make the [ʝ] sound with the tip of the tongue behind the lower front teeth and the middle of your tongue close to the hard palate, and with the soft palate lifted, to block the airstream from going out the nose. The voiced sound is then released forward through the vocal tract, which is narrow enough to cause turbulent airflow. The sound, which is quite similar to the [ʒ] but with the tonɡue tip down, is produced in the middle of the mouth and requires the onset of voice. View an MRI of [ʝ] ^[5]
	Linguistic Term: Voiceless palatal fricative.
	Examples (from Wikipedia): Majorcan Catalan figuera [fiˈʝeɾə] “fig tree” Standard German Jacke [ˈʝäkə] “jacket” Standard Greek γεια [ʝɐ] “hi” Ghilji dialect Pashto موږ [muʝ] “we” Scottish Gaelic dhiubh [ʝu] “of them” Spanish sayo [ˈsäʝo̞] “smock”

Turned Lowercase Y: [ʎ]

Symbol	Name	Notes
[ʎ]	Turned Lowercase Y	Make a slopping line like the first stroke of an uppercase <A>, then, starting at the midpoint of that stroke, make the opposite diagonal sloping downward to the right.
	The Sound & the Action: Turned Lowercase Y [ʎ] is the voiced palatal fricative which is produced with the centre of the mid-tongue touching the hard palate. Begin to produce the [ʝ] sound with partially opened lips, with the middle of your tongue close to the hard palate, and with the soft palate lifted, to block the airstream from going out the nose. The voice lateral sound goes around the articulation point (i.e. by the inside of the upper teeth). If you articulate the shape of [ʎ] and then inhale, you should feel cool air passing on the sides of the mouth. Frequently this is used as an allophone of /lj/ in words like million, brilliant, pavilion. View an MRI of [ʎ] ^[6]
	Linguistic Term: Voiceless palatal lateral approximant.
	Examples (from Wikipedia): Basque bonbilla [bo̞mbiʎa̠] “bulb” Chipaya lloqa [ʎoqa] “bank” Galician Standard illado [iˈʎa̠ðo̝] “insulated” Italian figlio [ˈfiʎːo] “son” Portuguese alho [ˈaʎu] “garlic” Andean Spanish caballo [ka̠ˈβ̞a̠.ʎo̞] “horse”

Velar

The Velar place is familiar to us because of the velar stops /k, g/ and the velar nasal /ŋ/ in English—they’re all made in contact with the velum (aka soft palate). There are four other velar consonants in the world’s languages. The Velar Fricatives /x, ɣ/ may not be unfamiliar to some English speakers—moreso the voiceless velar fricative /x/, which we hear in loan words from German, Yiddish, or Scots such as Bach, chutzpah, or loch. The voiced velar Approximant /ɰ/ is probably new to most learners, but we did touch on the voiced velar Lateral Approximant /ʟ/ when we were discussing the velarized voiced alveolar lateral approximant (aka Dark L) /ɫ/ in the previous chapter.

Lowercase X: [x]

Symbol	Name	Notes
[x]	Lowercase X	This is the familiar lowercase <x> we know and love.
	The Sound & the Action: Lowercase X [x] is the voiceless velar fricative consonant which is produced with the back of the tongue positioned at the soft palate. Begin to produce the [x] sound with partially opened lips, placing the back of the tongue very near to the soft palate or velum, with the soft palate lifted, to blocking the airstream from going out the nose. The air is then released forward through the [x]-shaped vocal tract, which is narrow enough to cause turbulent airflow. The sound is produced in the back of the mouth and does not require the onset of voice. View an MRI of [x] ^[7]
	Linguistic Term: Voiceless velar fricative.
	Examples (from Wikipedia): Scottish English loch [ɫɔx] “loch” German Buch [buːx] “book” Latin American Spanish ojo [ˈo̞xo̞] “eye” Tagalog bakit [baxit] “why” Toda pax [pax] “smoke” Turkish ıhlamur [ɯxlamuɾ] “linden”

Gamma: [ɣ]

Symbol	Name	Notes
[ɣ]	Gamma	This shape is a Latinized version of the lowercase Greek letter Gamma. To me it looks like an upside-down AIDS ribbon, or a <v> with a tear dripping off its tip. Draw the first downward stroke of a <v>, but rather than going back up right away, loop around clockwise below the baseline to head back up the form the other half of the <v>. The crossing point of the ɣ should be exactly on the baseline.
	The Sound & the Action: Gamma [ɣ] is a voiced velar fricative consonant which is produced with the back of the tongue positioned at the soft palate. Begin to produce the [ɣ] sound with partially opened lips, placing the back of the tongue very near to the soft palate or velum, with the soft palate lifted, while blocking the airstream from going out the nose. The voiced sound is then released forward through the vocal tract, which is narrow enough to cause turbulent airflow. The sound is produced in the back of the mouth and requires the onset of voice. View an MRI of [ɣ] ^[8]
	Linguistic Term: Voiced velar fricative.
	Examples (from Wikipedia): Northern Azerbaijani oğul [oɣul] “son” Greek γάλα/gála [ˈɣala] “milk” Icelandic saga [ˈsaːɣa] “saga” Mi”kmaq nisaqan [nisaɣan] “weir” Pashto غاتر/ghutar [ɣɑtər] “mule” Romani γoines [ɣoines] “good”

Small Cap L: [ʟ]

Symbol	Name	Notes
[ʟ]	Small Cap L	This glyph is a Small Capital L, made just like the uppercase L, it’s just smaller. Start with a downstroke like you were going to make an <n>, but when you reach the baseline, turn towards the right to finish your baby L.
	The Sound & the Action: Small Cap L [ʟ] is the voiced velar lateral approximant which is produced with back of the tongue positioned close to the soft palate. As an approximant, the tongue approaches the velum, but doesn’t touch it, just enough to affect the sound without creating turbulence (the way a fricative would). Begin to produce the [ʟ] sound with partially opened lips, placing the back of the tongue very near to the soft palate or velum, with the soft palate lifted, which blocks the airstream from going out the nose. The sound is produced in the back of the mouth and requires the onset of voice. View an MRI of [ʟ] ^[9]
	Linguistic Term: Voiced velar lateral approximant.
	Examples (from Wikipedia): English (Southern US) middle [ˈmɪɾʟ̩] “middle” Some North American Englishes full [ˈfʟ̩ː] “full” Hiw r̄evr̄ov [ɡ͡ʟəβˈɡ͡ʟɔβ] “evening” Realized as prestopped [ɡ͡ʟ]. Melpa paⱡa [paʟa] “fence” Realized as prestopped [ɡ͡ʟ]. Mid-Wahgi aglagle [aʟaʟe] “dizzy” Realized as prestopped [ɡ͡ʟ].

MRI 2. Janet Beck. Voiceless palatal plosive. Seeing Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 2018. Web. 21 August 2024. https://seeingspeech.ac.uk/ipa-charts/?chart=1&datatype=4&speaker=1#location=99 ↵
MRI 2. Janet Beck. Voiced palatal plosive. Seeing Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 2018. Web. 21 August 2024. https://seeingspeech.ac.uk/ipa-charts/?chart=1&datatype=4&speaker=1#location=607 ↵
MRI 2. Janet Beck. Voiced palatal nasal. Seeing Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 2018. Web. 21 August 2024. https://seeingspeech.ac.uk/ipa-charts/?chart=1&datatype=4&speaker=1#location=626 ↵
MRI 2. Janet Beck. Voiceless palatal fricative. Seeing Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 2018. Web. 21 August 2024. https://seeingspeech.ac.uk/ipa-charts/?chart=1&datatype=4&speaker=1#location=231 ↵
MRI 2. Janet Beck. Voiced palatal fricative. Seeing Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 2018. Web. 21 August 2024. https://seeingspeech.ac.uk/ipa-charts/?chart=1&datatype=4&speaker=1#location=669 ↵
MRI 2. Janet Beck. Voiced palatal lateral approximant. Seeing Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 2018. Web. 21 August 2024. https://seeingspeech.ac.uk/ipa-charts/?chart=1&datatype=4&speaker=1#location=654 ↵
MRI 2. Janet Beck. Voiceless velar fricative. Seeing Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 2018. Web. 21 August 2024. https://seeingspeech.ac.uk/ipa-charts/?chart=1&datatype=4&speaker=1#location=120 ↵
MRI 2. Janet Beck. Voiced velar fricative. Seeing Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 2018. Web. 21 August 2024. https://seeingspeech.ac.uk/ipa-charts/?chart=1&datatype=4&speaker=1#location=611 ↵
MRI 1. Janet Beck. Voiced velar approximant. Seeing Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 2018. Web. 21 August 2024. https://seeingspeech.ac.uk/ipa-charts/?chart=1&datatype=1&speaker=1#location=671 ↵