Dental approximant
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The dental approximant is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents dental approximants is ð̞.
[edit] Features
Features of the dental 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 dental which means it is articulated with the tongue on either the lower or the upper teeth, or both.
- 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.
[edit] Use
This sounds occurs in Spanish as an allophone of the voiced dental plosive between vowels. An example is the word nido.
