Retroflex approximant

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

The retroflex approximant is a type of consonant used in some 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 subapical (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 American English, Hiberno-English, West Country English, Mandarin Chinese, Pashto, a few Brazilian Portuguese dialects and some languages of India such as Tamil and Malayalam, as well as several Australian Aboriginal and Indigenous South American languages.

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Arrernte			—	—
Derung		Tvrung	[tə˧˩ɻuŋ˥˧]	'Derung'
Dutch	Some Netherlandic speakers[1]	eerst	[ɪːɻst]	'first'	Tongue bunched and root retracted. Occurs only in syllable coda. See Dutch phonology
English	Some American dialects	red	[ɻʷɛd]	'red'	See English phonology
	Some Hiberno-English dialects
	Some West Country English
Enindhilyagwa		angwura	[aŋwuɻa]	'fire'
Faroese[2]		hoyrdi	[hɔiɻʈɛ]	'heard'	Allophone of /r/.[2] Sometimes voiceless [ɻ̊].[2] See Faroese phonology
Greek	Cretan Greek (Sfakia and Mylopotamos variations) region[3]	γάλα gála	[ˈɣaɻa]	'milk'	Intervocalic allophone of /l/ before /a o u/. Recessive. See Modern Greek phonology
Kannada	Some dialects	ಕೊೞೆ	[kɒɻe]	'to rot'
Malayalam		വഴി	[ʋɐɻi]	'way'
Mapudungun[4]		'rayen	[ɻɜˈjën]	'flower'	Possible realization of /ʐ/; may be [ʐ] or [ɭ] instead.[4]
Pashto		سوړ‎	[soɻ]	'cold'	Allophone of retroflex lateral flap /ɭ̆/. See Pashto phonology
Portuguese	Many Centro-Sul registers	cartas	[ˈkaɻtə̥̆s]	'letters'	Allophone of rhotic consonants (and sometimes /l/) in the syllable coda. Mainly[5] found in rural São Paulo, Paraná, south of Minas Gerais and surrounding areas, with the more common and prestigious realization in metropolitan areas being [ɹ] and/or rhotic vowel instead. As with [ɽ], it appeared as a mutation of [ɾ].[6][7][8] See Portuguese phonology.
	Caipira	temporal	[tẽɪ̯̃pʊˈɾaɻ]	'rainstorm'
	Conservative piracicabano	grato	[ˈgɻatʊ̥]	'thankful' (m.)
Tamil[9]		தமிழ் Tamiḻ	[t̪əˈmɨɻ]	'Tamil'	See Tamil phonology
Western Desert	Pitjantjatjara dialect	Uluṟu	[ʊlʊɻʊ]	'Uluru'
Yaghan		wárho	[ˈwaɻo]	'cave'

See also

• Alveolar approximant
• Retroflex consonant
• R-colored vowel
• Index of phonetics articles

References

Bibliography