Voiced alveolar fricative
Consonantal sound often represented by ⟨z⟩ in IPA
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Voiced alveolar fricatives are consonantal sounds. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents these sounds depends on whether a sibilant or non-sibilant fricative is being described.
- The symbol for an alveolar sibilant is ⟨z⟩. The IPA letter ⟨z⟩ is not normally used for dental or postalveolar sibilants in narrow transcription unless modified by a diacritic (⟨z̪⟩ and ⟨z̠⟩ respectively).[citation needed]
- The IPA symbol for an alveolar non-sibilant fricative is derived by means of diacritics; it can be ⟨ð̠⟩ or ⟨ɹ̝⟩.
| Inter- dental |
Dental | Denti- alveolar |
Alveolar | Post-alveolar | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retracted | Retroflex | Palato- alveolar |
Alveolo- palatal | |||||
| Sibilant | z̪ | z̟ | z͇ | z̠ | ʐ | ʒ | ʑ | |
| Non-sibilant | ð̟ | ð | ð͇ | ɻ̝ | ɹ̠˔ | |||
| Voiced alveolar fricative | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| z | |||
| IPA number | 133 | ||
| Audio sample | |||
| Encoding | |||
| Entity (decimal) | z | ||
| Unicode (hex) | U+007A | ||
| X-SAMPA | z | ||
| Braille |  | ||
| |||
Voiced alveolar sibilant
A voiced alveolar sibilant is common across European languages, but is relatively uncommon cross-linguistically compared to its voiceless variant. Only about 28% of the world's languages contain a voiced dental or alveolar sibilant. Moreover, 85% of the languages with some form of [z] are languages of Europe, Africa, or Western Asia.[citation needed]
Features
- Its manner of articulation is sibilant fricative, which means it is generally produced by channeling air flow along a groove in the back of the tongue up to the place of articulation, at which point it is focused against the sharp edge of the nearly clenched teeth, causing high-frequency turbulence.
- There are at least three specific variants of [z]:
- Dentalized laminal alveolar (commonly called "dental"), which means it is articulated with the tongue blade very close to the upper front teeth, with the tongue tip resting behind lower front teeth. The hissing effect in this variety of [z] is very strong.[1]
- Non-retracted alveolar, which means it is articulated with either the tip or the blade of the tongue at the alveolar ridge, termed respectively apical and laminal. According to Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996) about half of English speakers use a non-retracted apical articulation.
- Retracted alveolar, which means it is articulated with either the tip or the blade of the tongue slightly behind the alveolar ridge, termed respectively apical and laminal. Acoustically, it is close to [ʒ] or laminal [ʐ].
- Its phonation is voiced, which means the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation.
- It is an oral consonant, which means that air is not allowed to escape through the nose.
- It is a median consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream down the midline of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
- Its airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air only with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles, as in most sounds.
Occurrence
Dentalized laminal alveolar
Alveolar
| Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adyghe | зы / zy | ⓘ | 'one' | ||
| Albanian | zjarr | [zjar] | 'fire' | ||
| Arabic | Standard[27] | زائِر / zāʾir | [ˈzaːʔir] | 'visitor' | See Arabic phonology |
| Assamese | জলকীয়া / jolokīẏā | [zɔlɔkija] | 'chili' | ||
| Assyrian | ܙܢ̱ܓܐ / zìga | [ziɡa] | 'bell' | ||
| Bengali | নামাজ / nāmāj | [namaz] | 'Salah' | Mostly in loanwords and often replaced by [dʒ]. See Bengali phonology | |
| Breton | iliz | [iliz] | 'church' | ||
| Chechen | зурма / zurma | [zuɾma] | 'music' | ||
| Emilian | Bolognese | raṡån | [raːz̺ʌŋ] | 'reason' | Palatalized apical; may be [ʐ] or [ʒ] instead. |
| English | zoo | ⓘ | 'zoo' | Absent from some Scottish and Asian dialects. See English phonology | |
| Esperanto | kuzo | [ˈkuzo] | 'cousin' | See Esperanto phonology | |
| Georgian[28] | ზარი / zari | [ˈzɑɾi] | 'bell' | ||
| Greek | Athens dialect[29] | ζάλη / záli | [ˈz̻ali] | 'dizziness' | See Modern Greek phonology |
| Hebrew | זאב / ze'eb | [zeˈʔev] | 'wolf' | See Modern Hebrew phonology | |
| Hindustani | Hindi | ज़मीन / zamīn | [zəmiːn] | 'land' | May be replaced in Hindi by [dʒ]. See Hindustani phonology |
| Urdu | زمین / zamīn | ||||
| Japanese[30] | 全部 / zenbu | [zembɯ] | 'everything' | Might be replaced with [dz]. See Japanese phonology | |
| Kabardian | зы zə | ⓘ | 'one' | ||
| Kalaw Lagaw Ya | zilamiz | [zilʌmiz] | 'go' | ||
| Kashmiri | ज़ानुन / زانُن / zānun | [zaːnun] | 'to know' | ||
| Khmer | បែលហ្ស៊ិក / bêlhsĭk | [ɓaelzɨk] | noun: 'Belgium', 'Belgian(s)' adjective: 'Belgian' | See Khmer phonology | |
| Konda[31][32] | sunz | [sunz] | 'to sleep' | ||
| Malay | beza | [bezə] | 'difference' | ||
| Maltese | żelu | [zelu] | 'zeal' | ||
| Marathi | जर / jar | [zər] | 'if' | See Marathi phonology. | |
| Nepali | हजार / hajār | [ɦʌzäɾ] | 'thousand' | Coda and intervocalic allophone of /d͡z/ and /d͡zʱ/.[33] | |
| कागज / kāgaj | [käɣʌz] | 'paper' | |||
| बुझाउनु / bujhāunu | [buzäu̯nu] | 'to explain' | |||
| माझ / mājh | [mäz] | 'middle' | |||
| Occitan | Limousin | jòune | [ˈzɒwne] | 'young' | See Occitan phonology |
| Persian | روز | [ɾuːz] | 'day' | ||
| Portuguese[34] | casa | [ˈkazɐ] | 'house' | See Portuguese phonology | |
| Punjabi | Gurmukhi | ਹਜ਼ਾਰ / hazār | [həˈzaːr] | 'thousand' | May be replaced by [dʒ] in Gurmukhi (Indian) varieties. |
| Shahmukhi | ہزار / hazār | ||||
| Spanish | Andalusian | comunismo | [ko̞muˈnizmo̞] | 'communism' | Allophone of /s/ before voiced consonants, when it is not debuccalized to [h ~ ɦ]. Present in dialects which realize /s/ as a non-retracted alveolar fricative. Before /d/ it is dental [z̪]. |
| Latin American | |||||
| Filipino | |||||
| Swahili | lazima | [lɑzimɑ] | 'must' | ||
| Tamil | Jaffna Tamil | கடுதாசி | [kɐɖuðaːzi] | 'letter' | Was only reported for 1 speaker in the sample but he pronounced it regularly.[35] |
| West Frisian[36] | sizze | [ˈsɪzə] | 'to say' | It never occurs in word-initial positions. See West Frisian phonology | |
| Yi | ꍂ / ssy | [zɹ̩˧] | 'generation' | ||
| Yiddish | זון / zien | [zin] | 'son' | ||
| Zapotec | Tilquiapan[37] | guanaz | [ɡʷanaz] | 'went to grab' | |
Retracted alveolar
| Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catalan[38][39] | zel | [ˈz̺ɛɫ] | 'zeal' | Apical. See Catalan phonology | |
| Galician | mesmo | [ˈme̞z̺mo̞] | 'same' | Apical. Allophone of /s/ before voiced consonants. Before /d/ it is pronounced dentally [z̪]. | |
| Greek[40] | μάζα / máza | [ˈmɐz̠ɐ] | 'mass' | See Modern Greek phonology | |
| Italian | Central Italy[41] | caso | [ˈkäːz̠o] | 'case' | Present in Lazio north of Cape Linaro,[41] most of Umbria[41] (save Perugia and the extreme south)[41] and Marche south of the Potenza.[41] |
| Northern Italy[42][43] | Apical.[44] Present in many areas north of the La Spezia–Rimini Line.[45][46] See Italian phonology | ||||
| Sicily[41] | Present south and west of a line drawn from Syracuse to Cefalù.[41] | ||||
| Low German[47] | [example needed] | ||||
| Maldivian | zaraafaa | [z̺aˈraːfaː] | 'giraffe' | ||
| Mirandese | eisistir | [e̞jz̺is̺ˈtiɾ] | 'to exist' | Apical. Mirandese and neighboring Portuguese dialects were the only surviving oral tradition to preserve all seven mediaeval Ibero-Romance sibilants: ⟨ch⟩ /tʃ/, ⟨x⟩ /ʃ/, ⟨g⟩/⟨j⟩ /ʒ/, ⟨c⟩/⟨ç⟩ /s̪/, ⟨z⟩ /z̪/, ⟨s⟩/-⟨ss⟩- /s̺/, -⟨s⟩- /z̺/ | |
| Occitan | Gascon | casèrna | [kaz̺ɛrno] | 'barracks' | See Occitan phonology |
| Languedocien | véser | [bez̺e] | 'to see' | ||
| Piedmontese | amis | [aˈmiz̠] | 'friend' | Apical. See Piemontese phonology | |
| Portuguese | Coastal Northern European | [example needed] | Merges with non-retracted /z/. See Portuguese phonology | ||
| Inland Northern European | [example needed] | Apical. Contrasts with non-retracted /z/. See Portuguese phonology | |||
| Spanish | Andean | mismo | [ˈmiz̺mo̞] | 'same' | Apical. Allophone of /s/ before voiced consonants. Before /d/ it is pronounced dentally [z̪]. See Spanish phonology |
| Castilian | |||||
| Paisa Region | |||||
Variable
| Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| German | Standard[48] | sauber | [ˈzäʊ̯bɐ] | 'clean' | Varies between dentalized laminal, non-retracted laminal and non-retracted apical.[48] See Standard German phonology |
| Italian | Standard[49] | caso | [ˈkäːzo] | 'case' | Varies between dentalized laminal and non-retracted apical.[49] See Italian phonology |
| Ticino[44] | Varies between dentalized laminal and non-retracted apical.[50] Both variants may be labiodentalized.[44] See Italian phonology | ||||
| Dutch | Belgian Standard[51] | zeep | ⓘ | 'soap' | Laminal.[51] See Dutch phonology |
| Northern Standard[52][53] | ⓘ | Laminal; may have only mid-to-low pitched friction. If not the main allophone, it is often retracted when preconsonantal, after rounded vowels and /r/.[52] See Dutch phonology | |||
| zat | ⓘ | 'full', 'fed (up)' | |||
Voiced alveolar non-sibilant fricative
| Voiced alveolar non-sibilant fricative | |
|---|---|
| ð̠ | |
| ɹ̝ |
A voiced alveolar non-sibilant fricative (also known as a slit fricative) is a consonantal sound in some spoken languages. As the International Phonetic Alphabet does not have separate symbols for non-sibilant alveolar fricatives, this sound can be transcribed by use of diacritics, such as ⟨ð̠⟩ (a retracted [ð]) or ⟨ɹ̝⟩ (a raised [ɹ], also often part of the affricate [dɹ̝]). Additional symbols include ⟨ð͇⟩ (with the alveolar diacritic, in extIPA) and ⟨d̞⟩ (a lowered [d]).
Features
- 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. However, it does not have the grooved tongue and directed airflow, or the high frequencies, of a sibilant.
- Its place of articulation is alveolar, which means it is articulated with either the tip or the blade of the tongue at the alveolar ridge, termed respectively apical and laminal.
- Its phonation is voiced, which means the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation.
- It is an oral consonant, which means that air is not allowed to escape through the nose.
- It is a median consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream down the midline of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
- Its airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air only with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles, as in most sounds.
Occurrence
| Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Czech[54] | čtyři | [ˈt͡ʃtɪɹ̝ɪ] | 'four' | May be a fricative trill[54] or a tapped fricative (see below) instead.[55] It contrasts with /r/ and /ʒ/. See Czech phonology | |
| Dahalo[56] | [káð̠i] | 'work' | Apical; only weakly fricated. It is a common intervocalic allophone of /d̠/, and may dental [ð] or a plosive [d] instead.[57] | ||
| Dutch[58] | voor | ⓘ | 'for' | One of many possible realizations of /r/; distribution unclear. See Dutch phonology | |
| Emilian | Bolognese | chèṡ | [ˈkɛːð̠] | 'case' | Laminal |
| English | Scouse[59] | maid | [meɪð̠] | 'maid' | Allophone of /d/. See English phonology |
| South African[60][61] | round | [ɹ̝æʊ̯nd] | 'round' | Apical,[61] present in some urban dialects.[60] See South African English phonology | |
| Extreme Southern Italian[62] | Sicilian | raro | [ɹ̝aːɾo] | 'rare' | Corresponds to /rr/ in standard Italian, as well as word-initial /r/, and may be geminated. Described as a 'non-sulcalized sonorant', articulated without contact; may be closer to an approximant, depending on the speaker.[62] |
| Calabro | |||||
| Salentino | |||||
| Icelandic[63][64] | góða | ⓘ | 'good (inflexion)' | Usually apical,[63][64] may be closer to an approximant;[65] variably removed from the front teeth, up to (nearly) spot on [ð̞].[66] See Icelandic phonology | |
| Manx[67] | mooar | [muːɹ̝] | 'big' | Pre-consonantal and word-final realization of /r/, in free variation with other allophones. | |
| Swedish | Central Standard[68][69] | vandrare | [²vän̪ːd̪ɹ̝äɹɛ] | 'wanderer' | Allophone of /r/ around the Stockholm area. See Swedish phonology |
Voiced alveolar tapped fricative
| Voiced alveolar tapped fricative | |
|---|---|
| ɾ̞ |
A few languages also have a voiced alveolar tapped fricative, which is simply a very brief alveolar non-sibilant fricative, with the tongue making the gesture for a tapped stop but not making full contact. It can be indicated in the IPA with the lowering diacritic to show that full occlusion does not occur, such as ⟨ɾ̞⟩. Flapped fricatives are theoretically possible but are not attested.[70]
| Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aragonese | Chistabino[71] | aire | [ˈäi̯ɾ̞e̞] | 'air' | Common realization of /ɾ/.[71] |
| Tacana[72] | [example needed] | ||||
| Turkish[73] | rüya | ⓘ | 'dream' | Word-initial allophone of /ɾ/.[73] See Turkish phonology | |