Voiced retroflex nasal

IPA Unicode 0x0273

The voiced retroflex nasal is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) that represents this sound is ⟨ɳ⟩, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is n`.

Characteristics

The voiced retroflex nasal is a nasal consonant in which the airflow is allowed to escape through the nose, with the tongue curled back against the palate. This sound is distinguished from other nasal consonants by its retroflex articulation, meaning it is articulated with the tip of the tongue curled up towards the palate.

Articulation

The following are the characteristics of the voiced retroflex nasal:

• Its manner of articulation is occlusive, which means the sound is produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract.
• Since the sound is nasal, the airflow is allowed to escape through the nose while the mouth is closed.
• Its place of articulation is retroflex, which means it is articulated with the tip of the tongue curled so that its underside is in contact with the palate.
• Its phonation is voiced, which means the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation.
• It is a nasal consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the nose, either exclusively (nasal stops) or in addition to through the mouth.

Occurrence

The voiced retroflex nasal occurs in a number of languages around the world, including languages of the Indian subcontinent such as Hindi and Marathi, as well as in some Dravidian languages, like Tamil and Malayalam. It is also found in other languages around the world, including some dialects of Mandarin Chinese, and in some Australian Aboriginal languages.

See also

• Nasal consonant
• Retroflex consonant
• List of phonetics topics