Retroflex Consonant - Compared With Other Sounds

Compared With Other Sounds

Retroflex sounds need to be distinguished from other consonants made in the same parts of the mouth (postalveolar, alveolar, or palatal):

• the palato-alveolar sounds (e.g. ), such as the sh, ch and zh occurring in English words like ship, chip and vision
• the alveolo-palatal sounds (e.g. ), such as the q, j and x occurring in Mandarin Chinese
• the dorsal palatal consonants (e.g. ), such as the ch in German ich or the ñ in Spanish año
• the grooved alveolar consonants (e.g. ), such as the s and z occurring in English words like sip and zip

The first three types of sounds above have a convex tongue shape, which gives them an additional secondary articulation of palatalization. The last type has a groove running down the center line of the tongue, which gives it a strongly hissing quality. The retroflex sounds, however, have a flat or concave shape, with no associated palatalization, and no groove running down the tongue. The term "retroflex", in fact, literally means "bent back" (concave), although consonants with a flat tongue shape are commonly considered retroflex as well.