Possible Combinations
The attested possibilities, with exemplar languages, are as follows. Note that the IPA diacritics are simplified; some articulations would require two diacritics to be fully specified, but only one is used in order to keep the results legible without the need for OpenType IPA fonts. Also, Ladefoged has resurrected an obsolete IPA symbol, the under dot, to indicate apical postalveolar (normally included in the category of retroflex consonants), and that notation is used here. (Note that the notation s̠, ṣ is sometimes reversed; either may also be called 'retroflex' and written ʂ.)
| IPA | Tongue shape | Place of articulation (mouth) | Place of articulation (tongue) | Exemplifying languages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| hollow | dental | apical | southeast European Spanish s/z, Kumeyaay | |
| hollow | denti-alveolar | laminal | Polish s, z; Basque z, tz | |
| hollow | alveolar | apical | northern peninsular Spanish s; Basque s, ts; Mandarin s, z, c (apical, dental or alveolar) | |
| hollow | alveolar | apical or laminal | English s, z (alveolar, laminal or apical); American or southwest European Spanish s/z | |
| hollow | alveolar | laminal | Toda, Ubykh, Abkhaz | |
| domed | postalveolar | apical or laminal | English sh, ch, j, zh and French ch, j | |
| domed | postalveolar | laminal | Toda; Basque x, tx | |
| palatalized | postalveolar | laminal | Mandarin x, j, q; Polish ć, ś, ź, dź; Ubykh; Abkhaz | |
| (ad hoc transcription) | hollow (no cavity) |
postalveolar | laminal | Ubykh; Abkhaz |
| , | hollow or flat (cavity under tongue) |
postalveolar | laminal | Polish sz, rz, cz, dż ; Mandarin sh, zh, ch |
| , etc.1 | hollow | postalveolar | apical | Ubykh; Abkhaz; Kumeyaay; Toda |
| curled | palatal (or postalveolar?) | subapical | Toda |
^1 These sounds are usually just transcribed . Apical postalveolar and subapical palatal sibilants do not contrast in any language, but if necessary, apical postalveolar can be transcribed with an apical diacritic, as or .
Read more about this topic: Sibilant
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