Sibilant Types
All sibilants are coronal consonants (made with the tip or front part of the tongue). However, there is a great deal of variety among sibilants as to tongue shape, point of contact on the tongue, and point of contact on the upper side of the mouth.
The following variables affect sibilant sound quality, and, along with their possible values, are ordered from sharpest (highest-pitched) to dullest (lowest-pitched):
- Tongue shape: grooved, alveolo-palatal, palato-alveolar, retroflex
- Place of articulation (point of contact on the upper side of the mouth): dental or denti-alveolar, alveolar, postalveolar, palatal
- Point of contact on the tongue: laminal "closed", laminal non-"closed", apical, subapical
Generally, the values of the different variables co-occur so as to produce an overall sharper or duller sound. For example, a laminal denti-alveolar grooved sibilant occurs in Polish, and a subapical palatal retroflex sibilant occurs in Toda.
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