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Retroflex consonants are consonants articulated with the tip of
the tongue curled up and back so the bottom of the tip touches the roof of the mouth. Retroflex consonants are common in the
Indo-Aryan languages and the Dravidian languages; and can also be found in languages such as
Mandarin Chinese, Javanese, Vietnamese, Swedish, Norwegian and some languages of Southern Italy and Sardinia.
In the International Phonetic
Alphabet, the symbols for retroflex consonants are typically the same as for the alveolar consonants, but with the addition of a right-facing hook to the bottom of the symbol. The
retroflex consonants identified by the International Phonetic Alphabet are:
| IPA Symbol |
Name |
Example |
Meaning |
| ʈ |
Voiceless retroflex plosive |
Vietnamese |
[ɲɑ.ʈɑŋ] |
Nha Trang |
|
| ɖ |
Voiced retroflex plosive |
Swedish |
[n̪ʊɖ] |
nord |
|
| ɳ |
retroflex nasal |
Swedish |
[vɛː.n̪əɳ] |
Vänern |
|
| ʂ |
Voiceless retroflex fricative |
Mandarin |
[ʂɑŋ˥˩.xaj˨˩˦] |
上海 Shànghǎi |
|
| ʐ |
Voiced retroflex fricative |
Mandarin |
[ɖ̥͡ʐ̥u˥.ʐʊŋ˧˥.d̥͡ʑ̥i˥˩] |
Zhū Róngjì |
|
| ɻ |
retroflex approximant |
Tamil |
[taməɻ] (?) |
Tamil |
| ɭ |
retroflex lateral approximant |
Swedish |
[kaɭ.stɑːd̪] |
Karlstad |
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See also
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