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Coronals areconsonantsarticulated with the flexible front part of thetongue. Among places of articulation, only the coronal consonants can be divided into as many articulation types:apical (using the tip of the tongue),laminal (using the blade of the tongue),domed (with the tongue bunched up), orsubapical (using the underside of the tongue) as well as differentpostalveolar articulations (some of which also involve the back of the tongue as an articulator):palato-alveolar,alveolo-palatal andretroflex. Only the front of the tongue (coronal) has such dexterity among the major places of articulation, allowing such variety of distinctions. Coronals have another dimension,grooved, to makesibilants in combination with the orientations above.
Coronalplaces of articulation include thedental consonants at the upperteeth, thealveolar consonants at the uppergum (thealveolar ridge), the variouspostalveolar consonants (including domed palato-alveolar, laminalalveolo-palatal, and apical retroflex) just behind that, the subapicalretroflex consonants curled back against the hardpalate, andlinguolabial consonants with the tongue against the upper lip. Alveolo-palatal and linguolabial consonants sometimes behave asdorsal andlabial consonants, respectively, rather than as coronals.
| IPA symbol | meaning | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| place of articulation | passive (mouth) | ⟨s̪⟩ | dental |
| ⟨s̟⟩ | advanced (denti-alveolar) | ||
| ⟨s͇⟩ | alveolar | ||
| ⟨s̠⟩ | retracted (postalveolar) | ||
| active (tongue) | ⟨s̺⟩ | apical | |
| ⟨s̻⟩ | laminal | ||
| ⟨ʂ⟩ | retroflex | ||
| secondary | ⟨sʲ⟩ | palatalized coronal | |
| ⟨ɕ⟩ | alveolo-palatal | ||
| ⟨ʃ⟩ | palato-alveolar | ||
| ⟨sʷ⟩ | labialized coronal | ||
| ⟨sˠ⟩ | velarized coronal | ||
| ⟨sˤ⟩ | pharyngealized coronal | ||
| voice-onset time | ⟨sʰ⟩ | aspirated coronal | |
In Arabic and Maltese philology, thesun letters represent coronal consonants.
| IPA symbol | Name of the consonant | Language | Example | IPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ⟨z⟩ | Voiced alveolar sibilant | English | zoo | /zuː/ |
| ⟨s⟩ | Voiceless alveolar sibilant | sea | /siː/ | |
| ⟨ð⟩ | Voiced dental fricative | that | /ðæt/ | |
| ⟨θ⟩ | Voiceless dental fricative | thud | /θʌd/ | |
| ⟨ʒ⟩ | Voiced palato-alveolar fricative | vision | /ˈvɪʒən/ | |
| ⟨ʃ⟩ | Voiceless palato-alveolar fricative | she | /ʃiː/ | |
| ⟨n⟩ | Alveolar nasal | name | /neɪm/ | |
| ⟨d⟩ | Voiced alveolar plosive | day | /deɪ/ | |
| ⟨t⟩ | Voiceless alveolar plosive | tea | /tiː/ | |
| ⟨ɹ⟩ | Alveolar approximant | reef | /ɹiːf/ | |
| ⟨l⟩ | Alveolar lateral approximant | lift | /lɪft/ | |
| ⟨r⟩ | Alveolar trill | Spanish | perro | /ˈpero/ |
| ⟨ɾ⟩ | Alveolar flap | pero | /ˈpeɾo/ |
InAustralian Aboriginal languages, coronals contrast withperipheral consonants.
| Laminal | Apical | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alveopalatal | Dental | Alveolar | Retroflex | |
| Stop | c~t̠ʲ | t̪ | t | ʈ |
| Nasal | ɲ~n̠ʲ | n̪ | n | ɳ |
| Lateral | ʎ~l̠ʲ | l̪ | l | ɭ |
TheNorthwest Mekeo language lacks coronal consonants entirely.[2]
