Avoiceless retroflex lateral fricative is a type ofconsonantal sound, used in somespokenlanguages. The 'implicit'IPA letter for this sound, ⟨ꞎ ⟩,[1] is overtly supported by theextIPA.[2] In the IPA, it can be represented as ⟨ɭ̝̊⟩, ⟨ɭ̥᷵⟩, ⟨ɭ̥̝⟩ or ⟨ɭ̝̥⟩, and obsolete ⟨ɭ̊˔⟩.
Avoiceless retroflex lateral approximant is represented in IPA as ⟨ɭ̊ ⟩.
Features of a voiceless retroflex lateral fricative:
Itsmanner of articulation isfricative, which means it is produced by constricting air flow through a narrow channel at the place of articulation, causingturbulence.
Itsplace of articulation isretroflex, which prototypically means it is articulatedsubapical (with the tip of the tongue curled up), but more generally, it means that it ispostalveolar without beingpalatalized. That is, besides the prototypical subapical articulation, the tongue can beapical (pointed) or, in some fricatives,laminal (flat).
Itsphonation is un-voiced, which means it is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords.
It is anoral consonant, which means that air is not allowed to escape through the nose.
It is alateral consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream over the sides of the tongue, rather than down the middle.
