The voiced alveolar fricatives are consonantal sounds. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents these sounds depends on whether a sibilant or non-sibilant fricative is being described.

  • The symbol for the alveolar sibilant is z, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is z. The IPA letter z is not normally used for dental or postalveolar sibilants in narrow transcription unless modified by a diacritic ( and respectively).
  • The IPA symbol for the alveolar non-sibilant fricative is derived by means of diacritics; it can be ð̠ or ɹ̝.
More information Dental, Denti-alveolar ...
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More information IPA symbol, meaning ...
Coronal sibilants
IPA
symbol
meaning
place
of articulation
passive
(mouth)
z̪ dental
advanced
(denti-alveolar)
alveolar
retracted
(postalveolar)
active
(tongue)
apical
laminal
ʐ retroflex
secondary palatalized coronal
ʑ alveolo-palatal
ʒ palato-alveolar
labialized coronal
velarized coronal
pharyngealized coronal
voice-onset time breathy coronal
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Voiced alveolar sibilant

Quick Facts z, IPA Number ...
Voiced alveolar fricative
z
IPA Number133
Audio sample
Encoding
Entity (decimal)z
Unicode (hex)U+007A
X-SAMPAz
Braille⠵ (braille pattern dots-1356)
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Quick Facts z̪ ...
Voiced laminal dentalized alveolar sibilant
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Quick Facts z̟ ...
Voiced laminal predorsal alveolar sibilant
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Quick Facts z̠, zᶾ ...
Voiced alveolar retracted sibilant
zᶾ
Encoding
Entity (decimal)z̺
Unicode (hex)U+007AU+033A
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The voiced alveolar sibilant is common across European languages, but is relatively uncommon cross-linguistically compared to the voiceless variant. Only about 28% of the world's languages contain a voiced dental or alveolar sibilant. Moreover, 85% of the languages with some form of [z] are languages of Europe, Africa, or Western Asia.

Features

  • Its manner of articulation is sibilant fricative, which means it is generally produced by channeling air flow along a groove in the back of the tongue up to the place of articulation, at which point it is focused against the sharp edge of the nearly clenched teeth, causing high-frequency turbulence.
  • There are at least three specific variants of [z]:
    • Dentalized laminal alveolar (commonly called "dental"), which means it is articulated with the tongue blade very close to the upper front teeth, with the tongue tip resting behind lower front teeth. The hissing effect in this variety of [z] is very strong.[1]
    • Non-retracted alveolar, which means it is articulated with either the tip or the blade of the tongue at the alveolar ridge, termed respectively apical and laminal. According to Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996) about half of English speakers use a non-retracted apical articulation.
    • Retracted alveolar, which means it is articulated with either the tip or the blade of the tongue slightly behind the alveolar ridge, termed respectively apical and laminal. Acoustically, it is close to [ʒ] or laminal [ʐ].
  • Its phonation is voiced, which means the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation.
  • It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.
  • It is a central consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream along the center of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
  • Its airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air solely with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles, as in most sounds.

Occurrence

Dentalized laminal alveolar

More information Language, Word ...
LanguageWordIPAMeaningNotes
ArmenianEastern[2]զարդ/zart[z̪ɑɾt̪ʰ]'decoration'
Azerbaijani[3]z[z̪ɔʁ]'sprout'
Belarusian[4]база/baza[ˈbäz̪ä]'base'Contrasts with palatalized form. See Belarusian phonology
Bulgarian[5]езеро/ezero[ˈɛz̪ɛro]'lake'Contrasts with palatalized form.
Czech[6]zima[ˈz̪ɪmä]'winter'See Czech phonology
EnglishMulticultural London[7]zoo[z̪ʏˑy̯]'zoo'See English phonology
French[8][9]zèbre[z̪ɛbʁ]'zebra'See French phonology
Hungarian[10]zálog[ˈz̪äːl̪oɡ]'pledge'See Hungarian phonology
Kashubian[11][example needed]
Kazakh[12]заң/z[z̪ɑŋ]'law'
Kyrgyz[13]заң/zań
Latvian[14]zars[z̪ärs̪]'branch'See Latvian phonology
Macedonian[15]зошто/zošto[ˈz̪ɔʃt̪ɔ]'why'See Macedonian phonology
Mirandesedaprendizaige[d̪əpɾẽd̪iˈz̪ajʒ(ɯ̽)]'learning'Contrasts seven sibilants altogether, preserving medieval Ibero-Romance contrasts.
Polish[1][16]zero[ˈz̪ɛrɔ]'zero'See Polish phonology
PortugueseMost speakersEstados Unidos[isˈt̪ad̪uz̪‿ʉˈnid͡zᶶ(ˢ)]'United States'See Portuguese phonology
Romanian[17]zar[z̪är]'dice'See Romanian phonology
Russian[18]заезжать / zaězžať[z̪əɪˈʑʑætʲ]'to pick up'Contrasts with palatalized form. See Russian phonology
Serbo-Croatian[19][20]зајам / zajam[z̪ǎːjäm]'loan'See Serbo-Croatian phonology
Slovakzima[ˈz̪imä]'winter'
Slovene[21]zima[ˈz̪ìːmá]'winter'
Turkish[8][22]z[ɟø̞̈z̪]'eye'See Turkish phonology
Ukrainian[23]зуб/zub[z̪ub]'tooth'Contrasts with palatalized form. See Ukrainian phonology
Upper Sorbian[24]koza[ˈkɔz̪ä]'goat'
Uzbek[25]zafar[z̪äˈfäɾ]'victory'
VietnameseHanoi[26]da[z̪äː]'skin'See Vietnamese phonology
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Non-retracted alveolar

More information Language, Word ...
LanguageWordIPAMeaningNotes
Adygheзы[ˈzə]'one'
Albanianzjarr[zjar]'fire'
ArabicStandard[27]زائِر[ˈzaːʔir]'visitor'See Arabic phonology
Assameseলকীয়া[zɔlɔkija]'chili'
Assyrianܙܢ̱ܓܐ zìga[ziɡa]'bell'
Bengaliনামা[namaz]'Salah'Mostly in loanwords and often replaced by []. See Bengali phonology
Bretoniliz[iliz]'church'
Chechenзурма / zurma[zuɾma]'music'
Dutch[28][29]zaad[z̻aːt̻]'seed'Laminal; may have only mid-to-low pitched friction in the Netherlands.[28][29] See Dutch phonology
EmilianBolognese raån[raːz̺ʌŋ]'reason' Palatalized apical; may be [ʐ] or [ʒ] instead.
Englishzoo[zuː]'zoo'Absent from some Scottish and Asian dialects. See English phonology
Esperantokuzo[ˈkuzo]'cousin'See Esperanto phonology
Georgian[30]არი[ˈzɑɾi]'bell'
GreekAthens dialect[31]ζάλη / záli[ˈz̻ali]'dizziness'See Modern Greek phonology
Hebrewזאב[zeˈʔev]'wolf'See Modern Hebrew phonology
Hindustani Hindi ज़मीन [zəmiːn] 'land' May be replaced in Hindi by []. See Hindustani phonology
Urdu زمین
Japanese[32]全部 / zenbu[zembɯ]'everything'Might be replaced with [dz]. See Japanese phonology
Kabardianзы[ˈzə]'one'
Kalaw Lagaw Yazilamiz[zilʌmiz]'go'
Kashmiriज़ानुन / زانُن[zaːnun]'to know'
Khmerបែលហ្ស៊ិក / bêlhsĭk[ɓaelzɨk]noun: 'Belgium', 'Belgian(s)'
adjective: 'Belgian'
See Khmer phonology
Konda[33][34] sunz [sunz] 'to sleep'
Malaybeza[bezə]'difference'
Malteseżelu[zelu]'zeal'
Marathi[zər]'if'See Marathi phonology.
OccitanLimousinjòune[ˈzɒwne]'young'See Occitan phonology
Persianروز[ɾuːz]'day'
Portuguese[35]casa[ˈkazɐ]'house'See Portuguese phonology
Punjabi Gurmukhi ਜ਼ਾ [həˈzaːr] 'thousand' May be replaced by [] in Gurmukhi (Indian) varieties.
Shahmukhi ہزار
SpanishAndalusiancomunismo[ko̞muˈnizmo̞]'Communism'Allophone of /s/ before voiced consonants, when it is not debuccalized to [h ~ ɦ]. Present in dialects which realize /s/ as a non-retracted alveolar fricative. Before /d/ it is dental [z̪].
Latin American
Filipino
Swahililazima[lɑzimɑ]'must'
Tamil Jaffna Tamil கடுதாசி [kɐɖuðaːzi] 'letter' Was only reported for 1 speaker in the sample but he pronounced it regularly.[36]
West Frisian[37]sizze[ˈsɪzə]'to say'It never occurs in word-initial positions. See West Frisian phonology
Yi / ssy[zɹ̩˧]'generation'
Yiddishזון / zien[zin]'son'
ZapotecTilquiapan[38]guanaz[ɡʷanaz]'went to grab'
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Retracted alveolar

More information Language, Word ...
LanguageWordIPAMeaningNotes
Catalan[39][40]zel[ˈz̺ɛɫ]'zeal'Apical. See Catalan phonology
Galicianmesmo[ˈme̞z̺mo̞]'same'Apical. Allophone of /s/ before voiced consonants. Before /d/ it is pronounced dentally [z̪].
Greek[41]μάζα / za[ˈmɐz̠ɐ]'mass'See Modern Greek phonology
ItalianCentral Italy[42]caso[ˈkäːz̠o]'case'Present in Lazio north of Cape Linaro,[42] most of Umbria[42] (save Perugia and the extreme south)[42] and Le Marche south of the Potenza.[42]
Northern Italy[43][44]Apical.[45] Present in many areas north of the La Spezia–Rimini Line.[46][47] See Italian phonology
Sicily[42]Present south and west of a line drawn from Syracuse to Cefalù.[42]
Low German[48][example needed]
Maldivianzaraafaa[z̺aˈraːfaː]'giraffe'
Mirandeseeisistir[e̞jz̺is̺ˈtiɾ]'to exist'Apical. Mirandese and neighboring Portuguese dialects were the only surviving oral tradition to preserve all seven mediaeval Ibero-Romance sibilants: ch //, x /ʃ/, g/j /ʒ/, c/ç //, z /z̪/, s/-ss- //, -s- /z̺/
OccitanGasconcasèrna[kaz̺ɛrno]'barracks'See Occitan phonology
Languedocienser[bez̺e]'to see'
Piedmonteseamis[aˈmiz̠]'friend'Apical. See Piemontese phonology
PortugueseCoastal Northern European[example needed]Merges with non-retracted /z/. See Portuguese phonology
Inland Northern European[example needed]Apical. Contrasts with non-retracted /z/. See Portuguese phonology
SpanishAndeanmismo[ˈmiz̺mo̞]'same'Apical. Allophone of /s/ before voiced consonants. Before /d/ it is pronounced dentally [z̪]. See Spanish phonology
Castilian
Paisa Region
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Variable

More information Language, Word ...
LanguageWordIPAMeaningNotes
GermanStandard[49]sauber[ˈzäʊ̯bɐ]'clean'Varies between dentalized laminal, non-retracted laminal and non-retracted apical.[49] See Standard German phonology
ItalianStandard[50]caso[ˈkäːzo]'case'Varies between dentalized laminal and non-retracted apical.[50] See Italian phonology
Ticino[45]Varies between dentalized laminal and non-retracted apical.[51] Both variants may be labiodentalized.[45] See Italian phonology
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Voiced alveolar non-sibilant fricative

Quick Facts ð̠, ð͇ ...
Voiced alveolar non-sibilant fricative
ð̠
ð͇
ɹ̝
Audio sample
Encoding
Entity (decimal)ð̠
Unicode (hex)U+00F0U+0320
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Quick Facts ɾ̞, ɹ̝̆ ...
Voiced alveolar tapped fricative
ɾ̞
ɹ̝̆
IPA Number124 430
Audio sample
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The voiced alveolar non-sibilant fricative is a consonantal sound. As the International Phonetic Alphabet does not have separate symbols for the alveolar consonants (the same symbol is used for all coronal places of articulation that are not palatalized), it can represent the sound as in a number of ways including ð̠ or ð͇ (retracted or alveolarized [ð], respectively), ɹ̝ (constricted [ɹ]), or (lowered [d]).

Few languages also have the voiced alveolar tapped fricative, which is simply a very brief apical alveolar non-sibilant fricative, with the tongue making the gesture for a tapped stop but not making full contact. It can be indicated in the IPA with the lowering diacritic to show that full occlusion does not occur. Flapped fricatives are theoretically possible but are not attested.[52]

Features

Occurrence

More information Language, Word ...
LanguageWordIPAMeaningNotes
AragoneseChistabino[53]aire[ˈäi̯ɾ̞e̞]'air'Tapped; common realization of /ɾ/.[53]
Czech[54]čtyři[ˈt͡ʃtɪɹ̝ɪ]'four'May be a fricative trill[54] or a tap fricative instead.[55] It contrasts with /r/ and /ʒ/. See Czech phonology
Dahalo[56][káð̠i]'work'Apical; only weakly fricated. It is a common intervocalic allophone of /d̠/, and may be an approximant [ð̠˕] or simply a plosive [d] instead.[57]
Dutch[58]voor[vöːɹ̝]'for'One of many possible realizations of /r/; distribution unclear. See Dutch phonology
Emilian Bolognese chè [ˈkɛːð̠] 'case' Laminal
EnglishScouse[59]maid[meɪð̠]'maid'Allophone of /d/. See English phonology
South African[60][61]round[ɹ̝æʊ̯nd]'round'Apical,[61] present in some urban dialects.[60] See South African English phonology
Icelandic[62][63]bróðir[ˈpro͡uːð̠ɪr]'brother'Usually apical,[62][63] may be closer to an approximant. See Icelandic phonology
ItalianSicily[64]terra[ˈt̪ɛɹ̝ä]'earth'Apical; corresponds to /rr/ in standard Italian.[64] See Italian phonology
Manxmooar[muːɹ̝]'big'Common word-final realization of /r/.
Spanish[65]Aragoneseaire[ˈäi̯ɾ̞e̞]'air'Tapped; possible realization of /ɾ/.[65] See Spanish phonology
SwedishCentral Standard[66][67]vandrare[²vän̪ːd̪ɹ̝äɹɛ]'wanderer'Allophone of /r/ around the Stockholm area. See Swedish phonology
Tacana[68][example needed]Tapped.[68]
Turkish[69]rüya[ˈɾ̞yːjɑ]'dream'Tapped; word-initial allophone of /ɾ/.[69] See Turkish phonology
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Voiced lateral-median fricative

Quick Facts ʫ, ð̠ˡ ...
Voiced alveolar lateral–median fricative
ʫ
ð̠ˡ
ɮ͡ð̠
ɮ͡z
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Quick Facts Voiceless dental lateral–median fricative, ʫ̪ ...
Voiceless dental lateral–median fricative
ʫ̪
ðˡ
ɮ̪͡ð
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The voiced alveolar non-sibilant fricative (also known as a "lisp" fricative) is a consonantal sound. Consonants is pronounced with simultaneous lateral and central airflow.

Features

Occurrence

More information Language, Word ...
LanguageWordIPAMeaningNotes
Arabic[70][71][72] Rijal Almaʽa ضبع [ðˡˤabʕ] 'hyena' Classical Arabic *ɮˁ and Modern Standard Arabic [dˤ]
Mehri[73] ذوفر [ðˡˤoːfar] 'plait'
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See also

Notes

References

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