Voiced retroflex approximant

Voiced retroflex approximant
Voiced retroflex approximant
ɻ
IPA Number	152
Encoding
Entity (decimal)	ɻ
Unicode (hex)	U+027B
X-SAMPA	r\`
Braille
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Audio sample
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The voiced retroflex approximant is a type of consonant used in some languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ɻ⟩, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is r\`. The IPA symbol is a turned lowercase letter r with a rightward hook protruding from the lower right of the letter.

Features[]

A schematic mid-sagittal section of an articulation of a voiced retroflex approximant [ɻ].

Features of the voiced retroflex approximant:

Its manner of articulation is approximant, which means it is produced by narrowing the vocal tract at the place of articulation, but not enough to produce a turbulent airstream.
Its place of articulation is retroflex, which prototypically means it is articulated subapical (with the tip of the tongue curled up), but more generally, it means that it is postalveolar without being palatalized. That is, besides the prototypical subapical articulation, the tongue contact can be apical (pointed) or laminal (flat).
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.
The airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air solely with the lungs and diaphragm, as in most sounds.

Occurrence[]

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Chinese	Mandarin	肉 ròu	[ɻ̺oʊ̯˥˩]	'meat'	Apical.^[1] Can be transcribed as fricative [ʐ]. See Standard Chinese phonology
Derung		Tvrung	[tə˧˩ɻuŋ˥˧]	'Derung'
Dutch	Some Netherlandic speakers^[2]	eerst	[ɪːɻst]	'first'	Tongue bunched and root retracted. Occurs only in syllable coda. See Dutch phonology
English	Some American dialects	red	[ɻʷɛd]	'red'	Labialized (pronounced with lips rounded). See Pronunciation of English /r/
	Some Hiberno-English dialects
	Some West Country English
Enindhilyagwa		angwura	[aŋwuɻa]	'fire'
Faroese^[3]		hoyrdi	[hɔiɻʈɛ]	'heard'	Allophone of /ɹ/.^[3] Sometimes voiceless [ɻ̊].^[3] See Faroese phonology
Greek	Cretan (Sfakia and Mylopotamos variations) region^[4]	γάλα gála	[ˈɣaɻa]	'milk'	Intervocalic allophone of /l/ before /a o u/. Recessive. See Modern Greek phonology
Kannada	Some dialects	ಕೊೞೆ	[kɒɻe]	'to rot'
Malayalam		ആഴം	[aəˈɻm]	'Depth'
Mapudungun^[5]		rayen	[ɻɜˈjën]	'flower'	Possible realization of /ʐ/; may be [ʐ] or [ɭ] instead.^[5]
Pashto		سوړ‎	[soɻ]	'cold'	Allophone of retroflex lateral flap /ɭ̆/. See Pashto phonology
Portuguese	Many Centro-Sul registers	cartas	[ˈkaɻtə̥̆s]	'letters'	Allophone of rhotic consonants (and sometimes /l/) in the syllable coda. Mainly^[6] found in rural São Paulo, Paraná, south of Minas Gerais and surrounding areas, with the more common and prestigious realization in metropolitan areas being [ɹ] and/or rhotic vowel instead. As with [ɽ], it appeared as a mutation of [ɾ].^[7]^[8]^[9] See Portuguese phonology.
	Caipira	temporal	[tẽɪ̯̃pʊˈɾaɻ]	'rainstorm'
	Conservative Piracicabano	grato	[ˈgɻatʊ̥]	'thankful' (m.)
Tamil^[10]		தமிழ்	[t̪əˈmɨɻ] (help·info)	'Tamil'	See Tamil phonology. May be merged with [l] for many modern speakers.
Western Desert	Pitjantjatjara dialect	Uluṟu	[ʊlʊɻʊ]	'Uluru'
Yaghan		wárho	[ˈwaɻo]	'cave'

Notes[]

^ Lee, W. S. (1999). An articulatory and acoustical analysis of the syllable-initial sibilants and approximant in Beijing Mandarin. Proceedings of the XIVth ICPhS, Univ. of California, Berkeley, San Francisco, pp. 413-416. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/863d/3ca5704291d4ec2c0e95ea409eb6599094ce.pdf
^ Sebregts, Koen (2014). The Sociophonetics of and Phonology of Dutch r (PDF). LOT. ISBN 978-94-6093-161-1.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Árnason (2011), p. 115.
^ Trudgill (1989), pp. 18–19.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Sadowsky et al. (2013), p. 90.
^ Nas trilhas do -r retroflexo Silvia Figueiredo Brandão. December 2007. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
^ (in Portuguese) Acoustic-phonetic characteristics of the Brazilian Portuguese's retroflex /r/: data from respondents in Pato Branco, Paraná. Irineu da Silva Ferraz. Pages 19–21
^ (in Portuguese) Syllable coda /r/ in the "capital" of the paulista hinterland: sociolinguistic analisis. Cândida Mara Britto LEITE. Page 111 (page 2 in the attached PDF)
^ (in Portuguese) Callou, Dinah. Leite, Yonne. "Iniciação à Fonética e à Fonologia". Jorge Zahar Editora 2001, p. 24
^ Keane (2004), p. 111.

References[]

Árnason, Kristján (2011), The Phonology of Icelandic and Faroese, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-922931-4
Keane, Elinor (2004), "Tamil", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 34 (1): 111–116, doi:10.1017/S0025100304001549
Sadowsky, Scott; Painequeo, Héctor; Salamanca, Gastón; Avelino, Heriberto (2013), "Mapudungun", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 43 (1): 87–96, doi:10.1017/S0025100312000369
Trudgill, Peter (1989), "The Sociophonetics of /l/ in the Greek of Sphakiá", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 15 (2): 18–22, doi:10.1017/S0025100300002942

External links[]

List of languages with [ɻ] on PHOIBLE

[1] Lee, W. S. (1999). An articulatory and acoustical analysis of the syllable-initial sibilants and approximant in Beijing Mandarin. Proceedings of the XIVth ICPhS, Univ. of California, Berkeley, San Francisco, pp. 413-416. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/863d/3ca5704291d4ec2c0e95ea409eb6599094ce.pdf

[2] Sebregts, Koen (2014). The Sociophonetics of and Phonology of Dutch r (PDF). LOT. ISBN 978-94-6093-161-1.

[FOOTNOTEÁrnason2011115-3] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Árnason (2011), p. 115.

[FOOTNOTETrudgill198918–19-4] Trudgill (1989), pp. 18–19.

[FOOTNOTESadowskyPainequeoSalamancaAvelino201390-5] Jump up to: ^a ^b Sadowsky et al. (2013), p. 90.

[6] Nas trilhas do -r retroflexo Silvia Figueiredo Brandão. December 2007. Retrieved June 19, 2015.

[7] (in Portuguese) Acoustic-phonetic characteristics of the Brazilian Portuguese's retroflex /r/: data from respondents in Pato Branco, Paraná. Irineu da Silva Ferraz. Pages 19–21

[8] (in Portuguese) Syllable coda /r/ in the "capital" of the paulista hinterland: sociolinguistic analisis. Cândida Mara Britto LEITE. Page 111 (page 2 in the attached PDF)

[9] (in Portuguese) Callou, Dinah. Leite, Yonne. "Iniciação à Fonética e à Fonologia". Jorge Zahar Editora 2001, p. 24

[FOOTNOTEKeane2004111-10] Keane (2004), p. 111.

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show v t The letter R
General	Rhotic consonants (R-like sounds) Perception of English /r/ and /l/ by Japanese speakers Pronunciation of English /r/ Rhoticity in English R-colored vowel Rhotacism Guttural R Linking and intrusive R
Pronunciations	Voiceless alveolar trill [r̥] Voiced alveolar trill [r] Voiced alveolar or postalveolar approximant [ɹ] Voiceless alveolar tap [ɾ̥] Voiced alveolar tap [ɾ] Voiced alveolar lateral flap [ɺ] Voiced retroflex approximant [ɻ] Voiced retroflex flap [ɽ] Voiced retroflex trill [ɽr] Voiceless velar fricative [x] Voiced velar fricative [ɣ] Voiceless uvular trill [ʀ̥] Voiced uvular trill [ʀ] Voiceless uvular fricative [χ] Voiced uvular fricative [ʁ] Voiced pharyngeal fricative [ʕ] Voiceless glottal fricative [h] Voiced glottal fricative [ɦ]
Variations	Ꝛꝛ (R rotunda) Ꞃꞃ (Insular) Ɽɽ (R with tail) Ɍɍ (R with stroke) Ʀʀ Ȑȑ Ŕŕ Ŗŗ Řř Ȓȓ R̃r̃ Ṙṙ Ṛṛ R̄r̄ Ṝṝ Ṟṟ Rd Rh Rl Rm Rn Rp Rr Rs Rt Rw Rz Rnd ᚱ (Raidô) ℝ (Real number) ® (Registered trademark symbol) Ⓡ (Enclosed R) ℞ (Medical prescription)