Definition:
A coronal consonant is a speech sound articulated by raising the tongue tip (apical) or tongue blade (laminal) toward the upper teeth, alveolar ridge, or the front part of the hard palate. Coronals form the largest class of consonants in most languages and include dental, alveolar, postalveolar, retroflex, and alveolopalatal sounds.
In-Depth Explanation
The coronal place of articulation covers a wide range of contact or near-contact points, all involving the front of the tongue:
| Sub-type | Contact Point | English Examples | Japanese Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dental | Upper teeth | /θ, ð/ (thin, this) | — |
| Alveolar | Alveolar ridge | /t, d, n, s, z, l, ɹ/ | /t, d, n, s, z, ɾ/ |
| Postalveolar | Behind alveolar ridge | /ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ/ | — |
| Alveolopalatal | Between alveolar and palatal | — | /ɕ, dʑ, tɕ/ (し, じ, ち) |
| Retroflex | Tongue tip curled back | /ɖ, ʈ/ (Hindi, Tamil) | — |
Coronals are cross-linguistically dominant for several reasons. The tongue tip and blade are the most agile articulators, capable of fast, precise movements in a region (the alveolar ridge) that provides a stable contact target. This is why the most common consonant in the world’s languages is /t/ (a coronal stop) and why liquids and nasals are most commonly coronal (/n/, /l/, /r/ types).
In Japanese, the coronal consonants are:
- Stops: /t, d/ (with affricate allophones [tɕ, ts, dʑ, dz] before /i/ and /ɯ/)
- Nasal: /n/
- Fricatives: /s, z/ (with alveolopalatal allophones [ɕ, (d)ʑ] before /i/)
- Flap: /ɾ/ (the Japanese “r”)
The coronal region is where most of the allophonic variation in Japanese occurs — the shifts from /t/ to [tɕ] and [ts], and from /s/ to [ɕ], are all conditioned by the following vowel and happen within the coronal zone.
Related Terms
See Also
Research
- Ladefoged, P., & Maddieson, I. (1996). The Sounds of the World’s Languages. Blackwell. — Detailed typological survey of coronal consonants across languages, including sub-classifications.
- Keating, P. A. (1991). Coronal places of articulation. In C. Paradis & J.-F. Prunet (Eds.), The Special Status of Coronals (pp. 29–48). Academic Press. — Analysis of why coronals are cross-linguistically special.