Consonantal sound represented by ⟨ꞎ⟩ or ⟨ɭ̊˔⟩ in IPA
Voiceless retroflex lateral fricative
ꞎ
Audio sample
source · help
Encoding
Entity (decimal)
ꞎ
Unicode (hex)
U+A78E
Image
Voiceless retroflex lateral approximant
ɭ̊
IPA Number
156 402A
Encoding
X-SAMPA
l`_0
The voiceless retroflex lateral fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The 'implicit' IPA letter for this sound, ⟨ꞎ ⟩,[1] is overtly supported by the extIPA.[2]
Some scholars[who?] posit a voiceless retroflex lateral approximant distinct from the fricative. The approximant may be represented in the IPA as ⟨ɭ̊ ⟩.
Features
Features of the voiceless retroflex lateral fricative:
Its manner of articulation is fricative, which means it is produced by constricting air flow through a narrow channel at the place of articulation, causing turbulence.
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 can be apical (pointed) or, in some fricatives, laminal (flat).
Its phonation is voiceless, which means it is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords.
It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.
It is a lateral consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream over the sides of the tongue, rather than down the middle.
^Kirk Miller & Michael Ashby, L2/20-252R Unicode request for IPA modifier-letters (a), pulmonic
^Ball, Martin J.; Howard, Sara J.; Miller, Kirk (2018). "Revisions to the extIPA chart". Journal of the International Phonetic Association. 48 (2): 155–164. doi:10.1017/S0025100317000147. S2CID 151863976.
