Voiced retroflex approximant

Voiced retroflex approximant
Voiced retroflex approximant
ɻ
IPA number	152
Audio sample
	source · help
Encoding
Entity (decimal)	ɻ
Unicode (hex)	U+027B
X-SAMPA	r\`
Braille
Image

A 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⟩, a turned lowercase letter r with a rightward hook protruding from the lower right of the letter.

The velar bunched approximant found in some varieties of Dutch and American English is nearly indistinguishable from a retroflex approximant in sound, but has a different articulation.

Features

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 can be apical (pointed) or, in some fricatives, laminal (flat).
Its phonation is voiced, which means the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation.
It is an oral consonant, which means that air is not allowed to escape through the nose.
It is a median consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream down the midline of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
Its airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air only with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles, as in most speech sounds.

Occurrence

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Chinese	Mandarin	肉 ròu	[ɻ̺oʊ̯˥˩]	'meat'	Apical. Can be transcribed as fricative [ʐ]. See Standard Chinese phonology
Derung		Tvrung	[tə˧˩ɻuŋ˥˧]	'Derung'
English	Some American dialects	red	[ɻ(ʷ)ɛd]	'red'	Labialized (pronounced with lips rounded). See Pronunciation of English /r/
	Some Hiberno-English dialects
	Some West Country English
Arnhem	Enindhilyagwa		angwura	[aŋwuɻa]	'fire'
Faroese		hoyrdi	[hɔiɻʈɛ]	'heard'	Allophone of /ɹ/. Sometimes voiceless [ɻ̊]. See Faroese phonology
Greek	Cretan (Sfakia and Mylopotamos variations) region	γάλα gála	[ˈɣaɻa]	'milk'	Intervocalic allophone of /l/ before /a, o, u/. Recessive. See Modern Greek phonology
Inuktitut	Nattilingmiutut	kiuřuq	/kiuɻuq/	'she replies'
Malayalam		ആഴം/āḻam	[aːɻɐm]	'depth'	Represented by the letter ⟨ഴ⟩. Subapical retroflex. See Malayalam phonology
Mapuche		rayen	[ɻɜˈjën]	'flower'	Possible realization of /ʐ/; may be [ʐ] or [ɭ] instead.
Lolak		Ḷoḷak	[ˈɻo.ɻak̚]	'Lolak'	Allophone of /l/; usually found adjacent to vowels such as [a], [ɔ] or [u].
Portuguese	Many Centro-Sul registers	cartas	[ˈkaɻtə̥̆s]	'letters'	Allophone of rhotic consonants (and sometimes /l/) in the syllable coda. Mainly 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]. See Portuguese phonology.
	Caipira	temporal	[tẽɪ̯̃pʊˈɾaɻ]	'rainstorm'
	Conservative Piracicabano	grato	[ˈgɻatʊ̥]	'thankful' (m.)
Tamil		தமிழ்/Tamiḻ	[t̪əˈmɨɻ]^ⓘ	'Tamil'	See Tamil phonology. May be merged with [ɭ] for some modern speakers.
Western Desert	Pitjantjatjara dialect	Uluṟu	[ʊlʊɻʊ]	'Uluru'
Yaghan		wárho	[ˈwaɻo]	'cave'

Notes

↑ Lee, Wai-Sum (1999). An articulatory and acoustical analysis of the syllable-initial sibilants and approximant in Beijing Mandarin (PDF). Proceedings of the 14th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences. S2CID 51828449.
1 2 3 Árnason (2011), p. 115.
↑ Trudgill (1989), pp. 18–19.
1 2 Sadowsky et al. (2013), p. 90.
1 2 Lobel & Paputungan (2017), p. 333.
↑ Brandão, Silvia Figueiredo (15 December 2007). "Nas trilhas do -R retroflexo". Signum: Estudos da Linguagem. 10 (2): 265. doi:10.5433/2237-4876.2007v10n2p265.
↑ Ferraz, Irineu da Silva (2005). Características fonético-acústicas do /r/ retroflexo do portugues brasileiro : dados de informantes de Pato Branco (PR) (Thesis). hdl:1884/3955.
↑ (in Portuguese) Syllable coda /r/ in the "capital" of the paulista hinterland: sociolinguistic analysis. Archived 2013-09-26 at the Wayback Machine 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
Lobel, Jason William; Paputungan, Ade Tatak (2017), Notes from the field: Lolak: Another moribund language of Indonesia, with supporting audio, University of Hawaii Press, hdl:10125/24758
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, S2CID 143943154

External links

List of languages with [ɻ] on PHOIBLE

[1] Lee, Wai-Sum (1999). An articulatory and acoustical analysis of the syllable-initial sibilants and approximant in Beijing Mandarin (PDF). Proceedings of the 14th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences. S2CID 51828449.

[FOOTNOTEÁrnason2011115-2] 1 2 3 Árnason (2011), p. 115.

[FOOTNOTETrudgill198918–19-3] Trudgill (1989), pp. 18–19.

[FOOTNOTESadowskyPainequeoSalamancaAvelino201390-4] 1 2 Sadowsky et al. (2013), p. 90.

[FOOTNOTELobelPaputungan2017333-5] 1 2 Lobel & Paputungan (2017), p. 333.

[6] Brandão, Silvia Figueiredo (15 December 2007). "Nas trilhas do -R retroflexo". Signum: Estudos da Linguagem. 10 (2): 265. doi:10.5433/2237-4876.2007v10n2p265.

[7] Ferraz, Irineu da Silva (2005). Características fonético-acústicas do /r/ retroflexo do portugues brasileiro : dados de informantes de Pato Branco (PR) (Thesis). hdl:1884/3955.

[8] (in Portuguese) Syllable coda /r/ in the "capital" of the paulista hinterland: sociolinguistic analysis. Archived 2013-09-26 at the Wayback Machine 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.

v t e 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] Voiced velar approximant [ɰ] Voiced velar bunched approximant [ɹ̈] 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)