The voiced retroflex lateral approximant is a sound used in some spoken languages. The IPA letter for this symbol is ⟨ɭ⟩. It is in Indian English. It is similar to /l/ but with your tongue curled back.
Characteristics
The phonation is voiced. This means that the vocal cords vibrate while the sound is being pronounced.
The place of articulation (where the sound is produced) is retroflex, which prototypically means it is articulated sub-apical - with the tip of the tongue curled up. But more generally This means that it is postalveolar without being palatalized. That is, besides the prototypical sub-apical articulation, the tongue contact can be apical (pointed) or laminal (flat).
It is a lateral consonant. This means that this sound is produced by directing the airstream over the sides of the tongue, but not down the middle.
It is an oral consonant. This means that air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.
The manner of articulation (how the sound is produced) is approximant. This means that this sound is produced by narrowing the vocal tract at the place this sound is produced. However, it is not narrowed enough to produce a turbulent airstream.
Examples
In the following transcriptions, diacritics may be used to distinguish between apical[ɭ̺] and laminal[ɭ̻].
↑"ladjap". Online Aboriginal Language Dictionary (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Indigenous Languages Research and Development Foundation. Archived from the original on 2022-09-04. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
↑Keane (2004), p.111. sfnp error: no target: CITEREFKeane2004 (help)
