Fricative Consonant - Sibilant Fricatives

Sibilant Fricatives

• voiceless coronal sibilant, as in English sip
• voiced coronal sibilant, as in English zip
• ejective coronal sibilant
• voiceless dental sibilant
• voiced dental sibilant
• voiceless apical sibilant
• voiced apical sibilant
• voiceless postalveolar sibilant (laminal)
• voiced postalveolar sibilant (laminal)
• voiceless palato-alveolar sibilant (domed, partially palatalized), as in English ship
• voiced palato-alveolar sibilant (domed, partially palatalized), as the s in English vision
• voiceless alveolo-palatal sibilant (laminal, palatalized)
• voiced alveolo-palatal sibilant (laminal, palatalized)
• voiceless retroflex sibilant (apical or subapical)
• voiced retroflex sibilant (apical or subapical)

All sibilants are coronal, but may be dental, alveolar, postalveolar, or palatal (retroflex) within that range. However, at the postalveolar place of articulation, the tongue may take several shapes: domed, laminal, or apical, and each of these is given a separate symbol and a separate name. Prototypical retroflexes are subapical and palatal, but they are usually written with the same symbol as the apical postalveolars. The alveolars and dentals may also be either apical or laminal, but this difference is indicated with diacritics rather than with separate symbols.