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Glite Dictionary
post-alveolar

post-alveolar

9.5
A speech sound made with the tongue just behind the upper front teeth, like the sh in 'shoe'
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : post-alveolar
  • The English sound /ʃ/ as in 'shoe' is a post-alveolar fricative.

Examples

  • In English, post-alveolar sounds include /ʃ/ and /ʒ/.

  • Many Slavic languages have several post-alveolar consonants in their phonetic inventories.

  • In phonetics class, we discussed how post-alveolar sounds differ from alveolar and palatal ones.

  • The sound /ʃ/ is a post-alveolar fricative.

  • In phonetics, the sound /ʃ/, as in 'shoe', is classified as a post-alveolar consonant.

  • Many linguists study how post-alveolar sounds are produced in different languages.

  • Understanding post-alveolar sounds can help pronunciation in language learning.

Synonyms

postalveolar
vspost-alveolar
  • Specialized
9.9

A sound made with the tongue near the part of the mouth just behind the top front teeth

is the hyphenated spelling used in some technical descriptions
postalveolar consonant
vspost-alveolar
  • Specialized
9.2

A consonant made with the tongue near the ridge just behind the teeth

refers to the place of articulation without naming the sound class
post-alveolar consonant
vspost-alveolar
  • Specialized
8.6

A consonant sound made with the tongue just behind the top front teeth, like the 'sh' in shoe

focuses on an exact tongue position just behind the upper front teeth

Surface Forms

post-alveolar singular
post-alveolars plural

Morphology

post-alveolar = alveolar (transparent) = post + alveolar

The adjective is clearly formed by the prefix 'post-' meaning 'after/behind' plus the technical base 'alveolar', so learners familiar with the base term can infer the meaning.

Etymology

Post-alveolar breaks into post- meaning 'after' or 'behind' and alveolar, a word that points to the ridge just behind the top front teeth and comes from Latin for 'small hollow'. So a post-alveolar sound is made with the tongue near or touching that ridge, just behind the teeth.