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Glite Dictionary
postalveolar

postalveolar

9.9
A sound made with the tongue near the part of the mouth just behind the top front teeth
  • noun
  • /ˌpoʊstəlˈviːələr/
  • Specialized
translation icon : postalveolar
  • The English 'sh' sound in 'ship' is a postalveolar fricative.

Examples

  • Children often find it difficult to produce postalveolar sounds correctly when they begin to speak.

  • Many languages have more than one postalveolar consonant in their phonemic inventory.

  • The postalveolar sounds in English include /ʃ/ and /ʒ/.

  • Can you identify the postalveolar sounds in that word?

  • The English 'sh' sound in 'shoe' is a postalveolar sound that requires careful articulation.

  • Linguists study the postalveolar consonants to understand how they differ between languages.

  • When teaching pronunciation, teachers often highlight the importance of postalveolar sounds like /ʃ/ and /ʒ/.

Synonyms

post-alveolar
vspostalveolar
  • Specialized
9.5

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

is the same sound but written without a hyphen
postalveolar consonant
vspostalveolar
  • Specialized
9.2

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

specifies a slightly narrower position just behind the upper front teeth
post-alveolar consonant
vspostalveolar
  • Specialized
8.6

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

applies to any speech sound in that location not only consonants

Compounds

postalveolar consonant
  • Specialized
9.2

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

How Back

to retroflex
  • Specialized
9.9
palatal
  • Specialized
8.9
postalveolar
  • Specialized
9.9
alveolar
  • Specialized
8.7
dental
  • Specialized
8 7.0

Surface Forms

postalveolar singular
postalveolars plural

Morphology

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

The structure post- + alveolar is morphologically regular, but understanding requires anatomical/phonetic knowledge of the alveolar ridge.

Etymology

Postalveolar breaks into post- ('behind') and alveolar, which names the small ridge just behind the top front teeth. So a postalveolar sound is made with the tongue just behind that ridge, like the 'sh' in 'ship'.