Alveolopalatal

Alveolopalatal refers to a class of consonant sounds produced with the tongue blade raised toward the region between the alveolar ridge and the hard palate. This place of articulation lies between the alveolar (tongue at the tooth ridge) and the palatal (tongue at the hard palate) areas, and is often described as postalveolo-palatal. The constriction is typically more front than true palatal sounds, but not as far forward as plain alveolars.

The alveolopalatal consonant inventory includes several types of sounds, most commonly sibilants. Voiceless alveolo-palatal fricatives are represented by [ɕ], with a voiced counterpart [ʑ]. Alveolo-palatal affricates include [t͡ɕ] (voiceless) and [d͡ʑ] (voiced). Some languages also feature these sounds as distinct from clearly postalveolar or retroflex series, and the exact phonetic realization can vary by language and phonological analysis. In many descriptions, these sounds are considered a subset of palato-alveolars or a separate “alveolo-palatal” category depending on the scholarly tradition.

Distribution and terminology vary by linguistic tradition. Alveolopalatal consonants are common in several East Asian languages (for example, certain initials in Mandarin Chinese and Japanese) and occur in various other language families as well. Some researchers classify alveolopalatal sounds under the broader umbrella of postalveolar or palato-alveolar consonants, while others treat them as a distinct articulated group defined by a narrow constriction between the tongue blade and the region just behind the alveolar ridge.

See also: alveolar, palatal, postalveolar, palato-alveolar.