palatal

Palatal is an adjective derived from Latin palatus, referring to the palate, the roof of the mouth, or to sounds produced with the tongue against this area. The term is used in anatomy, dentistry, and linguistics.

The palate consists of two regions: the hard palate at the front, bony, and the soft palate (velum) at the back, muscular. It separates the oral and nasal cavities; during swallowing it elevates to close the nasopharynx; during speech it helps regulate nasal airflow. The palate is supported by the palatine bones. Defects include cleft palate, which may involve soft and/or hard palate and requires multidisciplinary care. Velopharyngeal function is important for proper speech.

The hard palate forms the bony roof; the palate’s surface features ridges called rugae. The palatal torus is a bony outgrowth along the midline of the maxilla. The term palatal can also describe surfaces oriented toward the palate (palatal surfaces) in dentistry, and the palatal aspect of teeth.

In linguistics, palatal describes a place of articulation where the tongue body approaches the hard palate. Palatal consonants include the approximant [j] as in yes, the palatal nasal [ɲ], and other languages may have palatal stops [c] and [ɟ]. Palatalization is a phonetic process by which consonants acquire a more fronted, palatal quality before front vowels.