Alveolar approximant

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IPA – number	151
IPA – text	ɹ
IPA – image
Entity	ɹ
X-SAMPA	`r\`
Kirshenbaum	`r`
Sound sample (help·info)

The alveolar approximant is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents dental, alveolar, and postalveolar approximants is ɹ, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is r\. The IPA symbol is a turned lowercase letter r. The segment is rare among the world's languages, and is sometimes called English R.

Some phonemic transcriptions use the <r> symbol instead of <ɹ> for ease of typesetting, even though that technically represents the alveolar trill.

[edit] Features

Features of the alveolar approximant:

Its manner of articulation is approximant, which means it is produced by bringing one articulator close to another but without the vocal tract being narrowed to such an extent that a turbulent airstream is produced.
Its place of articulation is alveolar, which means it is articulated with either the tip or the blade of the tongue against the alveolar ridge, termed respectively apical and laminal.
Its phonation type is voiced, which means the vocal cords are vibrating during the articulation.
It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth.
It is a central consonant, which means it is produced by allowing the airstream to flow over the middle of the tongue, rather than the sides.
The airstream mechanism is pulmonic egressive, which means it is articulated by pushing air out of the lungs and through the vocal tract, rather than from the glottis or the mouth.

Acoustically, the formants of [ɹ] are characterized by compressed f₁-f₃, particularly because of its low f₃ value. Its low f₃ values result from perturbations at three locations; rounded lips, alveolar constriction, and a constriction around the velum or pharynx. These constrictions cause perturbations at velocity maxima in the third harmonic of the voice signal, causing a sharp decrease in resonance frequency to below 1000 Hz.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Occurrence

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Armenian		սուրճ	[suɹtʃʰ]	'coffee'
Chukchi		ңирэк	[ŋiɹek]	'two'
Dutch		werk	[ʋɛɹk]	'work'	Some dialects. Most dialects use an uvular trill. See Dutch phonology
English		red	[ɹɛd]	'red'	Most dialects. Some dialects use an alveolar trill. See English phonology
Faroese		róður	[ɹɔuwʊɹ]	'rudder'
German		Rebe	[ɹeːbə]	'vine shoot'	Some dialects. Most dialects use a uvular trill. See German phonology
Portuguese	Caipira dialect	porta	[ˈpɔɹta]	'door'	See Portuguese phonology
Vietnamese		rơ	[ɹɤ]	'to clean'	See Vietnamese phonology

[edit] See also

Consonants (List, table)

See also: IPA, Vowels

Pulmonics

Non-pulmonics and other symbols

Clicks

Co-articulated fricatives

Lat. Fricatives

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Co-articulated approximants

This page contains phonetic information in IPA, which may not display correctly in some browsers. [Help]
Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a voiced consonant. Shaded areas denote pulmonic articulations judged impossible.

The Letter "R"
General:	The letter R · Rhotic consonants (R-like sounds) · Rhotic and non-rhotic accents · R-colored vowels · Guttural R · Linking R and Intrusive R
Pronunciations:	Alveolar trill [r] · Alveolar approximant [ɹ] · Alveolar tap [ɾ] · Alveolar lateral flap [ɺ] ·Retroflex approximant [ɻ] · Retroflex flap [ɽ] ·Uvular trill [ʀ] ·Voiced uvular fricative [ʁ]
Variations:	R rotunda · Ɍɍ (R with stroke) · Ʀʀ · Ȑȑ · Ŕŕ · Ŗŗ · Řř · Ȓȓ · Ṙṙ · Ṛṛ · Ṝṝ · Ṟṟ · Rd · Rh · Rl · Rn · Rr · Rt · Rnd · ᚱ (Raidô) · ℛ (Riemann integral) · ℜ (Real part) · ℝ (Real number) · ® (Registered trademark) · Ⓡ (Enclosed R)