A voiceless alveolo-palatal sibilant affricate is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spokenlanguages. The symbols in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represent this sound are ⟨t͡ɕ⟩, ⟨t͜ɕ⟩. The tie bar may be omitted, yielding ⟨tɕ⟩. There is also a ligature ⟨ʨ⟩, which has been retired by the International Phonetic Association but is still used. Occasionally the stop component is transcribed ⟨c⟩. An older transcription that indicated approximately the same sound was ⟨tʆ⟩.
⟨t⟩ is a broad transcription of the stop component, which can be narrowly transcribed as ⟨t̠ʲ⟩ (retracted and palatalized[t]). There is also a para-IPA letter ⟨ȶ⟩. Therefore, narrow transcriptions include ⟨t̠ʲɕ⟩ and ⟨ȶɕ⟩. However, this is not normally done because the stop component is by default assumed to be homorganic with the fricative component of the consonant.
Features of a voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate:
Its manner of articulation is sibilantaffricate, which means it is produced by first stopping the air flow entirely, then directing it with the tongue to the sharp edge of the teeth, causing high-frequency turbulence.
The articulation is postalveolar and laminal, meaning that the tongue blade contacts the roof of the mouth in the area behind the alveolar ridge (the gum line). Some phoneticians instead argue that the articulation is pre-palatal and dorsal, meaning that the back of the tongue (the dorsum) is raised toward the front of the hard palate.
It is heavily palatalized, meaning that the middle of the tongue is bowed and raised towards the hard palate.
Its phonation is voiceless, which means it is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords. In some languages the vocal cords are actively separated, so it is always voiceless; in others the cords are lax, so that it may take on the voicing of adjacent sounds.
It is an oral consonant, which means that air is not allowed to escape through the nose.
It is a median consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream down the midline of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
Contrasts with aspirated form. Pronounced by some speakers as a palatalized dental. In complementary distribution with [t͡s], [k], and [ʈ͡ʂ] series. See Standard Chinese phonology
de Búrca, Seán (1958), The Irish of Tourmakeady, Co. Mayo, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, ISBN 0-901282-49-9 {{citation}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
Tingsabadh, M.R. Kalaya; Abramson, Arthur S. (1993), "Thai", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 23 (1): 24–26, doi:10.1017/S0025100300004746, S2CID242001518
Wagner, Heinrich (1959), Gaeilge Theilinn (in Irish), Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, ISBN 1-85500-055-5 {{citation}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
Wheeler, Max W. (2005), The Phonology of Catalan, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-925814-7
Zygis, Marzena (2003), "Phonetic and Phonological Aspects of Slavic Sibilant Fricatives", ZAS Papers in Linguistics, 3: 175–213, doi:10.21248/zaspil.32.2003.191
Landau, Ernestina; Lončarića, Mijo; Horga, Damir; Škarić, Ivo (1999), "Croatian", Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A guide to the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 66–69, ISBN 978-0-521-65236-0
