Dorsal consonant

Consonants articulated with the back of the tongue Velar phonetics. Dorsal consonants are consonants articulated with the back of the tongue (the dorsum). They include the uvular, velar and, in some cases (depending on the analysis), alveolo-palatal and palatal consonants. They contrast with labial consonants (articulated with the lips and without the tongue), coronal consonants (articulated with the flexible front of the tongue), and laryngeal consonants (articulated with either the root of the tongue, the epiglottis, or the glottis). Characteristics The dorsum of the tongue can contact a broad region of the roof of the mouth, from the hard palate (palatal consonants), to the flexible velum (velar consonants) behind the hard palate, to the uvula at the back of the mouth cavity (uvular consonants). These distinctions are not clear cut, and sometimes finer gradations such as prepalatal, postpalatal, prevelar, postvelar, and preuvular will be used. Because the tip of the tongue can curl back to also contact the hard palate for retroflex consonants (subapical-palatal), consonants produced by contact between the dorsum and the palate are sometimes called dorso-palatal. Examples Familia