Palatal
A palatal segment is a segment that is articulated in such a way that the oral cavity is narrowed or closed by raising the tongue blade towards the hard palate.
Examples
Dutch and English [j] (cf. jigsaw).
Examples of palatals are the sound [ɳ] (written ñ) in Spanish niño 'child', and the sound [c] (written ty) in Hungarian atya 'father'.
Origin
Derived from palate (borrowed into English from Latin palatum), and attested since the 17th century.
Comments
"Palatal" is a term also used for vowels: front vowels are palatal, as opposed to back vowels, which are velar.
Other languages
- German Palatal (de)
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