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ALVEOLAR RIDGE

المؤلف:  Parviz Birjandi

المصدر:  AN INTRODUCTION TO PHONETICS

الجزء والصفحة:  C3-P49

2026-07-06

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ALVEOLAR RIDGE

An alveolar sound is produced when the tongue tip, or blade, touches the bony prominence behind the top teeth. This prominence is in fact that part of the gum which lies behind the upper teeth. In English, the following phonemes are alveolar: /t/ as in tin /tɪn/, /d/ as in din /dɪn/, /s/ as in sin /sɪn/, /z/ as in zip /zɪp/, /l/ as in look /lʊk/, /r/ as in roof /ru:f/, and /n/ as in /night /naɪt/. Try saying all of these phonemes to yourself. They do not all touch in exactly the same way due to the manner of articulation. Some are plosives while the others are fricatives or laterals. But the place of articulation is clearly the alveolar ridge for all of them. The Iranian EFL learners' attention is specifically drawn to the difference between the Persian and English /t/ and /d/ phonemes. Whereas in English these sounds are purely alveolar stops, in Persian they are dentoalveolar phonemes. The blade of the tongue touches the back of upper teeth to form these sounds in Persian whereas, in English, the tongue lies solely behind the alveolar ridge. The difference can be felt if English /t/ and /d/ phonemes are inserted in Persian words.

Four sounds are said to be palatoalveolar. This is partly because the blade of the tongue straddles both the alveolar ridge and the front of the hard palate as air is forced through to make the sounds. These sounds include /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /ʧ/, and /ʤ/.