Alveolar Laminal alveolar Some languages have a voiced (post)alveolar approximant that is acoustically distinct from a typical , which has variously been described as being '-like,' or 'non-
sulcalized'. The distinction may also be made as a phonological classing, between a 'rhotic approximant' and a 'frictionless continuant'. The International Phonetic Alphabet has no symbol to represent this sound, but possible transcriptions with diacritics include (a
lowered ) and (a lowered and
retracted ), both of which have been used in literature.
Several symbols have been proposed to represent this sound, but none have become widely accepted.
Postalveolar of a voiced postalveolar approximant The most common sound represented by the letter
r in English is the
voiced postalveolar approximant, pronounced further back than a typical and transcribed more precisely in IPA as , but is often used for convenience in its place. For further ease of typesetting, English phonemic transcriptions might use the symbol even though this symbol represents the
alveolar trill in phonetic transcription. The
bunched or molar r sounds remarkably similar to the postalveolar approximant and can be described as a
voiced labial pre-velar approximant with tongue-tip retraction. As an allophone of other
rhotic sounds, occurs in
Edo,
Fula,
Murrinh-patha, and
Palauan. ==See also==