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The 'dental approximant' is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents dental approximants is .

Contents

Features

Occurrence

Features

Features of the dental approximant:

★ Its manner of articulation is approximant, which means it is produced by bringing one articulator close to another but without the vocal tract being narrowed to such an extent that a turbulent airstream is produced.

★ Its place of articulation is dental which means it is articulated with the tongue on either the lower or the upper teeth, or both.

★ Its phonation type is voiced, which means the vocal cords are vibrating during the articulation.

★ It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth.

★ It is a central consonant, which means it is produced by allowing the airstream to flow over the middle of the tongue, rather than the sides.

Occurrence

Language	Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Spanish	''na'd'ar''		'to swim'	Intervocalic allophone of . See Spanish phonology