Coronal consonant - Definition and Overview

Coronal consonants are articulated with the tip or the front part of the tongue against the upper teeth, the upper gum (the alveolar ridge), or the part of the hard palate just behind it. The term covers a wide range of pronunciations, including dental, alveolar, and postalveolar consonants.

The coronal consonants in English are all alveolar consonants:

IPA Symbol	Name of the consonant	Example	IPA
	Voiced alveolar fricative	the zoo
	Voiceless alveolar fricative	the sea
	Nasal alveolar sonorant	the name
	Voiced alveolar plosive	the day
	Voiceless alveolar plosive	the tea
	Alveolar approximant	the root
	Lateral alveolar approximant	the light

See also

• place of articulation
• List of phonetics topics