View source for Bidental consonant

{{Short description|Consonant articulated with both the lower and upper teeth}}
'''Bidental consonants''' are consonants [[place of articulation|articulated]] with both the lower and upper teeth. They are normally found only in [[speech pathology]], and are distinct from [[interdental consonant]]s such as {{IPA|[n̪͆]}}, which involve the tongue articulated between the teeth rather than the teeth themselves. The diacritic for bidental consonants in the [[extensions to the IPA]] is the same superscript plus subscript bridge, {{angbr IPA|◌̪͆}}. This is used for sounds most commonly found in disordered speech:

*A bidental [[Percussive consonant|percussive]], {{IPAblink|ʭ|audio=y}}, produced by striking the teeth against each other (gnashing or chattering the teeth).
*A [[voiceless bidental fricative]], {{IPAblink|h̪͆|audio=y}}, a fricative made through clenched teeth with no involvement of the tongue or the lips, a "bidental (consonant) produced by air passing through the closed front teeth".<ref>[[Peter Hugoe Matthews|Matthews, Peter Hugoe]] (2003). ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics'', p.40. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|9780199202720}}.</ref>
*A [[voiced bidental fricative]], {{Audio-IPA|Voiced bidental fricative.wav|[ɦ̪͆]}}, a fricative made through clenched teeth with no involvement of the tongue or the lips and the vocal cords vibrate, due to the sound being voiced.
*Bidental [[aspiration (phonetics)|aspiration]] of another consonant, e.g. {{IPA|[tʰ̪͆]}} or {{IPA|[dʱ̪͆]}}.

People with [[hypoglossia]] (abnormally small tongue) may use bidental fricatives for target {{IPA|/s/}} and {{IPA|/z/}}.

There is at least one confirmed attestation of a bidental consonant in normal language. The [[Black Sea]] sub-dialect of the [[Shapsug dialect]] of [[Adyghe language|Adyghe]] has a [[voiceless bidental fricative]] where other dialects have {{IPA|[x]}}, as in хы {{Audio-IPA|xaaa.ogg|[xə]}} "six". It has been transcribed as {{angbr IPA|x̪͆}}, reflecting its value in other dialects, but there is no frication at the [[soft palate|velum]] and it would thus be better transcribed as {{angbr IPA|h̪͆}}. The teeth themselves are the only constriction: "The lips [are] fully open, the teeth clenched and the tongue flat, the air passing between the teeth; the sound is intermediate between {{IPA|[ʃ]}} and {{IPA|[f]}}".<ref>{{SOWL|144–145}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.internationalphoneticassociation.org/sites/default/files/extIPAChart2008.pdf Chart of extended IPA symbols for disordered speech] (PDF)

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[[Category:Place of articulation]]
[[Category:Bidental consonants| ]]

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