Christophe Grandsire wrote:
> You mean an approximant version of the alveolopalatal voiced fricative found in
> Polish? I didn't even know that could exist :))) . By the way, in X-SAMPA it is
> noted /z\/, but no approximant variant exists, whether in X-SAMPA or IPA.
Probably because it makes no phonemic difference anywhere.
> I believe this is also Mandarin /r/.
>
> I'd been told that Mandarin /r/ was the best example of a retroflex
> approximant: [r\`]? It is not retroflex?
Of course you are right: a brain fart on my part.
> Is there any page on the web
> that explains how to describe sounds in acoustic terms? It's a discipline
> called phonetics isn't it?).
"Acoustic phonetics". Googling for that phrase produces mostly
special studies, class notes, and bare-bones explanations that
don't get past "Sound is a wave". There seems to be nothing
really tutorial in nature.
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