# Retroflex stop

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In [phonetics](/source/Phonetics) and [phonology](/source/Phonology), a **retroflex stop** is a type of consonantal sound, made with the tongue curled back and in contact with area behind the [alveolar ridge](/source/Alveolar_ridge) or with the [hard palate](/source/Hard_palate) (hence [retroflex](/source/Retroflex_consonant)), held tightly enough to block the passage of air (hence a [stop consonant](/source/Stop_consonant)). The point of contact is commonly either the [tongue tip](/source/Tongue_tip) or [tongue blade](/source/Tongue_blade) (the portion just behind the tip).[1]

Sometimes, however, the tongue is curled far enough back that the underside actually contacts the palate. That is known as a **[subapical](/source/Subapical)** retroflex stop and particularly occurs in the [Dravidian languages](/source/Dravidian_language) of southern [India](/source/India). A stop consonant that is made with the *body* of the tongue in contact with the hard palate is called a [palatal stop](/source/Palatal_stop).

Retroflex stops are less common than [velar stops](/source/Velar_stop) or [alveolar stops](/source/Alveolar_stop) and do not occur in Western English. They sound somewhat like the Western English [alveolar stops](/source/Alveolar_stop) [t] and [d], but they have a more hollow quality. Retroflex stops are particularly common in the [South Asian languages](/source/South_Asian_languages), such as [Hindi](/source/Hindi) and [Tamil](/source/Tamil_language), and thus also in Indian English in place of the alveolar stops in other varieties of English. Although they are fairly rare in [European languages](/source/European_languages), they occur in [Swedish](/source/Swedish_language) and [Norwegian](/source/Norwegian_language), as well as in some Southern dialects of Italy, such as in varieties of Sicilian, Calabrian, and Sardinian.

The most common sounds are the stops [ʈ] and [ɖ]. More generally, several kinds are distinguished:

- [ʈ], [voiceless retroflex stop](/source/Voiceless_retroflex_stop)
- [ɖ], [voiced retroflex stop](/source/Voiced_retroflex_stop)
- [ʈʼ], [retroflex ejective](/source/Retroflex_ejective) (rare)
- [ᶑ], [voiced retroflex implosive](/source/Voiced_retroflex_implosive) (extremely rare or nonexistent)
- [ᶑ̥] or [ʈʼ↓] [voiceless retroflex implosive](/source/Voiceless_retroflex_implosive) (almost certainly nonexistent)

## References

1. ["Retroflex | phonetics"](https://www.britannica.com/topic/retroflex). *Encyclopedia Britannica*. Retrieved 2019-04-11.

- Hamann, Silke (January 2008). ["How do voiced retroflex stops evolve? Evidence from typology and an articulatory study"](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242784698_How_do_voiced_retroflex_stops_evolve_Evidence_from_typology_and_an_articulatory_study). *ZAS Papers in Linguistics*. **49**: 97–130. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- Hamann, Silke (2003). [*The Phonetics and Phonology of Retroflexes*](https://www.lotpublications.nl/Documents/75_fulltext.pdf). LOT. ISBN 90-76864-39-X.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Retroflex stop](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retroflex_stop) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retroflex_stop?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.