turkish phonology and morphology (türkçe ses ve b‹ç‹mb‹lg‹s‹)

Unit 2 - Turkish Consonants
produced this way are called fricatives. Say the sound /f/. The lower lip is
raised to meet the upper teeth but without completely obstructing the air. As
the air is pushed out of the narrow passage between the teeth and lower lip,
turbulent airflow is produced. Notice what you do to produce sounds such as
[s], [S], and [h].
Fricative sounds of Turkish are /f/, /s/, /z/, /S/, /Z/, /h/.
Approximant: Approximation of two articulators but without a turbulent airstream
To produce an approximant, two articulators are close together but not so
close together to form a narrow passage. As the passage is not narrowed to an
extend that a turbulent airflow is produced, the airstream flows more freely
without causing friction. Say the sound /j/, for example. The front of the tongue
is raised toward the hard palate but not so close together so that the air flows
freely between the tongue and the palate. If you breathe in through the mouth,
you can feel coolness on your hard palate. Approximants in Turkish are /V/,
/j/ and /l/. These approximants are of two types depending on their airflow.
Central approximant: Air flows over the center of the tongue.
In the production of [j], the sides of the tongue touch the roof of the mouth
behind the sides of the teeth and the air flows over the center of the tongue.
Therefore, [j] is called a central approximant. [V] is a central approximant in
Turkish as the lower teeth and upper lip come close together but not close
enough to cause frication. Thus, [V] is a central approximant.
Lateral approximant: With a central obstruction, air flows over the sides of the
tongue.
In the production of /l/, the tip/front of the tongue is at the alveolar ridge
stopping the air from flowing over the center of the tongue. Instead, the air
flows over the sides of the tongue. Hence /l/ is called a lateral (meaning
‘side’) approximant.
English has two additional central approximant sounds. The initial sounds of the
following words ‘work’, ‘was’, ‘one’ is labiovelar central approximant /w/. The ‘r’
sound in English is also an alveolar central approximant symbolized as /®]/,
different from that of Turkish.
Flap/tap: Single tap against the alveolar ridge
The Turkish ‘r’, /R/ is a flap whereby the tip of the tongue makes a single tap
against the alveolar ridge. Notice what you do with your tongue when you say
the word ‘ara’. The tongue rapidly taps against the alveolar ridge.
Flap also occurs in American English in the medial position of words such as
latter and ladder, causing both words to be pronounced the same way.
Affricate: combination of a stop and a fricative
The production of affricates involves a stop and a fricative. The affricate starts
with a stop which is immediately followed by a fricative. Say the words çay and
cam. The initial sound of çay is an affricate which starts with the stop /t/
followed by the fricative /S/. Similarly, the initial sound of cam starts with [d]
followed by /Z/.
The affricates of Turkish are /tS/ and /dZ/.
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