What Are Palatal Sounds?

Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate. Consonants with the tip of the tongue curled back against the palate are called retroflex.

What are palatal speech sounds?

Palatal, in phonetics, a consonant sound produced by raising the blade, or front, of the tongue toward or against the hard palate just behind the alveolar ridge (the gums). The German ch sound in ich and the French gn (pronounced ny) in agneau are palatal consonants.

What are examples of palatal sounds?

Palatal: Palatal sounds are made with the tongue body (the big, fleshy part of your tongue). The tongue body raises up towards the hard-palate in your mouth (the dome shaped roof of your mouth) to form an effective constriction. An example of a palatal sounds in English is /j/, usually spelt as <y>.