Voiceless postalveolar affricate
Consonantal sound
Voiceless postalveolar affricate IPA Number 103 134
Entity (decimal) t͡ʃ
Unicode (hex) U+0074 U+0361 U+0283 X-SAMPA tS or t_rS
Image
The voiceless palato-alveolar sibilant affricate or voiceless domed postalveolar sibilant affricate is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages . The sound is transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet with ⟨t͡ʃ ⟩, ⟨t͜ʃ ⟩ ⟨tʃ ⟩ (formerly the ligature ⟨ʧ ⟩), or, in broad transcription, ⟨c ⟩. The alternative commonly used in American tradition is ⟨č⟩ . It is familiar to English speakers as the "ch" sound in "chip".
Historically, this sound often derives from a former voiceless velar stop /k/ (as in English church ; also in Gulf Arabic , Slavic languages , Indo-Iranian languages and Romance languages ), or a voiceless dental stop /t/ by way of palatalization, especially next to a front vowel (as in English nature ; also in Amharic , Portuguese , some accents of Egyptian , etc.).
Features
Features of the voiceless domed postalveolar affricate:
Its manner of articulation is sibilant affricate , which means it is produced by first stopping the air flow entirely, then directing it with the tongue to the sharp edge of the teeth, causing high-frequency turbulence .
Its place of articulation is palato-alveolar , that is, domed (partially palatalized ) postalveolar , which means it is articulated with the blade of the tongue behind the alveolar ridge , and the front of the tongue bunched up ("domed") at the palate .
Its phonation is voiceless, which means it is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords. In some languages the vocal cords are actively separated, so it is always voiceless; in others the cords are lax, so that it may take on the voicing of adjacent sounds.
It is an oral consonant , which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.
It is a central consonant , which means it is produced by directing the airstream along the center of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
The airstream mechanism is pulmonic , which means it is articulated by pushing air solely with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles , as in most sounds.
Occurrence
Language
Word
IPA
Meaning
Notes
Adyghe
ч эмы /čamë/چ ەمہـ
[t͡ʃamə] ⓘ
'cow'
Some dialects contrast labialized and non-labialized forms.
Albanian
ç elur
[t͡ʃɛluɾ]
'opened'
Aleut
Atkan dialect
ch amĝul
[t͡ʃɑmʁul]
'to wash'
Amharic
አንቺ /anči
[ant͡ʃi]
'you'
Arabic [1]
Central Palestinian
مكتبة (Normally unwritten)/mačtabe
[ˈmat͡ʃt̪abe]
'library'
Corresponds to [k] in Standard Arabic and other varieties . See Arabic phonology
Iraqi
چتاب /čitaab
[t͡ʃɪˈt̪ɑːb]
'book'
Jordanian
كتاب (Normally unwritten)/čitaab
[t͡ʃɪˈt̪aːb]
Aragonese
ch uego
[ˈt͡ʃueɣo]
'game'
Armenian
Eastern [2]
ճ նճղուկ /čënčquk
[t͡ʃənt͡ʃʁuk] ⓘ
'sparrow'
Assyrian
ܟ̰ܝܡܐ/č’yama
[t͡ʃˤjɑmɑ]
'to shut'
Found in native terminology. Widespread usage in all dialect varieties . Developed from an original /tˤ/.
Asturian
Ch ipre
[ˈt͡ʃipɾe]
'Cyprus '
Mostly found in loanwords, if possible, usually replaced by x [ʃ ] .
Azerbaijani
Əkinç i /اکینچ ی
[æcint͡ʃʰi]
'the ploughman'
Bengali
চ শমা /čošma
[t͡ʃɔʃma]
'spectacles'
Contrasts with aspirated form. See Bengali phonology
Basque
tx alupa
[t͡ʃalupa]
'boat'
Bulgarian
ч уч улига /čučuliga
[t͡ʃʊt͡ʃuˈliɡɐ]
'lark'
See Bulgarian phonology
Catalan
cotx e
[ˈkɔ.t͡ʃə]
'car'
See Catalan phonology .
Central Alaskan Yup'ik
nac aq
[ˈnat͡ʃaq]
'parka hood'
Choctaw
hakch ioma
[hakt͡ʃioma]
'tobacco'
Coptic
Bohairic dialect
ϭ ⲟϩ /čoh
[t͡ʃʰɔh]
'touch'
Czech
morč e
[ˈmo̞rt͡ʃɛ]
'guinea pig'
See Czech phonology
Dhivehi
ޗަކަސް / čakas
[t͡ʃakas]
'mud'
Relatively rare, usually occurs in loanwords / onomatoepic words
Dutch
Tj ongejone
[t͡ʃɔŋəjɔŋə]
'jeez'
An exclamation of (mild) annoyance, surprise, wonder or amazement.[3]
Pronunciation is region dependent.
English
beach
[biːt͡ʃ]
'beach'
Slightly labialized [tʃʷ] . See English phonology
Esperanto
ĉ ar
[t͡ʃar]
'because'
See Esperanto phonology
Estonian
tš ello
[ˈtʃelˑo]
'cello'
Rare, occurs only in loanwords. see Estonian phonology
Faroese
g era
[t͡ʃeːɹa]
'to do'
Contrasts with aspirated form. See Faroese phonology
Finnish
Tš ekki
[ˈt̪ʃe̞kːi]
'Czechia '
Rare, occurs only in loanwords. See Finnish phonology
French
Standard
caoutch ouc
[kaut͡ʃu]
'rubber'
Relatively rare; occurs mostly in loanwords . See French phonology
Acadian
ti ens
[t͡ʃɛ̃]
'(I/you) keep'
Allophone of /k/ and /tj/ before a front vowel.
Galician
ch eo
[ˈt͡ʃeo]
'full'
Galician-Portuguese /t͡ʃ/ is conserved in Galician and merged with /ʃ / in most Portuguese dialects. See Galician phonology
Georgian [4]
ჩ იხი /čixi
[t͡ʃixi]
'impasse'
German
Standard[5]
Tsch üss
[t͡ʃʏs]
'bye'
Laminal or apico-laminal and strongly labialized.[5] See Standard German phonology
Greek
Cypriot
τσ̌ άι /čai
[t͡ʃɑːiː]
'tea'
Hausa
c iwo /ثِ يوُاْ
[t͡ʃíː.wòː]
'disease, pain'
Hebrew
תש ובה /čuva
[t͡ʃuˈva]
'answer'
See Modern Hebrew phonology
Hindustani
Hindi
चा य /čáy
[t͡ʃɑːj]
'tea'
Contrasts with aspirated form. See Hindustani phonology
Urdu
چائے /çáy
Haitian Creole
match
[mat͡ʃ]
'sports match'
Hungarian
gyümölcs lé
[ˈɟymølt͡ʃleː]
'fruit juice'
See Hungarian phonology
Italian [6]
ci ao
[ˈt͡ʃaːo]
'hi'
See Italian phonology
Javanese
c edhak /ꦕꦼ ꦣꦏ꧀ /چۤ ڎَاك
[t͡ʃəɖaʔ]
'near'
Kʼicheʼ
K'ich e'
[kʼiˈt͡ʃeʔ]
'Kʼicheʼ' '
Contrasts with ejective form
Kabardian
ч энж /čanž/چ ەنژ
[t͡ʃanʒ] ⓘ
'shallow'
Kashubian [7]
czësto
[t͡ʃəstɔ]
'cleanly'
Kurdish
hirç /هرچ
[hɪɾt͡ʃ]
'bear'
Ladino
kolch a/קולגﬞ ה
[ˈkolt͡ʃa]
'quilt'
Macedonian
ч ека/čeka
[t͡ʃɛka]
'wait'
See Macedonian phonology
Malay
Standard
c uc i /چ وچ ي
[t͡ʃut͡ʃi]
'to wash'
See Malay phonology
Indonesian
Palatal [c ] according to some analyses. See Malay phonology
Maltese
bliċ
[blit͡ʃ]
'bleach'
Manx
çh iarn
[ˈt͡ʃaːrn]
'lord'
Marathi
च हा /čahá
[t͡ʃəhaː]
'tea'
Contrasts with aspirated form. Allophone of /tɕ / and /ts/.See Marathi phonology
Mongolian
Khalkha dialect
наргиж /nargičᠨᠠᠷᠭᠢᠵ
[ˈnargit͡ʃ]
'laugh'
Nahuatl
āyōtōch tli
[aːjoːˈtoːt͡ʃt͡ɬi]
'armadillo'
Norwegian
Some dialects
kj økken
[t͡ʃøkːen]
'kitchen'
See Norwegian phonology
Nunggubuyu [8]
j aro
[t͡ʃaɾo]
'needle'
Occitan
ch uc
[ˈt͡ʃyk]
'juice'
See Occitan phonology
Odia
ଚ କ /caka
[t͡ʃɔkɔ]
'wheel'
Contrasts with aspirated form.
Persian
چ وب /ч ӯб/çub
[t͡ʃʰuːb]
'wood'
See Persian phonology
Polish
Gmina Istebna
ci emny
[ˈt͡ʃɛmn̪ɘ]
'dark'
/ʈ͡ʂ/ and /t͡ɕ/ merge into [t͡ʃ] in these dialects. In standard Polish, /t͡ʃ/ is commonly used to transcribe what actually is a laminal voiceless retroflex affricate .
Lubawa dialect [9]
Malbork dialect [9]
Ostróda dialect [9]
Warmia dialect [9]
Portuguese
Most northern and some central Portuguese dialects
ch amar
[t͡ʃɐˈmaɾ]
'to call'
Archaic realization of etymological ⟨ch⟩ . Its use is diminishing due to influence of the standard language, being replaced by [ʃ ] .
Most Brazilian dialects[10]
present e
[pɾe̞ˈzẽ̞t͡ʃi]
'present'
Allophone of /t / before /i, ĩ/ (including when [i, ĩ, j] is not actually produced) and other instances of [i] (e.g. epenthesis ), marginal sound otherwise. See Portuguese phonology
Most dialects
tch au
[ˈt͡ʃaw]
'bye'
In Standard European Portuguese it occurs only in recent loanwords.
Punjabi
ਚੌਲ / چول /čol
[t͡ʃɔːl]
'rice'
Quechua
ch unka
[t͡ʃʊŋka]
'ten'
Romani
ć iriklo
[t͡ʃiriˈklo]
'bird'
Contrasts with aspirated form.
Romanian
c er
[ˈt͡ʃe̞r]
'sky'
See Romanian phonology
Rotuman [11]
j oni
[ˈt͡ʃɔni]
'to flee'
Scottish Gaelic
slàint e
[ˈsl̪ˠaːnʲt͡ʃə]
'health'
Southern dialects only; standard pronunciation is [tʲ]. See Scottish Gaelic phonology
Serbo-Croatian
Some speakers
č okoláda чоколада
[t͡ʃo̞ko̞ˈɫǎ̠ːd̪a̠]
'chocolate'
In varieties that do not distinguish /ʈ͡ʂ/ from /t͡ɕ/ .
Silesian
Gmina Istebna [12]
szpańelsko
[t̠͡ʃpaɲɛskɔ]
'Spanish'
These dialects merge /ʈ͡ʂ/ and /t͡ɕ/ into [t͡ʃ] .
Jablunkov [12]
[t̠͡ʃpaɲɛlskɔ]
Slovak
číslo
[t͡ʃiːslo]
'number'
See Slovak phonology
Slovene
koč a
[ˈkòːt͡ʃáː]
'cottage'
Spanish [13]
ch ocolate
[t͡ʃo̞ko̞ˈlät̪e̞] ⓘ
'chocolate'
See Spanish phonology
Swahili
jich o
[ʄit͡ʃo] /جِيچٗ
'eye'
Swedish
Finland
tj ugo
[t͡ʃʉːɡʉ]
'twenty'
See Swedish phonology
Some rural Swedish dialects
k ärlek
[t͡ʃæːɭeːk]
'love'
Tagalog
ts uper
[t͡ʃʊˈpɛɾ]
'driver'
See Tagalog phonology
Tlingit
j inkaat
[ˈt͡ʃinkʰaːtʰ]
'ten'
Turkish
ç ok
[t͡ʃok]
'very'
See Turkish phonology
Tyap
c at
[t͡ʃad]
'love'
Ubykh
Çəbƹəja /čëbžëya
[t͡ʃəbʒəja]
'pepper'
See Ubykh phonology
Ukrainian
ч отири /čotyry
[t͡ʃo̞ˈtɪrɪ]
'four'
See Ukrainian phonology
Uzbek
ch oʻl/çúl /چ ۉل
[t͡ʃɵl]
'desert'
Yiddish
טש אַטש קע/č ač ke
[t͡ʃat͡ʃkɛ]
'knick-knack'
See Yiddish phonology
Zapotec
Tilquiapan [15]
ch ane
[t͡ʃanɘ]
Mandarin Chinese , Russian , Japanese , Korean , Mongolian , Polish , Catalan , and Thai have a voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate /t͡ɕ/ ; this is technically postalveolar but it is less precise to use /t͡ʃ/ .
Related characters
There are several Unicode characters based on the tesh digraph (ʧ):
Voiceless postalveolar non-sibilant affricate
Voiceless postalveolar non-sibilant affricate
Features
Its manner of articulation is affricate , which means it is produced by first stopping the airflow entirely, then allowing air flow through a constricted channel at the place of articulation, causing turbulence.
Its place of articulation is postalveolar , which means it is articulated with either the tip or the blade of the tongue behind the alveolar ridge.
Its phonation is voiceless, which means it is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords. In some languages the vocal cords are actively separated, so it is always voiceless; in others the cords are lax, so that it may take on the voicing of adjacent sounds.
It is an oral consonant , which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.
It is a central consonant , which means it is produced by directing the airstream along the center of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
The airstream mechanism is pulmonic , which means it is articulated by pushing air solely with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles , as in most sounds.
Occurrence
Notes
References
Barbosa, Plínio A.; Albano, Eleonora C. (2004). "Brazilian Portuguese" . Journal of the International Phonetic Association . 34 (2): 227–232. doi :10.1017/S0025100304001756 .
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Martínez-Celdrán, Eugenio; Fernández-Planas, Ana Ma.; Carrera-Sabaté, Josefina (2003). "Castilian Spanish" . Journal of the International Phonetic Association . 33 (2): 255–259. doi :10.1017/S0025100303001373 .
Merrill, Elizabeth (2008). "Tilquiapan Zapotec" (PDF) . Journal of the International Phonetic Association . 38 (1): 107–114. doi :10.1017/S0025100308003344 .
Rogers, Derek; d'Arcangeli, Luciana (2004). "Italian" . Journal of the International Phonetic Association . 34 (1): 117–121. doi :10.1017/S0025100304001628 .
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