Consider this group of sounds: [ʃ, ʒ, ʧ, ʤ]. They share the same place of articulation which is ...

Consider this group of sounds: [ʃ, ʒ, ʧ, ʤ]. They share the same place of articulation which is ...

• A. strident
• B. affricate
• C. uvular
• D. post-alveolar

Answer: (D)

These sounds are all produced with the tongue constriction located just behind the alveolar ridge, in the post-alveolar region. Whether the sound is a fricative (the continuous turbulent noise for [ʃ] and [ʒ]) or an affricate (a brief stop closure released into friction for [ʧ] and [ʤ]), the place of articulation is the same: the post-alveolar area. Some terminology also calls this area palato-alveolar, but in any case it is the region just behind the alveolar ridge, not the more back uvular area. The other options describe either a manner of articulation (affricate) or a distinctive acoustic quality (strident), not where the sound is formed.

These sounds are all produced with the tongue constriction located just behind the alveolar ridge, in the post-alveolar region. Whether the sound is a fricative (the continuous turbulent noise for [ʃ] and [ʒ]) or an affricate (a brief stop closure released into friction for [ʧ] and [ʤ]), the place of articulation is the same: the post-alveolar area. Some terminology also calls this area palato-alveolar, but in any case it is the region just behind the alveolar ridge, not the more back uvular area. The other options describe either a manner of articulation (affricate) or a distinctive acoustic quality (strident), not where the sound is formed.