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CONSONANTS.
commonly called ‘ dental/ but the point of the tongue is
not necessarily brought against the teeth. Examples oi
point consonants are (t), (n), (1).
(4) Teeth. Teeth consonants when formed by the
point of the tongue may be considered as ‘ outer ’ (see
below) varieties of point consonants. There is also a ‘ lip-
teeth ’ consonant, (f). When outer point (or ‘ point-teeth’)
consonants are formed by placing the point of the tongue
between the teeth they are called ‘ interdental/
(5) Lip. S. G. w in ‘wie/ ‘ wo' is an example of a
pure lip consonant. N. G. — is a ‘lip-teeth’ con¬
sonant.
Each of these positions admits of infinite subdivisions
by shifting the tongue backwards and forwards, but it is
amply sufficient to distinguish three varieties of each
position, ‘inner/ ‘outer/ and ‘medium/ the last being
assumed as the normal position. The inner variety is
denoted thus, ( t), the outer being (xt).
There are two special tongue modifications that require
notice, ‘inversion’ (tf) and ‘protrusion’ (tf). In inversion
the point is turned back towards the soft palate, so that
the narrowing or stopping is formed between the lower
edge of the tongue-point and the top of the arch. In
protrusion the tip of the tongue is extended to the lips.
Inverted consonants allow of the distinctions of ‘ inner’
and ‘ outer/
Besides the simple positions there are ‘mixed’ or
‘compound’ consonants formed by narrowing, &c. the
mouth channel in two or more places at once. Thus the
E. (w) is formed not only by lip-narrowing, but also by
raising the back of the tongue towards the soft palate ,* it
is therefore a ‘ lip-back ’ consonant.