retracted tongue root

noun

An articulation involving retraction of the tongue root.

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Meanings

nounretracted tongue root (plural retracted tongue roots)

plural retracted tongue roots

  1. attributiveoftenhuman sciencesAn articulation involving retraction of the tongue root.

    The high back retracted tongue root vowel is always further back than its counterpart, rather than further forward, as is the case for the traditional lax back vowels.

    1996, Peter Ladefoged, Ian Maddieson, The Sounds of the World's Languages
    1 more example

    /ʕ/ is typically realized as an epiglottal stop, gliding as a pharyngeal approximant into a following retracted-tongue-root vowel, as in [ʡˤʊ̙maː] ‘water flowing from a spout’.

    2001, Barry F. Carlson, John H. Esling, Katie Fraser, “Nuuchahnulth”, in Journal of the International Phonetic Association, volume 31, number 2

Translations

Catalan arrel de la llengua endarrerit
  • arrel de la llengua endarreritan articulation involving retraction of the tongue root
Hungarian hátrahúzott nyelvgyök
  • hátrahúzott nyelvgyökan articulation involving retraction of the tongue root
Cite this entry
APA

retracted tongue root. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/retracted%20tongue%20root

MLA

“retracted tongue root.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/retracted%20tongue%20root. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “retracted tongue root,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/retracted%20tongue%20root.

Source: retracted tongue root on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.