Select languages to compare:

Use base consonants only
Labial
Coronal
Dorsal
Radical
Laryngeal
Bilabial
Labio-dental
Dental
Alveolar
Palato-alveolar
Retroflex
Palatal
Velar
Uvular
Pharyngeal
Epi-glottal
Glottal
Plosive
p ⁿp           t ⁿt       ʈ ⁿʈ       k ⁿk      
 
 
 
 
 
 
Nasal
  m           n       ɳ       ŋ    
 
 
 
 
 
 
Trill
                           
 
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
Tap, Flap
              ɾ                                
Lateral flap
 
 
 
 
                   
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fricative
                              ɣ                
Lateral fricative
 
 
 
 
                           
 
 
 
 
 
 
Approximant
                      ɻ   j   w                
Lateral approximant
 
 
 
 
      l       ɭ            
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Front
Near-front
Central
Near-back
Back
 
Close
Near-close
Close-mid
Mid
Open-mid
Near-open
Open
Selected languages: Tiwi
UPSID number: 8351
Alternate name(s): N/A
Classification: Australian, ungrouped
The languages has 26 segments
Frequency index: N/A
Sounds:
Comments: Retroflex consonants (except the rhotic) do not occur initially. Lee (1984) suggests that labialization of consonants can be predicted from occurrence of the vowel /o/. Other analyses have proposed distinctive labialized bilabial and velar consonants.
Sources: Osborne, C.R. 1974. The Tiwi Language (Australian Aboriginal Studies 55). Australian Institute for Aboriginal Studies, Canberra. Lee, J.R. 1983. Tiwi Today: a study of language change in a contact situation. Ph.D. Dissertation, Australian National University, Canberra. Lee, J.R. 1984. Changes in the roundedness feature in Tiwi. Australian Linguistics Society.