/ˈaɪ.pə/

tɬʼ vs d

Voiceless Alveolar Stop vs Voiced Alveolar Stop

How these sounds differ

tɬʼ
Voiceless Alveolar Stop
Voicing
voiceless
Place
alveolar
Manner
stop
Class
consonant
In languages
15 / 500
Full details →
d
Voiced Alveolar Stop
Voicing
voiced
Place
alveolar
Manner
stop
Class
consonant
In languages
217 / 500
Full details →

Cross-linguistic distribution

15
Languages with tɬʼ
7
Languages with both
217
Languages with d

7 languages in our database contrast both sounds as distinct phonemes. Languages that have one but not the other tend to merge them into a single phoneme — meaning speakers of those languages often struggle to hear the distinction when learning a language that contrasts them.

Has tɬʼ, not d (8)

HADZA Language isolate Chipewyan Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit Hupa Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit Navaho Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit Haida Haida Squamish Salishan Nootka Wakashan Sesotho Atlantic-Congo

Has d, not tɬʼ (20)

Gadsup Nuclear Trans New Guinea Telefol Nuclear Trans New Guinea Adzera Austronesian Iai Austronesian Chamorro Austronesian Sa'ban Austronesian Toba-Batak Austronesian Cham Austronesian Malagasy Austronesian Yay Tai-Kadai Garo Sino-Tibetan Lahu Sino-Tibetan Dafla Sino-Tibetan Yao Hmong-Mien Kota Dravidian Burushaski Language isolate Kabardian Abkhaz-Adyge Lak Nakh-Daghestanian Ket Yeniseian Yuchi Language isolate