How to Pronounce "dentals"
word
DEN-tuhlz
DEN-tuhlz
Definition
Sounds in speech that are produced with the tongue touching the teeth, like the English 'th' in 'think' or 'this'. In linguistics, 'dentals' refers to these specific types of speech sounds.
IPA Transcription
American English
ˈdɛnəɫz/, /ˈdɛntəɫz
British English
dˈɛntəl
Simplified Pronunciation
US
DEN-tuhlz
UK
DEN-tuhlz
Listen in Context
In English, 'th' in 'think' and 'this' are dentals.
Some languages have many dentals, while others have few.
Linguists study dentals to understand language differences.
Spanish doesn’t use as many dentals as English, which surprises some learners.