Dentals Meaning in English
word · lemma: dental
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.
Usage & Nuances
Mostly used in linguistics or language study contexts. Not used for dental health or dentist topics. Commonly refers to speech sounds, rarely to teeth themselves. Do not confuse with 'dental' meaning 'related to teeth'.
Example Sentences
In English, 'th' in 'think' and 'this' are dentals.
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Some languages have many dentals, while others have few.
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Spanish doesn’t use as many dentals as English, which surprises some learners.
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It’s tricky for people to pronounce English dentals if their language doesn’t have them.
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After practicing dentals for weeks, I can finally say 'thank you' correctly!
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Linguists study dentals to understand language differences.
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