Dentalization is spelled with the letter 'd' followed by 'entalization'. The IPA phonetic transcription for this word is /ˌdɛn.tə.lɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/. The 'd' and the following 'e' together represent the voiced dental fricative /ð/, which is produced when the tongue is placed between the upper and lower teeth and air is forced out. The 'entalization' part of the word comes from the root word 'dental', which refers to the teeth, and the suffix '-ization', which turns a word into a noun indicating a process, action, or result.
Dentalization is a term used in phonetics and linguistics to describe a specific articulatory process in speech production. In this process, a sound that is typically produced with the tip of the tongue against the alveolar ridge (the bump behind the upper front teeth) is instead produced with the tip of the tongue touching the upper front teeth. This causes a dental sound to be substituted for an alveolar sound.
The most common example of dentalization is the substitution of the alveolar sounds /t/ and /d/ with their dental counterparts, /θ/ and /ð/, respectively. For instance, in the word "thin," the /θ/ sound is produced by touching the tip of the tongue against the upper front teeth instead of the alveolar ridge. Similarly, in the word "this," the /ð/ sound is articulated with dental contact instead of alveolar.
Dentalization can occur due to physiological variations, where individuals naturally have their tongue position closer to the teeth rather than the alveolar ridge. It can also be found as a speech characteristic in certain dialects or accents. Dentalization may lead to variations in the pronunciation of words, either as a regional or an individual speech pattern.
Overall, dentalization refers to the substitution of alveolar sounds with their dental counterparts by placing the tip of the tongue against the upper front teeth, altering the usual articulation of speech sounds.
The word "dentalization" is derived from the noun "dental", which refers to anything related to the teeth or the action of the teeth, and the suffix "-ization", which is used to form nouns that denote the process or result of making something a certain way. So, "dentalization" essentially means the act of making something dental or resembling teeth.