Abstract
Quantal theory suggests that there is a set of discrete places of articulation that are used by languages. We can find no evidence to support this notion in the case of retroflex stops. We examined X-rays of speakers of an Indo-Aryan language, Hindi, and two Dravidian languages, Telugu and Tamil, and conclude that there are differences between the retroflex stops in these languages. Hindi retroflex stops do not have the tip of the tongue turned so far back as do the retroflex stops in the Dravidian languages, but Hindi retroflex stops are not the same as English alveolar stops. We suggest that there is a continuum of places of articulation, and languages choose different places in this continuum.
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