CORONAL
Like the feature [anterior], the feature [coronal], too, is related to the place or position of articulation of phonemes. The feature [coronal], however, shows whether the tip and the blade of tongue are involved in the articulation of phonemes or not. Any phoneme which is articulated by the involvement of the tip (i.e., apex) or the blade of tongue is considered to be [+coronal]; any phoneme which is not articulated through the involvement of the tip or the blade of tongue is considered to be [-coronal].
It can easily be felt that usually three parts of the human tongue are involved in the production of phonemes: (a) the very tip or apex, (b) the blade, and (c) the back or dorsum:
All interdental, alveolar, and palatal consonants are [+coronal]. Vowels and liquids are [-coronal]:
The coronal phonemes of English are /θ/, /ð/, /t/, /d/, /n/, /s/, /z/, /ʒ/, /ʃ/, /ʧ/, /ʤ/, /l/, /r/, and /j/. In formal notations, the features [+anterior] and [coronal] usually occur together; in other words, whenever a phoneme is [+anterior], it is usually necessary to identify whether it is [+coronal] or [-coronal].
