uvular (adj.)

A term used in the PHONETIC classification of CONSONANT sounds on the basis of their PLACE OF ARTICULATION: it refers to a sound made by the BACK of the tongue against the uvula, the fleshy appendage which hangs at the back of the soft PALATE. The r of STANDARD French is uvular, and this quality may be heard in some regional DIALECTS of English, especially in the north-east of England. It is transcribed as [R]. UVULAR PLOSIVE consonants are found in Arabic, for example, and are transcribed [q] and [G] for the VOICELESS and voiced types respectively. Uvularization is a general term referring to any SECONDARY ARTICULATION involving a movement of the back part of the tongue towards the uvula; such sounds are said to be uvularized.