Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the middle or back part of the tongue raised against the hard palate (the middle part of the roof of the mouth).
Consonants with other primary articulations may be palatalised, that is, accompanied by the raising of the tongue surface towards the hard palate. For example, English [S] (spelt sh) has such a palatal component, although its primary articulation involves the tip of the tongue and the upper gum (this type of articulation is called palatoalveolar).
The palatal consonants identified by the International Phonetic Alphabet are:
| IPA Symbol | Name | Example | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| c | voiceless palatal plosive | Korean | [cal] | 살 jal (="well") |
| ɟ | voiced palatal plosive | Margi | [ɟaɗí] | (="hump of a cow") |
| ɲ | palatal nasal | Spanish | [maɲan̪a] | mañana (="morning") |
| ç | voiceless palatal fricative | German | [nɪçt] | nicht (="not") |
| ʝ | voiced palatal fricative | Margi | [ʝàʝàɗə̀] | (="picked up") |
| j | palatal approximant | English | [jɛs] | yes |
| ʎ | lateral palatal approximant | Italian | [ʎi] | gli (="the") |
| ʄ | voiced palatal implosive | |||